[flick]

I removed the way covers, and can't see anything that resembles teflon anywhere. There's only 1 surface for each axis that I absolutely can't get my eyes on without disassembling the large cast components - the very top and bottom of the saddle, and the back side of the headstock. Are these flat surfaces the ones that get turcite?

[zephyr9900]

flick, I don't think you can see the Turcite (or similar) unless you take the table off the saddle and the saddle off the base, and the head off the column. The Turcite will be on the narrower surfaces that slide on the ways, and not the ways themselves.

Randy

[service_bb]

Why do you need to see it anyways? Is your machine loose? If you really just want to see the material itself to see what it is, you can always take a gib out...

[flick]

Yes, my ways are loose, and difficult to adjust satisfactorily. I'm currently re-finishing all of my gibs to get the bow out of them.

No, I don't need to see the turcite. I asked the question purely out of curiousity.

You're wrong, I took all 3 gibs out and still couldn't see any. As I suspected, and Zephyr confirmed, you have to disassemble major components to get a look at it.

[Tormachmaster]

Does anyone have a picture of the turcite on the machine? I always figured it was imbedded in the cast or something? I guess it could be so thin you just wouldn't see it?

[zephyr9900]

Tormachmaster, you won't see a picture of the installed Turcite (or equivalent) unless someone has totally removed the head or saddle from their machine. It is not on a visible surface.

As a consolation prize, though, all our contestants are invited to view this page which shows raw Turcite strips (and links to a set of installation instructions) and this page which shows a dramatic action shot of a sheet of Turcite actually being installed on a machine.

Randy

[CNCZILLA]

Zephyr9900 is correct, you cant see the turcite by sliding the covers back or removing the gibs. The Turcite is bonded to the underside of the gib blocks where the gibs ride so even if you pull the gibs you won't see anything. Do you not have any gib adjustment left. What do you mean by refinishing the gibs.

[philbur]

I had the head off a couple of years back. IIRC it was only on the two flat surfaces of the carriage, not on the Vees. It really wasn't exciting enough to justify making a photograph record.

Phil

Zephyr9900 is correct, you cant see the turcite by sliding the covers back or removing the gibs. The Turcite is bonded to the underside of the gib blocks where the gibs ride so even if you pull the gibs you won't see anything. Do you not have any gib adjustment left. What do you mean by refinishing the gibs.

[flick]

Do you not have any gib adjustment left. What do you mean by refinishing the gibs.

I find that the bow in my gibs causes an extremely gradual tightening, as the gib slowly straightens out from the force of the wedge over the course of a few complete screw turns after making initial contact. I have to choose between loose enough that the table will deflect at the end, and so tight that I'm experiencing lost steps, or both.

For the record, Tormach tech support stated that the bow in my gibs should not be the source of my lost steps. Having purchased a 75 in.lb torque wrench and making up a little drive adapter for the end of my ball screws to check drag with, I'm not sure I agree. In any case they are not ideal, so I am making them as close to ideal as I can.

How am I refinishing them? I got myself a 12x18 granite surface plate, and am following a basic scraping procedure with prussian blue to flatten out the non-sliding surface. Because I had to remove so much material (0.040" on the worst gib) I roughed them down with a carbide bit in a dremel tool. Having brought the surface to a rough plane, I'm finishing up with an actual scraper. Once the back side is nice and flat, I'll repeat the procedure for the sliding surface but using the dovetail itself as the reference (discussed in a previous thread - the gentleman in question did it with a file, rather than a scraper, and was pleased with the results). I expect them to require shimming after having lost so much thickness. The total taper of the X gib is about an eighth, and I'm removing about a 1/3 of that!

It has been an excruciatingly slow, picky, labor intensive process, but also highly educational, and personally rewarding.

[keen]

Hi - dont think there is any turcite on the vertical slide on mine. Well there is none on the gib I removed and I cant see it would be a good plan to put it on the highly loaded vertical dovetail faces anyway. There may be some on the flat vertical faces...... Any pic of turcite on a vertical slide face would be welcome........

[philbur]

It's on the flat faces of the Z axis slide, part 82 on th exploded view. I've seen it on mine, I don't have a photo so you will have to trust me. The only way to confim your's is to remove the slide.

It is NOT commonly applied to all surfaces, only the large, easily accessable areas. It is used to reduce friction. not try to eliminate it totally.

Phil

Hi - dont think there is any turcite on the vertical slide on mine. Well there is none on the gib I removed and I cant see it would be a good plan to put it on the highly loaded vertical dovetail faces anyway. There may be some on the flat vertical faces...... Any pic of turcite on a vertical slide face would be welcome........

[philbur]

Is nobody reading the previous mails in this thread.

Phil

Hi - dont think there is any turcite on the vertical slide on mine. Well there is none on the gib I removed and I cant see it would be a good plan to put it on the highly loaded vertical dovetail faces anyway. There may be some on the flat vertical faces...... Any pic of turcite on a vertical slide face would be welcome........