Got my CNC Lathe in today

[danutz]

I have some dumbells you can use for a counterweight if needed.:wink:

 

[KJ Cues]

Back lash will not be an issue. Both axis will only be cutting in one direction that is to say for a taper machine. I would worry about drag. The carriage on these are too narrow and will want to cock sideways and then drag. You can combat this in two ways, one loosen up the gibbs, and the other lubrication of some sort. Both have issues, loose gibbs will translate to accuracy issues. Lubrication will attract dust. Bassel on here sells a delrin conversion kit for the carriage. That may work.

Tom, are you using an aluminum dovetail or steel? Let us know if you have any issues setting up the G540.

Jim.

Mount the 'X' travel motor on the backside of the carriage to counter-balance.
Run a shaft across the top of the carriage to run the gear-set/pinion.
Or just run your rack on the backside also.

HTHs, KJ

 

[Mc2]

I went in to this knowing I would be the Guini Pig. I already conquered what I thought to be the hardest part, setting the correct increments between the lathe controler and Mach 3.

If it fails it will be a small set back as I will figure a way to make it work. We ole retired guys have nothing better to do, LOL

I would like to think I know what I am doing and I couldn't get it to work. Mach 3 settings are the easy part, buy the way for me anyway. I will be looking forward to your solution. Let me know when you are ready and I will show you mine. You may not like it.

Jim.

 

[TomHay]

I would like to think I know what I am doing and I couldn't get it to work. Mach 3 settings are the easy part, buy the way for me anyway. I will be looking forward to your solution. Let me know when you are ready and I will show you mine. You may not like it.

Jim.

Jim,

I don't know why you think I would not like something. I am but a hack but cue makers in general show a fantastic ability to invent and figure things out.

 

[bruppert]

I want to start by saying that the lathe setup looks great, and congrats for Todd for the great design effort in converting a Taig based Cue lathe into a 2 axis CNC lathe. In regards to what Jim said. I agree mostly with the fact that the Taig carriage is too narrow and the weight of the 2 motors plus a router and router bracket all on one side will probably cause the carriage to Kink or want to cock sideways if a certain load was exerted. Unfortunately, I don't think the Delrin gib alone would solve this problem, although it might improve it.
The only thing that will help significantly is a 5" bindless carriage.
I discussed this concept idea with couple of cue makers 2 years ago and I choose not to do it for this same reason mainly. At that time, the bindless carriage wasn't even on my radar yet.
Anyways, I hope your setup works Tom and dismiss all my concerns. Just one last thing. This reply is not meant to discredit anyone here. It's just my humble opinion. I hope this lathe works out flawlessly for you Tom. After all you are a great guy to deal with and have one of the greatest tips on the market along with fair and affordable pricing.
Regards
Bassel

Have you thought about putting the Taper Bars down lower and out of the way? Then you could have the Steppers on the front side of the piece and the Router on the back side. This would help balance the weight better on the Carriage. Still a fair amount of weight for those small lathes though.

 

[Mc2]

Jim,

I don't know why you think I would not like something. I am but a hack but cue makers in general show a fantastic ability to invent and figure things out.

The reason I stated that you may not like it is because I use some taig parts but do not use that carriage. This will be what causes you the most issues. My hope is that you do get it to work. You may come up with something that I or others out there have not. You may not have any issues at all and the lathe will work out of the box. Let us know.


Jim.