begat had provided a link to a linear bearing set up in a recent thread and i thought i would share a system that i am seriously considering as an upgrade to my extended bed machine...there is a you tube video ...........http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKjPfyuxCXg ...........which shows a low profile linear bearing system that is very compact...has a load capacity of 110 lbs...aluminum and steel construction...built in adjustment capability to pre-load the bearings...and sealed bearings... there web site is also very detailed and informative.............http://www.pbclinear.com/UGA-Low-Profile-Uni-Guide-Linear-Slide ....... basically, as i have laid out the install, their rail(which is only 1 7/16" wide), would mount on top of the legacy rail using the legacy sliding t-nut pieces...their carriage is only 3" deep(front to back on the legacy) X 3 1/2" wide(left to right)...each carriage has 4 ball bearings, for a total of 16(total of 4 carriages)...there is a chance that the rail could be mounted slightly off center on top of the legacy rail,cut the carriage a bit to reduce the depth and you would possibly not need to modify the legacy, z-axis base...a couple of screws to attach the z-axis to the top of the carriages and you are done...the rail and carriage would only raise the z-axis 3/4", so a simple re-mount of the legacy split nut is all that is needed...seems simple enough with very little modification to the the legacy...i have requested a sample of the rail and one carriage which the company was kind enough to send me at no charge( i believe the do this for any potential customer, so send them a request and they will send you a free sample).........now the fun part... what does it cost?...carriages are $150.00 each, so that is a total of $600.00...the rail comes in 10 ft. lengths and costs $262.00 per length...so if you doing a 5ft, machine one length will do...anything longer and you need to buy two lengths...so a 1500 legacy would be in the range of $1200.00 to do this upgrade...worth it?...i would think so, especially if the install is as easy as i might have laid out...i might have some concerns when doing twist work on longer capacity legacy machines(especially mine!), the friction and drag the carriage will cause( from those black "top hats") could put a lot of stress on the headstock gears, the gear motor, lead screw bearings and other parts...and also the chance of the the carriage "chattering" is a big concern as well...but the bearing install would moslt likely eliminate any chattering...i would think this eliminates the need for any dyna glide or other lubricant sprayed on the rails...i get my sample next week and i'll know more after doing a mock up...anyone out there have any opinions or suggestions...all would be appreciated...thanks...joe
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