badbert
07-17-2012, 04:18 PM
I bought Bucky used. So I did not know anything about CNC routers. I thought those rumbly growly noises were normal when moving the trucks. I thought that sticky spot was normal. The other day I was routing a board and noticed that the flex shaft was getting super hot! So I aborted and decided to remove and Lube it for the first time... It was stuck pretty hard in the QC so I gave it a yank. I cleaned lubed and wiped it down reassembled it restarted the carve. Z-Stall error. I moved the z-truck only to find that the sticky spot had become much worse. There must of been teeth broken off already, and when I yanked I broke a few more... On the Z gear/pulley. So I ordered two @ $6 a piece. While chatting with Floyd he told me to check the Z motor screws... They were loose! So I remembered that the Y truck had a sticky spot as well... it had two teeth missing too AND the motor was loose too! So I replaced both pulleys. While I had the Z-truck off, the rails fell down under the belts. So I disassembled the X drive too. The rails were "Gritty", and I noticed that the bearing surfaces that ride on the rails, had a brownish tint to them. RUST! That was why the Flex was stuck, and both the z and y rails were rusty. So I used some 000 steel wool, and some Mother's Carnuba wax. Polished them up and reassembled. After giving the machine a thorough cleaning.
SO the point to this story, is anyone who has experience, would have known something was wrong with the "Gritty" movements. I do now. And if your Z and X movements are not smooth and silky, you have a problem. I can't get over how smooth they all move now! Without this site I would never had the courage to tackle it, but with the wealth of knowledge here, it was quick and painless! Thank you to everyone who contributes to this site!
And thanks to Floyd for giving me the heads up, on the loose motors, and using Blue loc-tite to re-secure them!
SO the point to this story, is anyone who has experience, would have known something was wrong with the "Gritty" movements. I do now. And if your Z and X movements are not smooth and silky, you have a problem. I can't get over how smooth they all move now! Without this site I would never had the courage to tackle it, but with the wealth of knowledge here, it was quick and painless! Thank you to everyone who contributes to this site!
And thanks to Floyd for giving me the heads up, on the loose motors, and using Blue loc-tite to re-secure them!