Improving the Length of Travel on the Vevor Mill Table 

Mark, stainless steel is notorious for gaulding. I used to work with a company that used stainless a lot, and everyone in maintenance had trouble with it, especially when using other metals with it. BTW, GREAT VIDEO! I have learned a lot from you over the years. THANKS!!!

Yes, at 74 I just finished building my 27 x50 x 1 1/2 story shop almost all by myself with little rented equipment. I find old injuries and energy have slowed me down a lot. I get a four hour day in now and that is about it. Fixing things seems to burn most of my time rather than fabricating! Everything has a history when you are looking behind as opposed to it is all new and fresh as you start out looking ahead. Have a good one.

i had the same problem with stainless screws on some gates under some grain bins. They has steel screws that rusted,i replaced them with stainless and ended up using brass nuts with them and it worked good. that was 3 years ago still work good.

Good timing. You should check out Matthiaswandel just did a video on this mill table showing how the leadscrews were so poorly machined that they weren't very accurate even after adjusting. I still like this table for what you pay for it. It's like you say it's more of a positioning table out of the box. A machining table with some work.

Hello sir, thank you for your quick and precise response. For my project I must have a stroke of 400mm. I am therefore going to move towards an alternative solution which only requires me to change the lead screw and its nut, I choose an m18×2. So I keep the flanges, the ball bearings, the slotted nuts and the steering wheels. I could therefore carry out all the machining operations on my lathe. I also have another problem which requires me to raise the cross table because my DRO on the Y axis does not pass between the base and the X screw. Thanks again for sharing the ideas, it was very useful to me. Best wishes. P.K.

Hello Winky, awesome modifications, thanks for sharing with your viewers, appreciated, cheers from me. 😷👍👍👍👍👍

I love the "I LIKE IT" sign. The paint being rough on the inside suits the sign like textured paint on machines. Nice job on the project. A LOT of work, but worth it in the end. Dave.

Drawings, please. I got one of those tables last year from Vevor and the holes in the Y piece you are making were off-center. I haven't used it yet. I need to make a new piece so your drawings will help. Stainless is a pain. It gauls easily and you gotta use anti-seize or lock-tight if you want to get it apart. Great job Mark.

Very interesting watch!

Yup! I like it too. 😀

I like it too...! Another great video, thanks.

Other than the castings you have built the whole thing yourself. Thanks for the video keep on keeping on.

Love the Troubleshooting! Way to Make It Work

Enjoyed!

I like it also, this is the second Vevor positioning table video of yours that I've watched, very engaging and informative. You've got a real talent for the story telling, narration and video editing also - I never find myself wishing you would hurry with an element as I do with some other videos. Excellent work as always thank you

This is the perfect excuse to design/build a power feed LOL

Its called (see wiki), gaulling means irritating, bothersome etc (see Mirium Webster) .. you can prevent spalling with antisieze (copper slip) grease or by using dissimilar grades say a 304 (A2) nut on a 316 (A1) thread ..beware there's also a difference in the finished OD, plated screws rod etc are cut undersized to give clearance for plating thickness, stainless is finished pretty much to size so the fit would be tighter.. Ive found spalling occurs most often with power driving fastners at speed, rapid doing up and undoing small nyloc nuts is almost guaranteed . Very good project, many thanks, cant help shouting out stepper motors to power drive or CNC ...

Great upgrade! To minimize the flex in the threaded rods and prevent future backlash, I would increase the size of the blocks on the underside of the X & Y tables.

The sign looks great with paint job.

Congratulations! I like it! 🇧🇷🇧🇷

Thanks for another amazing video.

Good video,Mark.I have the same table and the same probleme.I was not expecting so much work needed to modify it.Much better anyway.Thank you.

I like it !!

Nice upgrade Mark, enjoyed. 👍👍

Stainless steel nuts are always tapped oversize to stop them binding/galling on stainless steel bolts. That’s why they’re so expensive, and it’s why you had binding between the threaded rod and the mild steel nuts. Lack of clearance. Nothing to do with the metals being incompatible.(At least, that’s what the cranky old engineer who taught me said.)😃

Yes the Gaulding issue I agree especially on Boats where salt water is involved Bad News 😮

Stainless threads are not meant for continues motion they gall. Torque them down once and hope you never have to move them again.

Nice video! As you say " I like it ".

I used an M6 stainless all-thread in the compound slide of my little homemade lathe, BUT, I made a Brass nut for it to run in, no issues with it binding up 👍

Another useful improvement on the mill table. Fix or replace that wobbly hand wheel to while you’re at it.

