Small restore job on my Holbrook H20

[fizzy]

If the bearings are good and you're happy with evrything else, just make a spacer washer the right thickness to take up the lash.

Put the nut on with a washer under it. make sure the hole is lined up. Fit the cross-slide up and use a dial gauge to measure the lash in the assembly by pushing and pulling on the cross slide. Measure the washer you used, add that thickness to the amount of lash you measured and then part off a new washer to that dimension. You should be able to now fit the nut on and tighten it up nicely so the locking pit will fit.

Definitely sounds like the best option.
Maybe the movement on that threaded stub is intentional? Seems like a lot of effort to go to if they were just going to stick something undersized in the hole. It would have been very simple to make a tight push fit with no movement.

 

[Pete.]

No, those bearings should be securely held on the screw. Any movement is directly translated into cross slide backlash. My Monarch has the same setup. Could be that someone has found that the slide binds due to wear and this is their work-around, to wind the slide fully in then tighten the nut.

 

[fizzy]

No, those bearings should be securely held on the screw. Any movement is directly translated into cross slide backlash. My Monarch has the same setup. Could be that someone has found that the slide binds due to wear and this is their work-around, to wind the slide fully in then tighten the nut.

Luckily there seems to be very little wear on the cross slide. I have adjusted the gib and sliding the cross slide back and forth by hand it is great apart from the final 1.5" of travel when it gets tight. Can't see I would ever need that last 1.5" as it is way past the centre line.
The backlash in the slide is end float basically and those 2 bearings don't move in and out at all. I think the big threaded nut needs to be screwed into the housing further or another washer/spacer placed between it and the bearings - if I can get the bearings off of course

 

[Pete.]

Luckily there seems to be very little wear on the cross slide. I have adjusted the gib and sliding the cross slide back and forth by hand it is great apart from the final 1.5" of travel when it gets tight. Can't see I would ever need that last 1.5" as it is way past the centre line.
The backlash in the slide is end float basically and those 2 bearings don't move in and out at all. I think the big threaded nut needs to be screwed into the housing further or another washer/spacer placed between it and the bearings - if I can get the bearings off of course

That's right the bearings don't move (actually it does move with the taper attachment shoe), but the screw moves with the cross slide (not in use, but in your pic). If the screw can travel through the bearing, which it will if that holding nut doesn't pull up tight, that will be shown as backlash in the cross slide dial.

Of course, another good option would be to put a nyoc/metalock nut on the screw. That way you don't need to mess with spaces or cross-drilled pins. Make sure that any washer or spacer under that nut is not big enough to touch the bearing outer races.

 

[fizzy]

That's right the bearings don't move (actually it does move with the taper attachment shoe), but the screw moves with the cross slide (not in use, but in your pic). If the screw can travel through the bearing, which it will if that holding nut doesn't pull up tight, that will be shown as backlash in the cross slide dial.

Of course, another good option would be to put a nyoc/metalock nut on the screw. That way you don't need to mess with spaces or cross-drilled pins. Make sure that any washer or spacer under that nut is not big enough to touch the bearing outer races.

Great idea would be much easier.
Flipping butchers whoever they were