PM1340 adjustments

[itchyTF]

The manual’s pictures don’t seem to match the machine. Where are the adjustment screws located for cross slide slop? Is there a cross slide lock?

What are these 3 in the center for -

 

[WSnyder]

The 3 in the center appear to be your cross slide nut adjustment. It looks the same as on many lathes.

Cross slide slop? I assume you want to adjust the gibb. They are typically located linearly along one of the sides of the cross slide. Typically small setscrews and often have a lock nut to secure the setscrew once adjusted. Some lathes like a Nardini have a single gibb adjustment seen as a large machine screw head located at the front of the cross slide.

Most lathes do not have a cross slide lock. If you want to lock it down for some reason you can typically tighten one of the gibb adjustment screws. This is more commonly used to lock down the compound rather than the cross but it would still work the same.

Edit: Did some of your homework for you. There is a manual on the PM website that seems to match your lathe. In it are pictures of your gibb adj screws and the lock screws. You'll probably find the rest of your answers in that manual.

 

[xr650rRider]

The cross slide lock is unfortunately inaccessible under the cover for your DRO. Most people rather than putting the read head on stand-offs opt for a friction lock on chuck side, bolts on where follow rest would reside. It's what I did and I like it.
PM-1340GT cross slide lock

 

[itchyTF]

The manual online looks better than the one that came with the lathe. The large cap screw connects the cross slide to the nut but am still unsure about the other two. All 3 have an effect on the stiffness of the hand wheel. My assumption is the ones on either side affect a rocking motion or to keep the nut parallel to the lead screw. If so, are they adjusted strictly by feel or is there some “scientific” way to do it?

 

[xr650rRider]

Those should be tight. Mine are still tight from the factory.

 

[WSnyder]

The manual online looks better than the one that came with the lathe. The large cap screw connects the cross slide to the nut but am still unsure about the other two. All 3 have an effect on the stiffness of the hand wheel. My assumption is the ones on either side affect a rocking motion or to keep the nut parallel to the lead screw. If so, are they adjusted strictly by feel or is there some “scientific” way to do it?

Adjust by feel. Center is used to adjust for height of nut, outboard are to adjust tilt (backlash). All three will work in concert with each other.

 

[xr650rRider]

Here is bottom of cross slide and you can see where boss has been tightened down on half-nut as well as the set screws. Do what you want but I'll tighten center, then snug up the set screws on mine.

 

[itchyTF]

I have found adjusting it a pita. If the center screw is tight without any influence from the other 2 the cross slide is tight. OK, backoff the center screw and fiddle with the other 2. I'd get it so the travel was smooth most of the way but would get snug toward one end or the other. Back & forth, back & forth, tweak this and tweak that. I think I got it about as good as I can or as much as my patience will allow. Although it still drags slightly at one end. Was wondering if there might be some crud on the lead screw. Machine has not been used much so I would be surprised if there was. Everything was smooth before I messed with it. My original intention was to adjust the backlash.

Another thing I thought odd. The oiler near the cross slide handle oozes grease.

 

[xr650rRider]

Have you read the manual? Look at page 30 under "CROSS-SLIDE & COMPOUND BACKLASH" It tells you in there how to adjust backlash via the adjustment on front of handle. That socket head at back of split nut will also allow backlash adjustment but too tight and it will wear prematurely. I'd be adjusting gibs for smooth movement across the entire travel range and those split nut screws are not it. Since you still have the way cover on front, I doubt you've done that.

 

[B Nettesheim]

Learning from my Dad who is a retired machine rebuilder do not adjust everything tight, you will accomplish almost nothing in doing so. You want some “area” for oil.
When doing any turning operations you are going to back off your tool from the part anyway and traveling back to it in turn removing the backlash from the equation.
“You don’t want to squeeze the juice out of it” is one of his lines.

 

[xr650rRider]

Ben Franklin put 1 teaspoon of oil on a pond and on a calm day, it covered approximately 21,780 square feet. So how much area you need for oil? Given time, no emulsification, no capillary effects, oil will thin to 1 molecule thick.

 

[hoz53]

The manual’s pictures don’t seem to match the machine. Where are the adjustment screws located for cross slide slop? Is there a cross slide lock?

What are these 3 in the center for -
View attachment 1271882

and check out the way the quick change gears are lubrucated-mine is not adequate-- you can find fixes people have done online. i just left the plate off and squirt some lube in there once and awhile

 

[itchyTF]

and check out the way the quick change gears are lubrucated-mine is not adequate-- you can find fixes people have done online. i just left the plate off and squirt some lube in there once and awhile

Saw some of the fixes. Looks like another project coming!

 

[itchyTF]

Since you still have the way cover on front, I doubt you've done that.

Gib was adjusted.

 

[hoz53]

Saw some of the fixes. Looks like another project coming!

wasnt sure if u knew

 

[Clark]

This is a 10 year old PM1236.
I just leave an Allen wrench in position. This is not locked. 90 degrees clockwise is locked.

Note how I have drilled and taped and moved the DRO forward, so the cross slide hits the back splash guard before the DRO glass scale breaks.