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Step 6Gib and Set-Screws
Here's the gib and gib screws for the cross-slide (the green thing, above).
It fits under one of the two clamps (the steel pieces on the bottom that hold the carriage to the ways) -- the one on the 'far' side where the thumbscrew is.
The gib is for adjusting the tightness of the cross-slide, as well as the angle. By tweaking the two outer gib-screws, you can true-up the cross-slide to a 90-degree fit on the cross-slide. The thumbscrew lets you loosen or tighten the overall fit, including locking the cross-slide to the ways. (In practice, all 3 need to be sort of balanced for the right fit and tightness - you want it loose enough for the cross-slide to slide smoothly on the ways without sticking, but tight enough that there's no 'play' - that is, wiggle-room.)
You need the gib adjustment screws pointed, to fit into dimples on the gib -- otherwise it'll slip right out when you move the carriage. It's not quite clear in the book, but it's simplest to get a couple of cap-bolts for the gib screws, and make 'em pointy yourself (I used my 4" x 36" belt/disc sander, holding the bolts in a vise-grip, trying to keep the points around 80-ish degrees -- took about 15-20 seconds each.)
You need to dimple the gib with a drill-bit (hence the 80-ish degrees), and the dimples need to be lined up with the gib-screw holes in the cross-slide. (This part is not quite clear in the book, by the way.) Probably the most logical way is to put the cross-slide, with the gib, on the ways, and drill through the cross-slide into the gib slightly. (You'll want to do this before you tap the holes in the cross-slide, or the drill will mess the threads up.) What I did, which worked great, was to drill the cross-slide first (all 3 holes), tap all 3 holes, put the cross-slide on the ways and clamp the gib with the thumbscrew, then screw the gib screws in until they mark the gib a bit. Then I removed the gib, center-punched the gib-screw holes, and dimpled them on the drill press. (Why? It's easier to see and control the depth of the dimples, I guess. Worked very nicely for me, anyway.)
It fits under one of the two clamps (the steel pieces on the bottom that hold the carriage to the ways) -- the one on the 'far' side where the thumbscrew is.
The gib is for adjusting the tightness of the cross-slide, as well as the angle. By tweaking the two outer gib-screws, you can true-up the cross-slide to a 90-degree fit on the cross-slide. The thumbscrew lets you loosen or tighten the overall fit, including locking the cross-slide to the ways. (In practice, all 3 need to be sort of balanced for the right fit and tightness - you want it loose enough for the cross-slide to slide smoothly on the ways without sticking, but tight enough that there's no 'play' - that is, wiggle-room.)
You need the gib adjustment screws pointed, to fit into dimples on the gib -- otherwise it'll slip right out when you move the carriage. It's not quite clear in the book, but it's simplest to get a couple of cap-bolts for the gib screws, and make 'em pointy yourself (I used my 4" x 36" belt/disc sander, holding the bolts in a vise-grip, trying to keep the points around 80-ish degrees -- took about 15-20 seconds each.)
You need to dimple the gib with a drill-bit (hence the 80-ish degrees), and the dimples need to be lined up with the gib-screw holes in the cross-slide. (This part is not quite clear in the book, by the way.) Probably the most logical way is to put the cross-slide, with the gib, on the ways, and drill through the cross-slide into the gib slightly. (You'll want to do this before you tap the holes in the cross-slide, or the drill will mess the threads up.) What I did, which worked great, was to drill the cross-slide first (all 3 holes), tap all 3 holes, put the cross-slide on the ways and clamp the gib with the thumbscrew, then screw the gib screws in until they mark the gib a bit. Then I removed the gib, center-punched the gib-screw holes, and dimpled them on the drill press. (Why? It's easier to see and control the depth of the dimples, I guess. Worked very nicely for me, anyway.)
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