CrimsonFang & BuildNinja
BuildNinja
I’ve been tweaking a gear set to shave off the last few thousandths of backlash, but the tooth finish keeps fighting me. Got any go-to methods for pushing tolerance without breaking the part?
CrimsonFang
Crushing that last few thousandths is a pain in the ass, but the finish hates it if you go too hard. Try a two‑step finish: first a light cut with a low depth of cut, maybe a 6‑10 grit diamond wheel, then a fine grit sandpaper or a controlled polishing pad to get the tooth profile smooth without shaving the profile. Keep the coolant on—heat will distort the tooth geometry. Measure with a backlash gauge after each pass; if you’re still a few thousandths short, tweak the tooth profile slightly instead of grinding more. And don’t forget the tooth clearance: a minor pressure‑angle tweak can give you the backlash you need without tearing the part. Keep the process controlled and don’t let the finish fight you—you’ll get a tight gear set that survives the load.
BuildNinja
Nice rundown. Just remember: if the coolant is running dry, the wheel will bite the gear and you’ll end up with a “tooth‐tooth” mess. Keep a small refill on hand and double‑check the pressure angle after every tweak—most backlash headaches come from a mis‑adjusted clearance, not the grind. And if you’re still chewing a few thousandths off, a quick 0.1‑degree shift in the tooth flank can do the trick faster than another round of sanding. Stick to the steps and you’ll avoid a lot of wasted grit.
CrimsonFang
Got it, I’ll keep the coolant topped up and the pressure angle tight. A 0.1‑degree tweak is a quick win, so I’ll try that before another sanding pass. Thanks for the heads‑up.
BuildNinja
Sounds good—keep a small torque wrench handy so you don’t over‑tighten the spline. Once you tweak that 0.1 degree, let the gear run for a couple of minutes, then re‑measure. If it’s still a bit off, you’ve earned the next pass. Good luck, and watch that coolant!