things have been slow to progress lately due to lifes consistent interuptions but on another note...
I now have ballscrews!
2x 1204 & 1x 1605. 250mm, 450mm and 450mm respectively
also got my hands on a nice 20mm 2mt drill bit to drill the hole in the mills base casting for the z axis screw
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now that i have me some screws i need to get them machined. i have arranged for a friend to do this for me as the boxford doesn't have much in the way of change-gears and im afraid id screw it up (pun intended).

but before i can do that i still need to order bearings and pulleys so i can factor them into the design. this leads me to a few questions...

1) pulleys, is there really any difference betweel xl and htd or other types of pulley?

2) bearings, i see alot of people using angular contact bearings, wouldn't ball thrust bearings be a cheaper alternative or is their something im missing?

3) i see that using belleville washers is also quite common for preloading the bearings, would an easily available split washer not do the job?