Andy,

Welcome to that part of the asylum that is especially reserved for M type users.

The first time I tried to adjust the cross slide it just about drove me potty, it's one of those occasions when "simple" which the mechanism is, doesn't mean "easy".

The procedure I use is to remove the whole of the feed screw assembly, and throughly clean it taking care not to allow the small leaf type pressure spring inside the micrometer dial fly off into some dark corner. Then adjust the gib strip screws aiming for a nice silky movement when moved by hand.

Lubricate the screw with medium grease and the micrometer assembly with a light oil. I use gun oil because it doesn't gum up as badly as some others. When you put it all back together, don't fully tighten up the grub screw you mentioned, leave it just lightly in contact with the flat taper.

The handle locking set up acts as a crude thrust bearing. Tighten the inner nut using a box spanner until it just starts to resist, then pull up the outer nut to lock it into place. Try the handle and see what you've got. From there on it's just a matter of sickening off the outer nut, and nipping up the inner one just tad, and repeating until you get what you feel is acceptable. Only when you're happy with the action do you fully tighten the grub screw.

I've tried the PTFE washer thing and it sort of works for a bit, then it compresses and needs adjusting again; non starter in my view.

In fairness I've got the backlash down to about .006-8" which is bearable (pun intended) but I'd like to see the back of it altogether. I'm sure you're right, the best option is some proper thrust bearings and that's going to be one of my first projects when I get my new workshop up and running.

As Swarf! says the Drummond forum is a clumsy effort, but there is a lot of good stuff in there. I've asked about the mod you and I are contemplating but didn't find anyone who had done it. It's common enough on the Myford 7 series lathes though.

Eug

Edited By Eugene on 27/05/2017 17:06:04

Edited By Eugene on 27/05/2017 17:07:55

Mine has the same slotted nut recessed in the end of the handle like yours, and the small grub screw accessed by aligning the hole in the micrometer dial with the inner screw. From memory, (haven't done it in a while) you just loosen the slotted nut, undo the inner grub screw and screw the handle in until you get the desired end-float (a thou or two) between the handle and the cross slide end plate. Then nip up the grub screw, followed by nipping up the slotted screw to lock it in position. It's best done with the cross slide pulled out far enough the leadscrew is disengaged from the thread in the carriage. This way, you are observing only the end float in the leadscrew/handle unit and not getting mixed up with the backlash, which is the wear between the threads on the leadscrew and the carriage and is not adjustable. Gib adjustment is yet a separate adjustment and has no bearing on the backlash or endfloat in the leadscrew.

With the cross slide lead screw, it can help to pull the slotted nut right off, slacken off the grub screw, unscrew the handle unit and take the leadscrew out for a good clean and tidy up. Machining or filing the surface where the shoulder on the lead screw contacts the cross slide end plate is a big help. Or a steel washer to cover the groove worn in the end plate can help too.

I actually have a spare saddle casting and a shaper so I'm going to have a go at a tapered gib cross slide for my own Drummond at some point

I already have a tapered gib cross slide on a Pultra and so I can use that as a general arrangement layout for converting a Drummond saddle casting

It's a lovely smooth movement on the pultra but it's definitely not the sort of job you can hurry and I always seem to have a thousand other things which need doing

Andy,

Your set up does sound a bit different from mine, but the principles seem to be the same; just do the adjustment stepwise.

Ref. the insert tooling. When i first started out I had no tooling of any kind. My attempts at grinding HSS were dispiritingly pathetic and produced things with the profile of a pineapple and cut about as well. Ready made HSS tools from E-bay were awful; they just chipped as soon as you used them.

At the Harrogate Show I got some advice from Jenny at J B Cutting tools and ordered left and right holders for CCGT09T304NF25 inserts and with these did my first successful turning. They work a charm, but be under no illusion that you won't bust a few tips; as clumsy beginner, I sure did. The "04" bit in the description refers to the radius of the cutting tip in mm. 04 is general purpose, 02 is fine finishing, 08 is roughing.

Using them I could at least turn stuff with a passable finish, and learn more about the job, the lathe, and the necessary techniques. I did run into a problem with chatter when taking any cut much over .010" but I cured that with the "secondary bearing dodge" described elsewhere in the forum. I can take .050" cuts (i.e. .100" off diameter) with complete confidence when using clean steel with a good end face.

I then built the HSS tool grinding jig designed by Harold Hall; his "Simple Grinding Rest". There is a learning curve associated with it, and getting the initial rough profile on the tool is still a bind, but results have been pretty gratifying. With a deep angle knife tool the machine will do very heavy cuts even on rough steel that would chip an insert.

So that's my experience, if it's any help great, mind you I don't have your engineering background so I do tend to find out things the hard way. There is no attempt here to teach Granny how to suck eggs!

Eug

Edited By Eugene on 28/05/2017 18:20:24