I was doing some lathe maintenance yesterday (20 year old H & F AL-300 owned since new); the top slide in bits to trace tightness especially at one end of travel; checking the associated gib for straightness - it was in a long 's' shape against a straight edge, with a tiny bend at one end; what surprised me was how incredibly easy it was to attempt to straighten it with just light finger pressure. Surely this is not normal? The gib appears to be of a cast material, the odd chipped edge showing a granular aspect. The working sides are a ground finish as you'd expect. I've had some issues with this item over the years.
I seem to recall that the Sheraton lathe that I restored a couple of years ago had gibs that were of a harder almost spring-like steel.
Any thoughts gents?


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