re:Ways, guides etc.

Tom,

What you appear to be asking for is called a dovetail slide. There
are people (mfr's) who make dovetail slides commercially in varying
degrees of accuracy and sizes. Sherline's industrial division is one.
Velmex???(from memory) is another. Try a web search on dovetail
slides. Use slides rather than slide so your search skips machine
descriptions...

As far as a machined "bar" with a dovetail angle, your best bet may
be a local machine shop.

Bishop-Wisecarver (and their european line HEPCO) are "sort of" like
what you describe. But this is barstock (hepco) or rails (B-W) with
TWO ground faces upon which ride specialised v-groove bearing wheels
to provide the motion. They have been used/ and are being used
suceesfully in many CNC apps. You can see them on the tool changer
slide of many VMCs.

Lastly, keep in mind that many of the most expensive machines use
flat, or "box" ways. These require more fitting to be accurate, but
involve only 90 degree angles. A solution with flat ground tool steel
and moglice may work well for you. (or without the moglice, it would
allow you to only need to get one half right, and the other part will
be cast to fit)

Hope this helps.

Ballendo

>I want to build a mechanism similar to an xy table, and need to get
>some rails (barstock with one side angled) to make some ways,
>similar to what is found on the cross slide of a lathe, or an Xy
>table. Can anyone tell me where I could purchase the metal so that
>I could simply bolt the rails to a flat piece of steel, insert a
>brass shim for adjusting width etc...

<snip>

>Tom