WM16 help reqd

[ron vale 3Participant @ronvale3]

Apologies for the pictures being at 90 degrees, i8 year old lathe and has had less than normal use. when used i dont abuseit with heavy cuts etc ( having seen the tales of stripped gears) so i take little nibbles and slow feeds

 

The cross feed action is still ok nice and smooth actionn, but the longitudunal feed has over the last few weeks has developed what is best described as a threepenny bit action, tightness and treeing several times on one turn of the handwheel. This is throughout the bed travel and is getting a bit annoying. There is however no play or rock and even releasing the adjustment makes no difference.

When i had my old mill/drill i had a similar problem with the nut becoming loose but this does not appear to be the problem as there is no discernable play when the screw is turned. I looked underneath and i feel that the nut is at a rather jaunty angle Now should it be like that

The other thing that puzzles me is when i was side milling two sides of a bar to bring it to a certain width i found that there was a slight taper . I put this down to the vice being a smidgern off, so i did the next cut without taking the bar out and turning over, on the basis that the width will be the same, although the bar is now slightly in a parallelogram shape ( hope that makes sense) Onlt the same problem was there, only three thous but it is doing my head in!!

 

Back to the original problem

 

Has anyone got to the screw and thread and what is the best wasy of doing it?

My first problem id getting the end plates off or can i remove the screw with them still in situ. Once the screw is release from the nut i figure that the bed can be slid to expose the nut.

So over to the list for suggestions ..

 

Thanks

Edited By JasonB on 01/06/2020 18:17:33

[ron vale 3Participant @ronvale3]

[Martin ConnellyParticipant @martinconnelly55370]

I would suspect at this stage that the screws used for mounting the nut to the machine have vibrated loose. I would look at the parts list to see if they are accessible without stripping too much off the machine. There may be access from below.

Martin C

I have had a look at the Grizzly web site because they have a similar (if not the same) machine and easy access to parts lists.

Grizzly G0704 parts list.

It looks like the two cap head screws in the photo (not the ones on the nut, the ones on the Y axis slide) lock the X axis nut in position. If you loosen them off you should be able to rotate the X axis nut into the correct position then re-tighten the cap screws. Try this and see if it works.

Edited By Martin Connelly on 01/06/2020 17:55:19

[David George 1Participant @davidgeorge1]

Hi if you remove the screws from the end plates on the end of the bed you can slide the bed so far along till you can see the nut be carfuly how far you push the bed and if you need to push it over three quarters make sure it is supported with some wood or other packing. Let us know what you find please. If you have a scale fitted be careful that you don't damage it it may need removing first.

David

[ron vale 3Participant @ronvale3]

Martin and David. It looks like your eamils and my last visit to the workshop, ;crossed in the post'

In a nut shell, i managed to get the end plate off and by doing so removed the leadscrew. As you surmised the block had shifted and i was rather intrigued that there was not a positive fixing for it ,rather the reliance of two bolts pressing on it.I might add that up to today i have never noticed those bolts so 'tinkering' was not afactor.Perhaps i might sit down later and work out a more positive attachment. drilling the nut and tapping the holes,?

cleaned leadscrew and nut, and replaced it making sure the nut was more horizontal and tightened the bolts up

all nice and smooth, there is a slight movement of the main table but screwing up the adjuster have removed 99.9% of it.

The thing now is to see if the 'taper turning' effect is still there the next time i square up the front and rear favces of the bar

Thanks for all your help. I would have supported the table if i had seen Davids post!

[Martin ConnellyParticipant @martinconnelly55370]

This is a great example of working down to a price. It is barely fit for purpose and is easy to assemble and set up without precision required in the manufacture and assembly. If you want to make it more positive you will have to put in a lot of time and effort to design and produce something that will work the way you would expect the machine to work. I bet the instructions have nothing in them about slackening off and re-tightening the screws for both axes on a regular basis or the recommended torque for them. I would consider getting the holes for the cap screws helicoiled because the thread may not be great then put in some really good quality thrust screws, the ones with an in built self aligning bearing surface may be best to avoid wear and tear on the axis nut.

Wixroyd thrust screws

Martin

[ron vale 3Participant @ronvale3]

Having recovered from the price.

i am sure that some enterprising WM16 bod will come up with something

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

Don't recall hearing of any other users with the same issue so must be fit for purpose most of the time.

Probably useful to have the sideways and up/down adjustment so the nut's position can be fine tuned with the table is in place to avoid any tight spots.

Edited By JasonB on 02/06/2020 19:06:54

[Martin ConnellyParticipant @martinconnelly55370]

Wixroyd are not the only suppliers of self aligning thrust screws.

Norelem UK

Martin C

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