# Rat rod steady rest



## phubbman (Jan 21, 2022)

Another installment of my hack pseudo machining prowess
Last fall I picked up a 1947 Montgomery Ward (Logan) lathe.  For it I also picked up a cheapo Asian made telescopic steady rest.  It was made for a different machine, was a 1/4” short, and crudely made. Also, the bottom clamp was missing.  So, this isn’t actually shop made, but sort of shop re-made. 

To raise it up I first needed to clean up the original machining.  It looked like someone shaped it with a hand held angle grinder.  After flattening the bottom and milling out the crooked and rough V way, I went ahead and milled the sides of the base square so I’d have good reference surfaces.  Then I milled some aluminum stock with a good V way to fit.  Since it’s not a stressed piece I just JB Welded the parts together and dressed the edges up on the mill.  

With that done I made a new bottom clamp plate so that it would capture the bolt to keep it from turning.  
	

		
			
		

		
	





One problem with this rest is that the cylinder “fingers” are a sloppy fit in the casting bores. I‘m sure they would back out during use.  There was no way to lock them in place.  So I replaced the dog ended recessed set screws that keep the fingers from rotating.  I made up brass knurled thumb screws with dog ends and knurled jamb nuts.  I also had to mill flats in the casting at the lock screw locations for the jamb nuts to seat against.  I know it’s not rocket science, but this was my first experience with knurling, and they seem to have turned out ok.  And it even all works as planned.


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## extropic (Jan 22, 2022)

I think you did well to modify the SR to fit your lathe.

You're going to have to be careful not to embed swarf into the way surfaces of aluminum base.
The clamp bolt is keeping the base in compression and there's a lot of faying surface, so the JB Weld should work well in this application.

I think you did just fine (no hack).


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## phubbman (Jan 22, 2022)

Thanks extropic,
I know the aluminum is soft, but it should be fine with a little care.  
And speaking of swarf, knurling is a messy endeavor.  Lots of oil and metal dust. Chips and curls are easier to clean up.


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## wrat (Jan 22, 2022)

Rockin' it!
Don't paint it!  The true spirit needs to shine through.


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## Tim9 (Jan 22, 2022)

Very nice modification. I have the same problem. I have an old asian steady rest that barely fits my lathe. It would be much better if I made a modification like you did. You did a great job. Thanks for posting.


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## Charles scozzari (Feb 12, 2022)

Very nicely done.


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## woodchucker (Feb 12, 2022)

well done. question, can you tighten the locking nuts on the fingers well? I am making one now, and was thinking of making knobs, or just using an allen, but if it works with knurls, I may go down that road.


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## phubbman (Feb 14, 2022)

woodchucker said:


> well done. question, can you tighten the locking nuts on the fingers well? I am making one now, and was thinking of making knobs, or just using an allen, but if it works with knurls, I may go down that road.


Locking with the knurled finger screws / jamb nut works just fine - no wrench needed.


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