# Need to find or build a steady rest



## Investigator (Dec 18, 2017)

I have a 12" Logan 2537 turret lathe.  I don't have a steady rest for it, and I have a need for one.  I have found expensive examples on Ebay, and honestly don't want to pay that much if I can help it.  My thought is to find one from another lathe that would fit, or make my own.

So, 2 questions; 
1.) what other brands of steady rests will fit on a Logan 12"?
2.) what options do I have for building one from scratch?  Does it have to be steel?  Is aluminum Ok? Maybe a silly question, what about making one out of wood?

Basically I'm looking for ideas.


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## Dave Paine (Dec 18, 2017)

Wood turners often make steady rests out of wood.   I think this will end up being larger than one made from metal, but it may work.

An article I wrote for my local wood turning club to give you some idea if you want to pursue a wooden steady rest.   For wood turning the diameters of the projects are often larger than for metal.  If I made a version for metal, I would use the bearings from the inline skate wheels instead of the entire wheel to enable smaller diameter stock.

Making wooden steady rest for wood lathe


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## Investigator (Dec 18, 2017)

Dave Paine said:


> Wood turners often make steady rests out of wood.   I think this will end up being larger than one made from metal, but it may work.
> 
> An article I wrote for my local wood turning club to give you some idea if you want to pursue a wooden steady rest.   For wood turning the diameters of the projects are often larger than for metal.  If I made a version for metal, I would use the bearings from the inline skate wheels instead of the entire wheel to enable smaller diameter stock.
> 
> Making wooden steady rest for wood lathe



Interesting idea.  I wonder what the forces would be turning a 1.625"OD tube 8" long.  Would the wood handle it?  Even if I had to make it 2" thick, if it works, it works.


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## Cactus Farmer (Dec 18, 2017)

Wood should work. I've seen wood used for much heavier work than you describe. 
I build two, a smaller 11' version for my Rockwell to make a cannon. I later made a much larger one to hold a spider for threading odd shaped actions.
The first one has brass pads on the supports, the later big one got roller bearings. The work is fairly straight forward, but a mill will be a must to do a proper job.  I can take pictures today if you need some inspiration.....


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## benmychree (Dec 18, 2017)

Roller steady rests are fine, until a chip gets caught and dings up your work; I prefer the old stand by, cast iron as it wears well and does not gall.  I have made several steady rests; one had a capacity of about 20", it was for a 24" swing Nebel lathe, it was made of 1 1/2" steel plate, burnt to shape by an electric eye burning machine and was hinged in the usual manner; the latest one is for a 9" Monarch cone pulley drive 'teens era lathe, I made a pattern for it and had it cast in iron, along with a follow rest and large and small faceplates.


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## Investigator (Dec 18, 2017)

Cactus Farmer said:


> Wood should work. I've seen wood used for much heavier work than you describe.
> I build two, a smaller 11' version for my Rockwell to make a cannon. I later made a much larger one to hold a spider for threading odd shaped actions.
> The first one has brass pads on the supports, the later big one got roller bearings. The work is fairly straight forward, but a mill will be a must to do a proper job.  I can take pictures today if you need some inspiration.....



Photos would be very much appreciated.


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## Alittlerusty (Dec 18, 2017)

A steady rest from a slightly smaller lathe should be fairly easy to raise up to the correct height and adapt to the bed of your lathe


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## ch2co (Dec 18, 2017)

"_Roller steady rests are fine, until a chip gets caught and dings up your work;_

John,
 thanks for the info on using bearings on the steady rest. I was just about to modify mine with bearings. Your caution has
made me seriously rethink (unthink) my idea.


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## vocatexas (Dec 19, 2017)

Here are two examples on You Tube of home-made steady rests:


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## Cactus Farmer (Dec 19, 2017)

Investigator said:


> Photos would be very much appreciated.


I will try to get pictures tomorrow. Be advised these are tools I use so the pretty has been covered with dirt and grease and oil with a touch of blood for texture.


