# How to mount a follower rest to a 6x18?



## Pat of TN (Feb 7, 2014)

Hey guys.

It's a pretty simple, if not stupid question... I have an original follower rest for my Atlas 6x18 lathe, but I have no clue how to mount it. I don't see any places to mount the rest to the cross slide or carriage, so I'm pretty well clueless! I've even tried Google, but I get more useless stuff from eBay than anything else.

I've noticed that on this little lathe, things tend to chatter even with only 1.5 diameters sticking out of the chuck, so a follower rest would help greatly when a center can't be used.

Thanks in advance!


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## Mondo (Feb 7, 2014)

If you have the correct follower it should have a dovetail that mounts on the carriage dovetail behind the cross slide.
A photo of the follower you have would be helpful.


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## Pat of TN (Feb 7, 2014)

Hmm, okay. I don't recall there being a dovetail on the follower... Either way, I don't have a very good camera, but I'll try to snap a picture or two tomorrow.


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## wa5cab (Feb 8, 2014)

Pat,

If it is actually a follow rest for a 618 or 101.21400, it has a female dovetail on the bottom.  To install it on the carriage dovetail (which is where it goes), you first have to remove the chip guard which is attached to the back of the cross slide with a single screw on top.  Then the rest slips onto the carriage dovetail from the rear.  

Robert D.


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## Pat of TN (Feb 8, 2014)

Okeydoke, here's some pictures of my follow rest. One of the side, one of the base.







On the side, there's some numbers and lettering - B4Z 230 019 L.

As you can see, there's no dovetail. Just a very shallow, wide slot and two through-holes about 5/16 in diameter.


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## righto88 (Feb 8, 2014)

I with held as I thought there was no "dovetail"


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## The Liberal Arts Garage (Feb 8, 2014)

righto88 said:


> I with held as I thought there was no "dovetail"


Looks much like standard family of lathes-can be adapted cheaply........BLJHB


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## wa5cab (Feb 8, 2014)

OK.  I don't recognize the main casting part number but it isn't for an Atlas.  The Atlas 6" Follower Rest is M6-395.  The main casting part number (which will be cast in place on the side of the casting) is M6-396.  Also, on the Atlas one, the fingers are solid, not slotted.

Perhaps someone else here will recognize whose part numbers begin with B4Z.

The problem with adapting it to an Atlas 6" is that if it is actually for a 6", you may have to cut most of the base off in order to fit a dovetail under it and still have the horizontal finger on center (where it must be).  I think that your best bet is to find out what it was made for, sell it to someone who has one of those machines, and then buy an Atlas or Craftsman one that will fit out of the box.

If you want to see what the Atlas one looks like, go to eBay and do a search on "atlas 6 lathe follow" and right now it'll bring up one with several photos.  Asking price is on the high side (although it is unused in the original box) but you don't have to buy it just to look at it.

Robert D.


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## Pat of TN (Feb 8, 2014)

I see... I had a feeling it wasn't right. It came with the lathe, but I guess its previous owner may have bought it and never used it or attempted to and just kept it... oh well! I may come up with a way to manufacture a follower rest for my lathe. I ain't got 100 bucks to spend on one.

Thanks, guys! Problem solved.


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## cab32 (Feb 9, 2014)

Pat of TN said:


> I see... I had a feeling it wasn't right. It came with the lathe, but I guess its previous owner may have bought it and never used it or attempted to and just kept it... oh well! I may come up with a way to manufacture a follower rest for my lathe. I ain't got 100 bucks to spend on one.
> 
> Thanks, guys! Problem solved.




Here are some pics of an atlas 6" follower showing the dovetail.  you could fabricate a dovetail either steel or aluminum with a flat top and bolt your rest to it, that is if the center height works.
CAB


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## Pat of TN (Feb 10, 2014)

Hey, thanks! That's a good idea, I'll have to look at that. Boy, I didn't even think of doing that, haha! And thanks for the pictures as well.


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## shoeboxpaul (Feb 11, 2014)

Hi,
Looking at the configuration of your follower rest and the Atlas, yours mounts almost directly below the center line of the part to be turned. This may be a real problem in making a dovetail fixture that will mount to the Atlas compound. Before you waste any time and money on fabricating the necessary adapter, take some careful measurements. It may not line up properly.


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## cab32 (Feb 11, 2014)

I think you are correct about the height of the follower rest.  But it is useless to Pat now and could be shortened and then attached to a fabricated  dovetail.  The original Atlas/ craftsman rests are fairly costly because there are a lot of folks who use these lathes.  CAB


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## shoeboxpaul (Feb 12, 2014)

My main concern is not the height, it is the distance from the center of the followers to the arm (for my lack of a term, call it the yoke distance). True, the height can be adjusted somewhat effectively. My biggest concern is that it will interfere with the compound on a 6" Atlas lathe.


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## Pat of TN (Feb 12, 2014)

I understand. I could cut off a little bit of the base of the rest I have... I will try to remember to take a look at it today and see if I could get it to fit. If not, I'll begin the quest to man-afacture a new one!

Update - Nope! The base is only about 1/2" thick, and the horizontal arm is at least 1-1/2" too high. Ah well! I'll take some measurements and see if I can make one at school sometime.


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