Hi,
I need a reference for scraping the dovetails on my bench mill.
My Y axis has some play, but the real problem is that when the table goes from one side to another the play allows the table to resettle in a different position. That messes up any attempt to control Z, by as much as 0.010" end to end, with a discontinuity in the middle.
See video towards the end. The video is part of a series on my tribulations fly cutting, but it highlighted the Y-axis problem.
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4MlM6ZUnxA"]YouTube - Help me fix my Mill - Part 10.5 - Fly Cutting Steel[/ame]
Anyway, I have tried it the wrong way with no references and make shift references. Different levels of success. It did not get me where I need to be.
Next step (or perhaps what the first step should have been) is to get some way to compare the dovetail at different heights to a reference. I need to do that on the saddle and on the machine base itself.
I'll probably need to buy everything because the closest thing I have to a reference is a machinist's square, but it is only 5" long and has a beveled edge. I need at least 8", more would be better as it could be useful in a different project.
Don't have anything I can use to shim it either... I was thinking a cheap set of parallels, but those are only rated in height, not thickness.
The dovetail angle is a bit less than 60, probably around 56 degrees (?).
Ideas of what I can get without spending much? What do you use?
Thanks!