Hi Mark, Non hardened steel will form fit the nut if it is a tight fit...stainless steel "work hardens" from rubbing on tight threads" and forms a tough gaul that won't conform to the nut.

BUEN TRABAJO AMIGO COMO SIEMPRE

I don't have a ton of experience with machine work, but I am considering doing a similar upgrade to my own compound table and I was planning on using Bronze as my lead nut and either Steel or Stainless as the material for the leadscrew. I am familiar with the costs involved, but the consensus points to using Bronze as the lead nut, due to the wear characteristics. Bronze appears to mate with steel very smoothly, and the bronze nut will wear out before the steel lead screw does. Since the nut is easier and cheaper to replace, a lot of machinery uses this mating tactic. Just my thoughts! I have also seen someone else install bearings behind the handwheels (my table is the palmgren type) which results in a very smooth action.

I’ve learned that any threaded stainless steel assembly needs anti seize applied liberally. Apparently the lower carbon content of SS increases friction between the molecules, or something. I’ve seen nuts being screwed off bolts seize up under no pressure.

I like it!😀

Hi Mark, I think that if you remove the X table standard locking nuts and skim the face square to the thread, that you will eliminate the handle wobble. Generally massed produced standard nuts, especially if they are Foreign made, the tapped hole is often not square to the faces. Pop a bolt in the chuck / collet, screw on the nut and face it, you will probably need to do both nuts on both sides. Are you going to replace the X scale now you have the extra 5 to 6 inches of travel ? Great outcome. Regards from Australia.

Thanks Winky, that is a great improvement. So you are using mild steel threaded rod on home made mild steel blocks. I guess for positioning that should be fine. Perhaps grease the with moly?

Dang, that is a sweet modification, kind of a fight but well worth it. Most don’t realize stainless typically is not as strong as steel. And stainless is very malleable compared to steel. So that may have some-thing to do with the problem in your application. I don’t like working with stainless because it is soooo “gummy”.

I have some suggestions for you to try on a couple of your issues. I think I commented on your last video to try soaking hot rolled mild steel in vinegar to remove the mill scale. I haven't tried this yet but a welder friend told me vinegar will also remove galvanizing from nuts and bolts prior to welding. I have seen this method also in some RU-vid videos. Another thing to remember is the vinegar can be reused. Don't use it once and throw it out. I have several different sized plastic tubs that I just put the lid on and stuff away until the next time I need it. Also, on the stainless steel, it seems stainless steel will gall with just about any dissimilar metal. If the threads gall and lock up you are pretty much screwed. I never use stainless steel fasteners without putting anti-seize on the threads even if the nuts and bolts are both stainless. Haven't had any seize since I started doing this. I have this same table on my drill press and have done the same mods as you. For now I'm going to leave the lead screw alone but I may do this mod in the future. Thanks for posting these videos. They are very helpful.

How about a longer piece of that galvanised tube to put your bearing close to the hand crank ? That would reduce your wobble. Mind you, did you notice the wobble in the Vevor setup ? That was 10 times worse.

Stainless is terrible about galling, especially soft stainless to stainless. It takes an interference fit to cause it, like a nick on a thread or just anything that gives you zero clearance in one spot. At least you didn't suffer thru the nightmare of not being able to get it back apart after it's stuck. Stainless threads need to be loose to keep you out of trouble, run a chasing die down the rod and I always put a little anti-seize on them. If it's a running thread, you can expect trouble down the road and you need to build in a way to get it apart. You can get some hardened stainless all thread that's better, but you're better off with carbon steel. I really like the bigger handles. It turned out nice. Now that you've got it working, toss out a comment if anyone has some ground all-thread to contribute and the size you want. People save that stuff for future projects just like you do and never use it.

Stainless seems to keep sharp peaks on the threads. It'll cut into unhardened steel. If you have to, knock the edge down a bit with a file.

It's a known characteristic of stainless that threads in it are prone to galling.

Hello and congratulations on this wonderful work accomplished which must interest many and encourage them to do the same. I am in this situation but as I do not understand English, I would like to know the diameter of the threaded rods that you have mounted in X and Y. Thank you in advance for your feedback. P.K. (French)

All stainless steel fastener websites should say that you should use lubricant on threads at all times but I assume you did that, so that is a bit odd that they would still bind. In my time, I've twisted M12 stainless bolts til they snap because a stainless Nyloc nut welded itself to the thread, same threading a bolt into aluminium castings. Once they have fused, you will definitely be binning one part or the other!!!

I’m talking about the gilding of the stainless steel lead screw he had a problem with.

Those magnetic dro scales are pretty cheap anymore. Have you ever thought about adding a long one to your saw fence? You could even use it for layout on your saw table with a few attachments.

