Lathe Cross Slide Problem

[EdK]

The .008" shim didn't do the job. The total travel on the cross slide is about 7" and with it cranked all the way towards the back of the lathe I can bring it forward with both screws tightened and it moves nice and smooth. Once I get to about the 4" spot it starts to bind. The binding seems to be at the same spot on the hand crank but the closer I crank it towards me the more it starts to bind overall. I can loosen the two screws slightly and it will be smooth sailing. This is getting frustrating but maybe I just need to keep going up in shim thickness and see if I can ever get smooth travel throughout the entire length. I'm taking a break from it for now.

Oh, and the scrapping sound went away when I added the .008" shim. I'm guessing it wasn't a scrapping sound but more of a binding sound because I never did find any scratch marks on the nut.

Ed