Redneck Canuck builds a steel cnc router

[John540i]

I have made a bit more progress. The machine is now on its feet and the work on the gantry has started. The gantry is made from 2 pieces of 2" x 6" x 3/16 steel welded in an l shape.



I did break a tap while doing the holes for the x axis rails but was able to get the broken part out of the hole, got lucky there.

I do have a question about linear bearings. On the x axis I have a plate that the bearing blocks bolt to. This plate will bolt to a plate on the gantry. I did this so that I can adjust the gantry. My question is about the plate that the bearings mount to. When I have all the screws in their holes but not tight the bearings move very freely. Once I tighten the screws there is a wee bit of tightness. To give you an idea of how tight if I lift one end of the rail up 2" the plate with the loose screws will slide down the rail. The plate with the screws tight has to be lifted to 4" to start to slide. I am thinking that the plate might not be flat enough or maybe my holes are not 100% lined up. Is this OK or are my bearings going to wear out in a week?