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## Bob Korves (Dec 19, 2017)

ch2co said:


> "_Roller steady rests are fine, until a chip gets caught and dings up your work;_
> 
> John,
> thanks for the info on using bearings on the steady rest. I was just about to modify mine with bearings. Your caution has
> made me seriously rethink (unthink) my idea.


Chip problems with steady rests can be reduced considerably by putting a shield between the cutting tool and the steady rest.  A piece of light cardboard (like a cereal box) is enough to shield the rollers or rubbing tips from swarf, abrasives, and other problems.  The shield can be attached to the outer ring of the steady rest.  It should be as snug as possible to the O.D. of the work and large in overall diameter.  Ordinary cast iron or bronze tips on steady rest fingers work very well as long as they are kept well lubricated and not run at excessive speed.  The area that the steady rest rubs on will be quite visible after machining, but is normally only to a very light depth, and so can be removed easily if a little extra material is left on the O.D. in that area or simply polished out if the O.D. dimension is not critical.  Roller bearings will also mark the metal, though not as much, unless they get swarf or grit under them, which can make marks deeper and uglier than the sliding tips do.  In either case, prevention is way better than cure.


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## ch2co (Dec 19, 2017)

Bob
Thank you for any and all of your insight. 
Would you be able to supply any photos of this?

CHuck the grumpy old guy


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## Bob Korves (Dec 20, 2017)

ch2co said:


> Would you be able to supply any photos of this?


Chuck, I have done that work, but never thought about photographing it, sorry.  Adam Booth, Abom79 on Youtube, has some videos that show shielding steady rest work, on big lathes.  Quick search, looks like there is one in this video:




It is really nothing special, get a piece of cardboard, cut a hole in it for the work to snugly fit through, and attach it to the steady rest so it does not spin around and open up gaps chips can get through.  The one in the link above has a small O.D., so Adam must have felt good about his chip control.  I never feel confident about my chip control until I start cutting and get lucky...


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## Rob (Dec 20, 2017)

Here is a kit to make one.

http://www.statecollegecentral.com/metallathe/MLA-9.html


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## whitmore (Dec 20, 2017)

[about a wooden steady rest]


Investigator said:


> Interesting idea.  I wonder what the forces would be turning a 1.625"OD tube 8" long.  Would the wood handle it?



Oh, sure, if  you use the right wood.   Lignum vitae wood, for instance, was the bearing material
of choice before bronze became inexpensive to work.


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## ch2co (Dec 20, 2017)

_"It is really nothing special, get a piece of cardboard, cut a hole in it for the work to snugly fit through, and attach it to the steady rest so it does not spin around and open up gaps chips can get through. The one in the link above has a small O.D., so Adam must have felt good about his chip control. I never feel confident about my chip control until I start cutting and get lucky...  "_

Bob
Ahhh! I see said the blind man. Thanks for getting through my foggy brain.

CHuck the grumpy one


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## ezduzit (Dec 20, 2017)

For my Logan 12x35 I found a rather well made set of roller steady and follower rests (much nicer than the original Logan) off an imported 13" machine, on eBay, for ~$150. The steady rest I machined the base to perfectly fit my ways. For the follower I have not yet drilled my cross slide.


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## Jimsehr (Dec 20, 2017)

Investigator said:


> I have a 12" Logan 2537 turret lathe.  I don't have a steady rest for it, and I have a need for one.  I have found expensive examples on Ebay, and honestly don't want to pay that much if I can help it.  My thought is to find one from another lathe that would fit, or make my own.
> 
> So, 2 questions;
> 1.) what other brands of steady rests will fit on a Logan 12"?
> ...


I posted a pic of one I made for a 11 inch Logan last year. I made it out of alum plate. I made the base first then mounted it on lathe and drilled the center with a drill in the spindle. That way I knew is was on center . Then I worked off of that enter hole to build the rest of the steady. I used 1/2 plate and made the base thicker by adding strips of alum . 
SEARCH for Logan steady rest.


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