Boxford cross slide

[Vexis]

hi there, has any body had experience of Boxford inter changeability ,I have an old Boxford AUD 1967 with a cross slide that has a casting on the rear side,I was trying to fix a mill attachment with Tee bolts but can't.
Got me thinking ,Ive seen a 5" AUD machine with a cross slide that has Slots on the back instead and heard that most of Boxfords parts are the same .Would it be possible to inter change for a later version with Slots if I could find one ,would be a lot easier and secure using a mount as such ?
Just a thought Ta

 

[Pete.]

AFAIK they should swap, but you might need to do a bit of fitting. An easy way to tell if it's likely is to measure across the widest part of the dovetail vees and ask the seller to do the same. If the measurements are close, it'll fit.

 

[Brad93]

Bear in mind that two lathes won't wear the same and as such a new cross slide may not mate correctly or hold the correct geometry when fitted to your lathe.

 

[Vexis]

yes I suspect there will be some califudging involved in changing over .Boxford apparently were know for their models to be based on the same design and universal as possible .to cut down on their machine production costs I guess

 

[Gavlar]

Having bought, repaired, parted out and sold many Boxfords, I can confirm that a cross slide from any of the 3656 range of lathes will fit any other lathe in the range. It matters not what the model or age of the machine is. The dovetails on the saddle are all the same.

 

[Gavlar]

Just a thought. The proper Boxford milling attachment has a circular dovetail base and is fitted to the cross slide in place of the top slide. Tee slot cross slides appear on ebay from time to time but you might have to wait a while for one and pay £170 - £220. An option might be to simply turn a base for your milling attachment, using the top slide as a pattern.

 

[Vexis]

thanks for the reply ,I have a Myford milling angle attachment with two swivels on,I have turned a small boss to fit like you said in the top slide hole.
I had seen a mk5 AUD with the slots on recently and thought it might be more useful than machining bosses for any item I needed to fix to.
I guess like all things the cost has risen and a cheaper option is as you say turn an adapter boss for all.
I had heard most of the Boxford parts are a common theme wasn't sure if the later ones were some how modified .
I suspect a slotted slide will be a premium item as would have to be off a broken machine. food for thought tho thanks
The Myford attachment fits good and works well too.

 

[Arc Tourist]

Just a thought. The proper Boxford milling attachment has a circular dovetail base and is fitted to the cross slide in place of the top slide. Tee slot cross slides appear on ebay from time to time but you might have to wait a while for one and pay £170 - £220. An option might be to simply turn a base for your milling attachment, using the top slide as a pattern.

Here is a photo of the the Boxford circular dovetail base attached to the cross slide, and one of the milling attachment.
On a side note: The added elevation of the base, was the perfect height to use with my " larger " BXA size tool post holder.

 

[Vexis]

today I bit the bullet and found a New Cross slide to me 2nd hand,
Fit really easy and works well . I now have slots for attachments and my mill table to fix to.
All straight forward really, the only thing I found was the stamped degree markings on the new slide are more a complete circle as my old one was centred from the middle.
the new one reads 25 degs to get my top slide centred.
not a problem really.

Ive been playing around with a DRO a Chinglish one, Looks very good and would work ,Ive tried mounting in various positions but the slides are neat and clean but too large to tuck in to the Boxford easily , my bed lock on the saddle being a big problem as its almost too snug once fitted.

Beginning to think, I'll give it a miss and use,( as it was intended) for what advantage it would give me if the fitting turned out to be neat and versatile.
Shame as for the money it is really well made as a unit ,and would be cumbersome on the Boxford.
Any one else had success with theirs?

 

[123hotchef]

today I bit the bullet and found a New Cross slide to me 2nd hand,
Fit really easy and works well . I now have slots for attachments and my mill table to fix to.
All straight forward really, the only thing I found was the stamped degree markings on the new slide are more a complete circle as my old one was centred from the middle.
the new one reads 25 degs to get my top slide centred.
not a problem really.

Ive been playing around with a DRO a Chinglish one, Looks very good and would work ,Ive tried mounting in various positions but the slides are neat and clean but too large to tuck in to the Boxford easily , my bed lock on the saddle being a big problem as its almost too snug once fitted.

Beginning to think, I'll give it a miss and use,( as it was intended) for what advantage it would give me if the fitting turned out to be neat and versatile.
Shame as for the money it is really well made as a unit ,and would be cumbersome on the Boxford.
Any one else had success with theirs?

@Seadog has a dro on his boxford. Its on my to do list

 

[Seadog]

You won't regret it.
I had a piece of aluminium extrusion of roughly the right shape.
I squared the end of cross slide, drilled and fixed the extrusion, then machined a slot to accept the magnetic tape.
The read head is mounted on part of the TTA which is permanently bolted to the carriage: A) because it's nicely aligned, and B} because I want to be able to fix the TTA quickly. (Note: The read head is pictured before I'd set the position.)

 

[Vexis]

What type of DRO did you fit? How did you mount the Slides on the short top slide/saddle?
Did you have enough clearance to lock the saddle to the bed still ?
Ive thought of all sorts of ways to mount it but clearance was a prob.
I keep getting it out the box scratch my head and it usually ends up back in the box too.
This new to me cross slide is a bonus as it has a load more meat to fix to with the slots in it a lot beefier casting altogether

 

[Seadog]

EMS-i (now AMTS NW Ltd.)
Read my description in conjunction with the images.

Here's a couple more

 

[Vexis]

You won't regret it.
I had a piece of aluminium extrusion of roughly the right shape.
I squared the end of cross slide, drilled and fixed the extrusion, then machined a slot to accept the magnetic tape.
The read head is mounted on part of the TTA which is permanently bolted to the carriage: A) because it's nicely aligned, and B} because I want to be able to fix the TTA quickly. (Note: The read head is pictured before I'd set the position.)


View attachment 406765View attachment 406766

EMS-i (now AMTS NW Ltd.)
Read my description in conjunction with the images.

Here's a couple more

View attachment 406767View attachment 406768

What type of Boxford is that on ?Great idea extending the rear of the cross slide too ,What is the casting at the rear? Haven't seen one before like that ,but mines an AUD standard .Whatb would that casting be used for normally or was it an add on? Defiantly food for thought some thing at the rear tho ,thanks
i

 

[Seadog]

Mines an AUD. As I said, it's a piece of aluminium extrusion that I bought from the scrap yard because it looked as though it might come in handy. It did, 6 years down the line. Most people machine a T-piece from solid block.

As I said in the post, it's from my TTA, and guides the taper adjustment assembly.

 

[Vexis]

Mines an AUD. As I said, it's a piece of aluminium extrusion that I bought from the scrap yard because it looked as though it might come in handy. It did, 6 years down the line. Most people machine a T-piece from solid block.

As I said in the post, it's from my TTA, and guides the taper adjustment assembly.

Got me thinking about using the area at the rear of the slide now , thats great thanks for the pics . Food for thought .