Mini Lathe Carriage Gibs and Travel Handle Improvement

**jjr2001** · Jan 18, 2018, 07:42 AM

Similar to other mods of the Mini Lathe carriage gibs. I used 3/4" wide by 5/16" thick brass stock 6" long
to make the new gibs. Simple attachment using the original retaining bolts. I machined them to be undersize
and then used brass shim stock to get the proper fit with the screws snugged up. I have adjusted them once
since installing them. (about 2 years). All that was needed was to increase the tightness of the bolts.
With the added 2 inches in length over the standard gibs the carriage is less likely to lift or tilt. So far I like the
mod and find that my carriage is much more rigid than before the mod.
I still have to remove the carriage to adjust them but that is an easy process.

The carriage Handle: Previously I had replaced the plastic handle with steel which was nice but now, same as before but worse, the off balanced handle would cause a "jump" in the carriage travel when using the lead screw to move the carriage. This causes a flaw in the finish as the part is turned. To prevent this I added another steel handle to balance the first one and now the carriage moves smoothly. I like the extra handle for control of the carriage. My finish is now much better than it was prior to the mod.

Cheers, JR

**DIYer** · Jan 23, 2018, 05:57 AM

Thanks jjr2001! We've added your Mini Lathe Carriage Gibs to our Lathe Accessories category,
as well as to your builder page: jjr2001's Homemade Tools. Your receipt:

Mini Lathe Carriage Gibs by jjr2001

tags: lathe

**DIYer** · Jan 23, 2018, 06:00 AM

Thanks jjr2001! We've added your Lathe Travel Handle Improvement to our Lathe Accessories category,
as well as to your builder page: jjr2001's Homemade Tools. Your receipt:

Lathe Travel Handle Improvement by jjr2001

tags: lathe, handle

**old_toolmaker** · Feb 26, 2020, 05:56 PM

jjr,

Nice work on the minilathe gibs! I especially like the balanced carriage hand wheel!
Thanks for posting this mod!

**jjr2001** · Feb 26, 2020, 06:22 PM

Thanks Dick, it works great and gets used a lot. Smoother than the single handle when I want to go faster than lead screw feed. The lead screw handle still gets used for most turning since it keeps my hand and arm out of the "Hot chip range" plus it has a graduated dial on it.

Cheers, JR