Hi All
is it normal to see scuff marks from the rollers on the gantry rails? not that deep and not under every roller…before I start adjusting rollers and fouling things up
tnx, Mike, K1FNX near Boston
Yes. It is pretty common. If they are really appearing to give resistance or irregular movement to rolling of the gantry you might consider smoothing the tops of the rails with something like this:
That is a suggestion from @toolboy who says it keeps his rails in good shape.
If you are not seeing any effects on movement of the rail, I would be cautious so as to not make things worse such as an uneven surface. You might try an extra-fine synthetic “steel wool”. Automotive part stores with paint supplies sell it for body work and/or you might find it at home improvement stores. Use with a wood block to get a flat contact with the rail. If necessary you could lubricate with WD-40 and then wipe clean.
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G/M Jim
tnx for the reply and info, I feel better in that its is common. I have cleaned the rails by hand with Scotch Brite and lubed them with WD 40, will research the power tool. Generally I stay away from that kind of thing which can be too aggressive…
tnx agn
73
Mike
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There is no way to avoid them. I used to stress out how dirty and sticky the rails got. It is a frugal exercise. I clean them with WD40 and move on.
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TNX John…what everyone says…glad it’s just not me…
73 & stay cool
Mike
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Hello @mikep, it’s normal for the gantry rails to get markings where the bearings sit along the gantry rails. As long as there aren’t any visual impacts of the bearings digging into the gantry rails, this is within normal operating specs of the Crossfire.
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Hi Alex
tnx for the comeback…I can buff most of the marks off with some fine Scotch Brite but you can feel some ridges…will work opn agn and see what I see. I guess it’s possible the rollers aren’t “rolling” but dragging…the machine works great…we don’t use it that much and we aren’t that fussy…nothing we are selling…
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@mikep It’s possible that the bearings are not calibrated for the rail. Are you able to spin them freely with your thumb or do they not move at all? They should be fairly snug, but not too tight to where the gantry carriage would drag along the rail. Is this along the X or Y Axis?
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a couple spin freely but most don’t… marks are mostly on the Y (long) rail where all the weight is as the X rail is just cantilevered on the Crossfire (small original) table…maybe things need to be adjusted?..why I was asking the question
73 & tnx
MikeP
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Ok, I know I’m an old fart, but what does 73 mean in layman’s terms? 
I know 73 means goodbye or best regards in Ham radio terms. Is that the answer?
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correct…or QSL…
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Damnit Bigdaddy2166. I have a wealth of useless information in my memory banks.
ain’t useless if you are a ham! I sign everything with 73…quick, easy, un offensive (unlike me!)
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I need two!
Seth
If you are referring to the conditioning tool, I agree. It is a touch tedious changing the grit drums. I actually bought three of them so I could have a different grit on each of them.
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I have the Bauer one and I super glued the keyways to the shaft. There is no reason for them to be loose and falling out when you change the drum.
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Yep…I was referring to the drum rollers with grit/conditioning tool. I have a normal angle grinder only, i.e. 90 degrees depending on the angle. anyway, as new as I am currently to the world of plasma in general, I have not seen a drum roller like the one photographed in the picture.
Odd? Maybe but now I know!
Seth
P.S. Thank you for the heads up…
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It is a Harbor freight tool. I got it on sale. I joined their “club” and each one was just over $100 and came with three grit drums. Singly, those three drums cost about $100.
So as it turned out, I got the tools for “free,” plus 3 drums of each grit for $300.
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