[AMacGregor]

Hi,

My Slant Pro has started having an issue where the Z axis binds up when moving at full jog speed - video below. The lathe sat for a period of months without being used before being moved to our new house after which I noticed this issue. The issue happens mainly when the X axis is towards the bottom of it's travel and it seems worse in the Z positive direction.

I have followed the Z-axs gib adjustment procedure in the manual but that didn't seem to help, has anyone encountered similar? Any suggestions on how to diagnose/correct?

https://youtu.be/xilVKd0Hqds

Many thanks in advance,
Alastair

[Jim Dawson]

Sticky crud on the ways or ball screw after sitting? A twist in the bed? Maybe needs to be re-leveled?

[AMacGregor]

Thanks, all good suggestions - the ballscrew and ways look clean and I've wiped them down with WD40 before running the oiler again.

A potential twist in the bed makes some sense to me given that the behaviour is dependent on the X carriage position. I've not had much luck finding info on how to level this lathe though, I'd really appreciate if you or anyone else could point me to resources on that?

[Jim Dawson]

What I did on my lathe (not a Tormach) was to just get the torque about the same on all of the leveling feet. Just did this by feel. Nothing to really level to. I did put a precision level on top of the turret along the Z axis so I could get it close in that plane. But there is nothing to level to in the X direction.

[number40Fan]

I'd either loosen the heck out of the gib or even remove it to check that it is clean. See how it moves with it loose or removed.

[maker of things]

Maybe try to find a surface on the tail stock end to set a level that puts the bubble pretty close, then adjust the feet to rack the frame one way then the other and see if the situation gets better or worse. The level would just be to keep track of any movement. Not sure if the lathe is heavy enough to actually twist that base significantly.

[keen]

Hi Alastair.

How are you going with this now?

Have you checked the top Z slide that is out of view, (near the ballscrew) is clean and getting oil from your system? If not sure, try appying some manually and re run the test.

If it is, have you checked backing off the Z gib and running the test again, in case the carriage is racking.

Cliff

[AMacGregor]

Thanks very much for all of the suggestions, I really appreciate the help. I have tried fully removing the gib and that made no difference unfortunately.

Cliff - I checked the backside of the slideway (near the ballscrew) and it seems to be getting way oil and looks clean.

The next thing I'm going to check as suggested by Tormach is the Z axis drive belt but I need to modify some tools to get the cover screws off with the enclosure in place.