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I got a bit done today.

Screw and nuts sorted.

I'm going to mount the motor to the Z plate, and was looking at the space I had to mount the nut(s) for the allthread screw.

I have just enough room for the nut, but not much more. so this ruled out a nut surround.

My 1st thought was to weld the nuts to a small bit of 1" x 1/8" flat bar, but my welder is well packed in under a load of "stuff" in the corner of the shop. So I'm wondering how to hold the nuts in posistion without using any space around them. The nuts are quite meaty, so I had the idea to drill and tap through the side of the nut, and hold it in place with a bolt, through the bottom of the bearing carriage . I didn't know if it would work, or what the nuts were made of ? could I drill them ? would they be too hard ?

Anyway, it seemed to work OK. I tried a bit of spray can to mark the bolt that protruded through, but it didn't stay on when I removed it, so a bit of fussing, and I had the bolt ground down to the correct length where they wont foul the leadscrew, but have maximum purchase on the nuts.
I didn't really take the time to have the nuts alighned, instead, I left them slightly loose, threaded the leadscrew through both, set the leadcrew in the correct posistion and 5 min epoxy'd the nuts in place. once that had set, I tighten the bolts that hold the nut. Time will tell, but I see this as a temporary setup until I get a better screw and antibacklash nut.

So, onto the screw. I wasn't sure how the end should be, so I made it look like pictures I'd seen on here and online CNC shops.

It's the 1st time I've used a lathe, so was happy how it came out.

It's M12 allthread rod, skate bearing, M8 nut, and 1/4" coupling bit on the end.

The lathe cost me about £100 UK pounds and is about 100 yrs+ old !
I think it will pay for itself very quickly :)

So, I still have the bearing blocks and couplings to make, they'll be next.

Still not cutting, but getting there ! It seems to be taking longer to make the Z than the rest put together ...
















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