So upgrading the thickness of the rods we were using made an amazing difference in the rigidity of the axis. The ¼ inch rods we were using tested fine with the smaller carcass – but introduced an exponential error with increasing length.
The other thing we are experimenting with is adding pillow blocks to reinforce the glue joints. It really secures the strengths of the joints and mating points of the different parts of the mill.
Mill update
The combination of the blocks and the thicker rods should really let us start working through testing all the other parts of the mill. Kind of excited.