I decided to make some better x-direction stops for my milling machine. I really like this feature for repetitive cuts or pocket milling. I never liked those little stock buttons though. Seems like if you just kiss the center post gently, they always allow a couple thou movement. I also don't want to reef down on them & over tighten the bolt for fear of cracking the cast iron dovetail.
So this is my solution. Its just scraps of hot roll steel. The stops have a lot more contact area to the table edge which is what provides the grip. Three 10-32 bolts might seem like overkill but its pretty quick & they just need to be snugged up. The dovetail slider nut is a weirdo angle 15-deg chamfer. I also made it thicker so there is more dovetail & thread engagement.
Well, I gave it a test drive today - I tried backing off & contacting a several time. The DRO shows the exact same number to 0.0005" so I'm happy. Last thing to do is blacken them. Some machining pics.
So this is my solution. Its just scraps of hot roll steel. The stops have a lot more contact area to the table edge which is what provides the grip. Three 10-32 bolts might seem like overkill but its pretty quick & they just need to be snugged up. The dovetail slider nut is a weirdo angle 15-deg chamfer. I also made it thicker so there is more dovetail & thread engagement.
Well, I gave it a test drive today - I tried backing off & contacting a several time. The DRO shows the exact same number to 0.0005" so I'm happy. Last thing to do is blacken them. Some machining pics.