As part of adding a ball bearing and more travel to my cross slide I
removed the cross slide lead screw. I noted a sludge on the lead
screw which looks like powdered brass mixed with grease.
I suspect that the lead screw threads were simply cut and not
polished. The surface finish on the lead screw seems to be chewing
away on the soft brass and this process will probably continue since
the brass won't polish the roughness off the steel. While this is not
unexpected given the difference in hardness, the amount of sludge
indicates a lot of wear in a few months of use.
I'm considering chucking this lead screw (from the knob end) and
spinning it while using very fine sandpaper pressed into the threads
with my fingernails - this is the way I often polish threads that I
cut since they usually seem a little rough unless this is done.
Is polishing the lead screw a good thing to attempt? Is there a
better way of polishing the lead screw? Is there a better way of
reducing wear to the brass nut? Any references to articles on the net
addressing this?
John
