Well, I'm starting a new project.
I had picked up, disassembled, and basically trashed an X-Y cross slide vise last year...fascinating contraption. It was a bit crude, but it showed a lot of promise. Here's a picture of the one I bought. Many of us probably have a similar one, somewhere in the workshop.
On Monday, a Chinese tool sale (Cummins tools) came around to my little town, again, and I decided to go for it. I bought another one, with the very real intention of using what I had learned to build a nice little machine capable of doing more than just light woodworking. I've wanted a relatively small, but heavy duty machine for a while...and this should provide it.
Today, I went to the hardware store and bought some nylon inserts, which I will use to "replace" the pathetic quality Chinese rolled ACME screws and nuts. They'll screw in to the housing, and provide me with something I can tap for a better quality screw. Heck, hardware store ALLTHREAD is of better quality than the included screws...they're really pathetic!
My thrust bearings will be half Rollerblade wheels -- they're designed to hold the bearings securely, and if sliced in half should provide a nice flat surface for mounting. A couple of screws and it'll be well supported.
My motor mounts will be some 3" square pipe offcuts I got at the hardware store...hopefully I can make them work with minimal fuss...seems quite a workable solution.
So, my project is off to a roaring start. BUT, first I need to lap the ways. Yes, this thing has cast iron dovetailed ways, and an adjustable gib, but it's sufficiently rough that it is going to need some work.
This ought to be fun!
I live in a small town, and need to find some grit with which to lap. Any suggestions on where to look?
-- Chuck Knight
P.S. Does anyone have any hints on how to convert a plunge router base into a Z axis? I picked one up, for my Ryobi trim router, for just $2 at the same sale. It looks promising.