Colchester student cross slide back lash adjust

[Simon Page 1Participant @simonpage1]

Hi All.

How do I dial out the back lash on my Colcester student cross slide back lash please.

Many thanks.

[Simon Page 1Participant @simonpage1]

[Chris CrewParticipant @chriscrew66644]

I have a Student too, but not sure that I understand what you mean by 'dial out' backlash. A lathe of any age will have backlash due to the wear in the screw and nut. This shouldn't be too much of a problem as the reactive force of the cutting action will push everything back against the screw and if you are using a rear tool-post for parting-off you will be pulling against the wear in the screw to keep the tool cutting. Perhaps I am mis-understanding your problem?

[BazyleParticipant @bazyle]

Some lathes have a split nut or some such for adjustment. There are of course many different models of the Student so it could be different on each one, if provided. See if you can find a manual or do a search for the appropriate cross slide nut which will show if it is adjustable.

[Simon Page 1Participant @simonpage1]

Hi. Thanks. I'm not very experienced but I get by. If I just need to live with the back lash, that's fine. I just wasn't sure.

[Taf_PembsParticipant @taf_pembs]

Hi Simon,

Yes, as has been said it is just wear in the cross slide nut and screw. The Student has a fixed nut, not a split nut so without replacing the nut and screw there is no way to get rid of the backlash.

There are a few vids on the interweb of people making new nuts and also people making split nuts for them to compensate for wear, nice little project.

Mine has a fair but of backlash in the cross slide (the oiler was blocked when I got it) so I put up with a bit but it is nothing you dont get used to.. I might get round to sorting it one day..

[Ady1Participant @ady1]

A DRO eliminates the complications of backlash on an old lathe

You can get a cheap version to experiment with, also means you can do metric on an imperial lathe, I've found them good to 100th of a mm. Don't bother trying with a digital caliper, for some reason they are useless for DRO work.

The DRO also helps you to see "tight spots" appearing on a grubby cross slide which needs a clean

[not done it yetParticipant @notdoneityet]

Back-lash on a lathe is generally only in one direction on each slide and is reasonably constant – unless the screw is worn in the most-used area, so not anywhere near as much of a nuisance as when using a mill. 10 thou (or 0.25mm) will still be 10 thou (or 0.25mm) extra cut when dialled in.

None of us (I hope) cut in both directions on a lathe, when approaching the finish size. Reducing back-lash is possible but generally doesn’t remove it completely. A new nut and feed screw would still exhibit some back-lash when made in metal. The machine doubtless arrived, new, with some back-lash.

[Simon Page 1Participant @simonpage1]

Many thanks to all. I will just work around it.

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