well sods law prevailed... I decided before I finally did the pour that it might be a good idea to check the tailstock to spindle relationship when the lathe was actually bolted down and level... well suffice to say the relationship was far from level in the horizontal plane and when the lathe was bolted down and the spindle actually level the good parallel I'd measured went out the window. Eventially after much measuring and cursing I discovered that the lathe bed is twisted and needed packing about 3mm on two opposite corners when I bolted it down. This means I will have to pour the bearing with the lathe bolted in place to the bench. Once bolted down and leveled I then found the saddle would stick badly at a couple of points so I removed all that and cleaned it up, refitted and readjusted the horizontal and vertical gib strips. I also tightened up the leadscrew preload to give 4thou clearance and discovered a hitherto unknown screw that tighens the clasp-nut onto the leadscrew, which allows a modicum of backlash removal. Now it all runs much smoother than before if somewhat slightly stiffer than I would like... taper now measures 0.04mm in 80mm but its more consistent and doesnt vary with saddle travel direction. I also discovered that the tailstock has an adjustment underneath so I'll take the final taper out once the lathe is up and running.

By the time I'd done that on Saturday there wasnt time to do much else and today was a washout (literally and metaphorically) as family things got in the way again...

Hopefully next weekend...