Patent ID: 7673662

Claim:
A machine tool guide for moving a surfacing tool over a substantial surface of a work piece, said machine tool guide adapted for positioning over the work piece, said guide comprising: two horizontal spaced apart guide rails, a gantry adapted for linear travel in an X-axis along said guide rails, said gantry including a gantry rail adapted to bridge said spaced apart guide rails, and a pair of gantry arms fitted to either end of said gantry rail, each gantry arm having a gantry foot for co-operating with a respective said guide rail, and a gantry mount for fitting a tool drive to said gantry for lateral movement along a length of said gantry along a Y-axis, said gantry mount including a vertical Z-axis height adjustment face plate for mounting said tool drive, wherein fitting of said gantry rail to said guide rails is adjustable about said X-axis and fitting of said tool drive to said gantry mount is adjustable about said Y-axis such that a cutting face of a tool fitted to said tool drive can be adjusted to correspond to a surface of a planar face of said work piece without the need to clamp said work piece to said guide, wherein said gantry mount includes a cross travel control and a calibrated gantry rail track adapted to assist in manual control of said gantry, said cross travel control comprising a moveable locking pin slidably fitted to said gantry mount for movement between an unlocked position clear of said calibrated gantry rail track and a locking position adapted to co-operate with said calibrated gantry rail track for releasably locking said gantry mount incrementally along the length of said gantry.