It's about damn time.
Over the weekend I did some testing and tuning using only the x and y axises and a sharpie mounted in the router.
As you can see, with the first run (at the bottom), it started off pretty good, but as it progressed the x axis kept slipping. The problem was that since the set screw in the drive sprocket was so small (#8, no head), I couldn't really torque it down tight enough without stripping the socket and/or allen wrench. Thankfully my friend Calvin was around, and offered me a couple socket-headed screws that took a much larger allen wrench, allowing me to apply plenty of torque. While the larger heads did rub the chain, a little quick grinding with my dremel took care of that. As you can see, the final test showed no slippage at all.
Another mod I implemented at the suggestion of others was the addition of two brackets to help support the x axis drive shafts:
We had noticed that when the drive chains were tightened, it would cause the 1/4" drive shafts to flex. To counteract this, Jeff designed and milled out several pieces of MDF to hold an additional bearing for each drive shaft. This way, the shaft would be supported on either side of the drive sprocket, taking most of the lateral tension off the sprocket. They work great.
Off to finish the machine!
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