Grizzly G4003G cross slide handle vibrates counter clock wise because of weight of handle

[737mechanic]

If the handle of my cross slide is in the 7:00 to 11:00 o'clock position it will some times vibrate counterclockwise due to the handle itself not being balanced so I was wondering if there is an adjustment to take care of this or has anyone come up with a fix for this.

 

[higgite]

Does it actually move the cross slide or is it just back sliding in the backlash? Sounds like it's probably the latter. If so, try tightening the center nut a tad and see if that helps. If it's actually moving the cross slide, the gibs are too loose.

Tom

 

[737mechanic]

The cross slide does move when the handle rotates. Maybe the gibs are not tight enough. I will look into that.

 

[Firstram]

I balanced the carriage hand wheel on my 1340 jet. I made an aluminum handle to shave some weight, some foam filled lightening holes around the handle and some lead filled holes on the opposite side. A skim coat of epoxy sealed everything and gave me a smooth surface.


I did not take pictures of the cross slide handle but I started by replacing the steel handle with aluminum. I cut down the original steel handle and mounted it on the opposite side to act as a counter weight. It's only about 7/8" so my knuckles are safe and I can use two hands for those small adjustments.

 

[Tozguy]

After backlash is adjusted to minimum and gibs are well adjusted, if there is still a problem with unwanted movement of the compound, cross slide or carriage then the locking features should be used (or added if they are missing). Balancing hand wheels is no way to guarantee that things will not move.

 

[Firstram]

Balancing hand wheels is no way to guarantee that things will not move.

This is true, but he may have some wear and he can't tighten his gibs without sticky spots. He did state it only backed off when it's between 11 and 7 so balancing can't hurt either.

 

[Jubil]

My G0709 does the same thing. The handle is steel and when in the 7 - 11 o'clock position it will move downward. Obviously the weight of the handle. Normally it doesn't move the cross slide until it has removed backlash and then only if it strikes(?) the end of backlash. So I tightened gibs, it helped a little. Now I tighten the lock screw or hold the wheel in position. Plan to do as Firstram did and make an aluminum handle only make it a little shorter to save more weight
Chuck

 

[SamI]

This has been on my to do list for a little while. I have a Warco lathe which i believe is a UK equivalent.

Like Firstram I plan to drill some holes to counter the additional weight of the handle. For me a least everything is well adjusted but in certain positions the dial will move under the weight of the handle which causes the cross slide to move ever so slightly as the handle stops where the baklash it taken up. It will not then continue to move.

It's rare for this to really matter for me as it rarely makes a difference of more than 0.01 mm on the diameter but, as a simple mod that's essentially free (apart from a little of my time) I think it's worth adding to the to do list.

 

[Toolmaker51]

My G0709 does the same thing. The handle is steel and when in the 7 - 11 o'clock position it will move downward. Obviously the weight of the handle. Normally it doesn't move the cross slide until it has removed backlash and then only if it strikes(?) the end of backlash. So I tightened gibs, it helped a little. Now I tighten the lock screw or hold the wheel in position. Plan to do as Firstram did and make an aluminum handle only make it a little shorter to save more weight
Chuck

One could create a wheel more of a full disk, therefore naturally balanced. Enough added mass to counteract projecting handle, of plastic.

 

[epanzella]

I have a DI attached to the cross slide on my G4003G. The hand wheel drops down a bit in certain positions but the slide doesn't move so I don't care. When milling in the lathe I lock the gib.