my first build

[Swarfing]

Sorry I totally missed the point of the cash flow issue and i can appreciate your position. I did explore the use of patio door rollers as slides. I buttered up a couple of window fitters to have a butchers at some old patio doors and i was pleasantly surprised at what i still believe to be a viable idea for a low budget machine? just a thought or you could just go for plain old Bronze bushes?

Paul

[wires]

that screw did turn out :heehee: good for you jonm, maybe i will tackle it myself.

as the design progresses i will be trying to source many of my parts localy. in doing that i will be visiting and looking for engineering supply shops. i have a few contacts who can advise me where to go. i think i will be beginning construction around end of january. that gives me plenty of time to go and see whats out there. i think its highly likely that i will find someone selling propper lead screws and some sort of propper linear bearings at a price right for me but at this stage i will not count on it.

i see your the point all of you make about getting the right stuff straight away but there are really two things stopping me from spending that sort of money right now...

*of course as mentioned there is the financial situation which is crap but there is no point crying about it. plenty of people in the same boat. the answer to that one is to just get on with it and dont let it get you down.

*more importantly is the fact that i dont yet fully realise the full potential of having a machine such as this and dont really know all the uses i will have for it and as such i dont want to buy expensive linear bearings only to find that i really need ones 200mm longer in the long run. i would rather build something cheap and then after using it decide if i need it more acurate or smaller or bigger...i do have the garage space to go for an 8' x 4' if i want.

i do have a quiet enough life, no kids yet, house is built and mostly finished so i can afford to spend a lot of time getting this finnished.

i promise there will be no more talk about budget or financial situation from now on. its depressing
you all know the brief at this stage. keep it simple, get it working and then with the experience of doing that decide if the specs are right for a better one.

does anyone have any ideas for coupling the motor to the screw? i see a lot of guys using propper couplers and some guys making their own.
where do you get your couplers?

i have been busy learning solidworks and trying to visualise my ideas, pretty cool bit of software. i will see if i can get the model finnished over next few days and get some pictures up.

cheers for all the help guys, i would be lost in design decisions without this forum.

[jonm]

v groove bearings on ebay 4 for £26