# Steady Rest & Follow Rest



## DuWayne (Sep 23, 2020)

Have a 1966 6535 15" Colchester Lathe.
Would like some photos: top, bottom, right side, left side, back & front
of a 15" steady rest and follow rest.  Not asking for much!  They are
so expensive, so I'm going to try to draw one up in solidworks and see if
I could have one machined out of cast iron and measure the cost.


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## uncle harry (Sep 25, 2020)

DuWayne said:


> Have a 1966 6535 15" Colchester Lathe.
> Would like some photos: top, bottom, right side, left side, back & front
> of a 15" steady rest and follow rest.  Not asking for much!  They are
> so expensive, so I'm going to try to draw one up in solidworks and see if
> I could have one machined out of cast iron and measure the cost.



You might want to consider providing a cutting path document of the perimeter of each rest in a DXF format, and have thick plate steel units plasma or oxy-fuel cut. Those can be readily machined
for the adjustable and clamping features.


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## NC Rick (Sep 25, 2020)

DuWayne said:


> Have a 1966 6535 15" Colchester Lathe.
> Would like some photos: top, bottom, right side, left side, back & front
> of a 15" steady rest and follow rest.  Not asking for much!  They are
> so expensive, so I'm going to try to draw one up in solidworks and see if
> I could have one machined out of cast iron and measure the cost.


I wanted a steady rest for my 15" Nordic lathe and bought one from an unknown lathe on eBay for cheap with the intention of cutting it and attaching a new bottom to fit my ways.  Once I got it I was so happy when the steady fit my ways!  All I had to do was modify the clamp.  I have under $150 in it.  It is slightly off center but only by a quarter inch at most And works great up to around 4" diameter stock.


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## James K (Oct 22, 2020)

I have a 1962 Model 13. I have both. Do you think photos of those would help you? Let me know and ill take some pictures and get them to you.


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## ThinWoodsman (Oct 23, 2020)

NC Rick said:


> I wanted a steady rest for my 15" Nordic lathe and bought one from an unknown lathe on eBay for cheap with the intention of cutting it and attaching a new bottom to fit my ways



I did the same with a follower for my 14" Logan. The one I purchased was likely for a 15" lathe, as I had to saw about 1" off to get it down to center height when mounted. Made an aluminum template that bolts onto the carriage mounting holes, used that to transfer the hole locations to the rest.

Much better than spending four or five hundred bucks to buy a new one


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## DuWayne (Oct 23, 2020)

James K said:


> I have a 1962 Model 13. I have both. Do you think photos of those would help you? Let me know and ill take some pictures and get them to you.


Front, back, top, each side would be great. I can import a jpg. file into solidworks and trace the picture.
One thing, I need a dimension of say the center of the steady rest to have a reference for the drawing.
Thanks


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## G-ManBart (Dec 28, 2020)

I'll start by saying that I just saw this, and now I feel terrible!  

I recently bought a Clausing 6913 that came with two steady rests, and one was actually for a 15" Clausing Colchester, so I cleaned it up and sold it on eBay...only lasted two days because I priced it pretty reasonably (or so I thought).  I did take a couple of decent pictures, so hopefully they'll help a bit.


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## Janderso (Dec 28, 2020)

I have a 1970's Clausing Colchester 15X50. Made in England.
My steady and follow are very different from the above pics.
If you still need help, let me know.


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## G-ManBart (Dec 28, 2020)

Janderso said:


> I have a 1970's Clausing Colchester 15X50. Made in England.
> My steady and follow are very different from the above pics.
> If you still need help, let me know.



Is yours a round top or square top headstock?

This manual shows one like I had:

Clausing-Colchester-Lathe-Brochure.pdf


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## Janderso (Dec 29, 2020)

I have the square top. I think they went to this style in the very early 70's.
Both styles are excellent lathes. I have the rainbow dials to adjust speeds.


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## G-ManBart (Dec 29, 2020)

Janderso said:


> I have the square top. I think they went to this style in the very early 70's.
> Both styles are excellent lathes. I have the rainbow dials to adjust speeds.



That's probably the difference.  When I was researching which rest I had a gent in the UK said it was for a round top Colchester, so there must have been a change.  No doubt both are great machines!


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## DuWayne (Dec 29, 2020)

G-ManBart said:


> I'll start by saying that I just saw this, and now I feel terrible!
> 
> I recently bought a Clausing 6913 that came with two steady rests, and one was actually for a 15" Clausing Colchester, so I cleaned it up and sold it on eBay...only lasted two days because I priced it pretty reasonably (or so I thought).  I did take a couple of decent pictures, so hopefully they'll help a bit.
> View attachment 348956
> ...


Thanks for the pictures.  That looks like the one I need.


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## G-ManBart (Jan 22, 2021)

DuWayne said:


> Thanks for the pictures.  That looks like the one I need.


There's one on eBay now...it's not perfect, but looks to be solid.  The guy didn't know what he had, and it was listed for a long time.  I happened to see it and sent him a note telling him what he had....seemed nice enough.  You might be able to make him an offer.









						Follow Rest Steady Rest for for a Clausing Colchester 15" Lathe  | eBay
					

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