- Joined
- Jul 28, 2017
- Messages
- 2,390
Welcome to H-M!
The saddle slide plates (some folks refer to them as gibs) definitely are one of the weaker design point of these lathes. It's pretty easy to improve that by getting rid of the OEM jack screws and using shims to get the running fit you need. That mod was one of the best and easiest I've done to my mini lathe. You don't need to get all fancy and do the tapered gib thing, and it really improves the overall rigidity.
If you replace the compound with a riser block, don't throw or trade the compound away. You still will need it for cutting threads or short tapers.
The saddle slide plates (some folks refer to them as gibs) definitely are one of the weaker design point of these lathes. It's pretty easy to improve that by getting rid of the OEM jack screws and using shims to get the running fit you need. That mod was one of the best and easiest I've done to my mini lathe. You don't need to get all fancy and do the tapered gib thing, and it really improves the overall rigidity.
If you replace the compound with a riser block, don't throw or trade the compound away. You still will need it for cutting threads or short tapers.