Question:
All the ballscrews I have seen seem to be expensive high precision units costing thousands of dollars. I have a machine that would benefit from fitting ball screws but it is not worth the high cost. Where can I obtain used ballscrews at a reasonable price or is there an alternative?

Answer
Everyone wants good used ballscrews and there are plenty out there - the only problem - the chances are that none of them will fit your machine, or even be worth while adapting to it. It is remarkable just how extensive the variations and permutations of ball screws there are. Even machinery manufacturers often use different styles of ball screw in the same model of machine. There is hope though. It is possible to purchase rolled ballscrew stock and nuts of various styles to fit, for a reasonable price. They are still not cheap but they are affordable for a machine that doesn't require super accuracy. You will have to machine the ends of the screw-stock to your specification and deign an adapter for the nut, but it may be worthwhile for you. You should be able to obtain rolled ball screw stock from your local bearing supply house.