That’s because stainless steel threads will cold weld itself to stainless steel threads if under pressure because the pressure case hardens the surface then shears off like a cheese grater allowing for tiny hooks that grab and lock them in place it will still do the same with steel threads against stainless steel threads but only the stainless steel will react but it can still lock up just not as much

As a fan of round numbers, I might have chosen 7/16-20 for the screw pitch. A little more granular and .050 per rev. Nice job though, thanks for sharing.

What kind of stainless did you order? Over the years I have found 316 to be a bit less of a problem for friction problems with different metals. Also when they galvanize they sometimes enlarge the threads to take the coating. If the threads mismatch they can start giving problems with repeated use. I know that I have had 1/2" 316 ss bolts gall so badly with 316 ss nuts that I had to cut them off after only a few months when I went to take them apart (they had galled at first threading, most likely). Seems like some batches are worse than others, yet they are all supposed to be 316 ss. Might be the chinese as well because I never had this problem back twenty five years or so and previous to that. Even 304 ss worked very well back then. I would like to hear what a metallurgist's assessment is. A drawing would be nice. I bought one of these tables when your first video modifying it came out but other things have put off my getting to it. Now I will do all the mods at the same time. Might have to add a DRO to the project. I am getting older but the lists just keep growing. Now it is a balancing act to see if I will live long enough to use all the projects!!

Try a touch of moly based lube (bite the bullet and buy the good studs) and the steel/stainless issue goes away.

Another great shop improvement. Please copy me on the drawings

I'm thinking about getting one of these tables, great improvement! Maybe I missed it, but what was the travel before and after your modifications?

What happened to the other table you had like this? Where you made new screws and dial and all that.. about a year ago??

Because stainless steel stretches when under pressure, once it bends it lockes up,why do i know this from experience.

Have you seen the video that Matthias Wandel did on this table?

where did the DRO come from...I have the Igaging ones which are similar but haven't seen these displays before

I just got done binging this table series this is awesome timing!

If you google stainless steel threads, you'll find that you should lubricate them first to stop them from galling. There is a nickle gel lube that they reccomend. Being in the comment section I can only tell you to look. As I don't want to fall foul of google's policies.

You have some very nice Craftsmanship . Do u have any intrested in converting a mill to Cnc or do u prefer manual machines.

The original leadscrew on your y axis had a left hand thread. This meant that both axes worked in the conventional direction (that's good), which is that clockwise turns on the feed handle move the work away from you. You seem to have used right handed thread on this axis which now means that it moves backwards. This is a recipe for disaster. I have used cheap x-y tables that actually come like like this, and I can tell you that it's not only bloody irritating, but one has to think very carefully each time the y axis is moved. I think you'll seriously regret that you didn't use LH studding the first time you bugger up a job by turning the handle the wrong way. Also, I don't understand why you got rid of the thrust bearings, and while you were at it, why didn't you make a split feed nut so you could adjust for backlash? BTW stainless galling is thought to be due to the nickel content. We used silver plating and graphite lube to prevent threads siezing in aqueous environments. There are anti-sieze agents available for fresh-air use if you must use ss.

Would it be possible to directly swap the stock lead screws for some quality SFU1604 or SFU1204 ball screws?

as others have already stated stainless steel is a terrible material for galling. It is useless for transit type threads or bushing/bearings or anything of that nature. It would be ok if acetal copolymer plastic or delrin leadscrew nuts were being used but put it through mild steel nuts or even stainless nuts and it will surface gall/tear and seize.

For large moves of the table you can use your cordless drill power feed 😂

If you wont too use stainless you Will need too use. Brass As a nut. stainless Will ruin all ohter Steel typs.

i have the same chinese table and the same problem too, and i had to modify the play on the axis too. chinese tools are worthless, you always have to modify everything. these tables aren't even finished, I had to drill holes to let the coolant out....plus I don't have a lathe or milling machine, so it's hard to do machining.

Its called Spalling - utube went and edited my initial comment !!

Nice improvment. Can you explain why you think it is not a milling table but a positioning table., do you think the border is not rigid enough, or what is the problem? Have seen this video( ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-k1iGxPwpzOc.html) it looks like it is milling okay?

Winky's,that is top recording- 🤗

You can use stainless but you need bronze nuts.

Probably you need to scrape the ways on the saddle and table. There is no parallelism and there is twist as well. I have two sets of the same model an scraped them using a granite surface plate. I changed the nuts and the screws with ACME, what come with it is crap.

Always learn something from Mr Winky's video.

I hope Vevor is taking notes. They should issue a Winky limited edition table based on your improvements with commission to Winky. 😃. The sign is great.