Milling machine - video

[tonyfoale]

Part 18 Is it real upgrade or downgrade?

Those linear guideways surely are not as beefy as dovetails but I gained more precision in positioning I also could adjust squarness between all XY and XY plane and Z axis to satisfactory level.

It is an upgrade for sure, as long as the slides are sized appropriately.

I converted the cross slide on my lathe and it is great. One thing for you to consider. CNC machining is done differently from manual machining and CNC machines have turned towards linear slides. The difference is that CNC machines take lots of small cuts rather than the traditional hogging out manually. So the answer to "not as beefy as dovetails" is to take more, smaller and faster passes.

The "not as beefy as dovetails" issue was in my mind when I modified the lathe but it has turned out to be a non-issue. I can take hefty interrupted cuts just as much as I could with dovetails.

I do not have time right now but in a couple of month´s time I´ll have a look at following your example and convert the Y axis on my Bridgeport.