# Comments on "new" telescoping follow rest and telescoping steady rest for my 1973 South Bend 10K



## twooldvolvos (Dec 12, 2021)

I have owned my 1973 South Bend for about a year now.  In that time I have learned the basics of the machine and I have been doing my best to get the tooling I need together so I can do some meaningful work.  Two of the items on my tooling list were a follow rest and a steady rest.  Today I picked these items up.  Here they are:




For those of you who are wondering what part numbers they are, the follow rest is part FLR-100K.




The steady rest is part number SRD-100K.




I checked the geometry of both rests and confirmed they are correct for my 10K lathe.





Here are a few takeaways I have from this purchasing experience:

1.) I searched eBay, Facebook Marketplace, and Craigslist pretty hard over the last 12 months.  These items were not easy to find.  Nor did not find the tools listed on their own.  I ended up having to ask each seller who had a 10K for sale if they had them.
2.) I had read that tooling can end up costing as much as your lathe, and that is not far from the truth.  Consider carefully any included tooling with your lathe purchase for what it is worth.
3.) Several sellers were not interested in selling the tooling for their lathes separately.  I'm not sure why because in some cases they could have gotten as much money for the tooling as they did for the lathe on its own.
4.) Because of the considerable cost of these items, most Facebook Marketplace sellers and Craigslist sellers wanted in person cash transactions.  I missed one or 2 opportunities because the seller did not want to ship.  I ended up finding the rests close enough to home that I could do cash and carry.
5.) FYI to anyone who is not familiar with the South Bend telescoping rests, there is a reason the rest jaws go for upwards of $80.  These are not just pieces of brass cut to length.  They are threaded inside and have a slot cut down the side.  The whole telescoping mechanism is much more complicated than I had imagined.

That's about it for today.

Dan


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## benmychree (Dec 12, 2021)

Is the follow rest able to be attached to the other side of the cross slide bridge?  It seems to be quite a lot overhung towards the tailstock.


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## woodchucker (Dec 12, 2021)

benmychree said:


> Is the follow rest able to be attached to the other side of the cross slide bridge?  It seems to be quite a lot overhung towards the tailstock.


I never understood why SB put the follow rest on the right side.  Even with the old tool post it doesn't make sense to me. Maybe to keep it away from the chuck...


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## LucknowKen (Dec 24, 2021)

twooldvolvos said:


> Here are a few takeaways I have from this purchasing experience:


Thanks for the info.


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## SLK001 (Dec 25, 2021)

woodchucker said:


> I never understood why SB put the follow rest on the right side.  Even with the old tool post it doesn't make sense to me. Maybe to keep it away from the chuck...


The right side is the "finished" side of the cut, so the follower tracks better.


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## twooldvolvos (Dec 25, 2021)

benmychree said:


> Is the follow rest able to be attached to the other side of the cross slide bridge?  It seems to be quite a lot overhung towards the tailstock.


Not on my lathe.  There are no mounting holes on the left side of my saddle.


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## jcp (Dec 25, 2021)

benmychree said:


> Is the follow rest able to be attached to the other side of the cross slide bridge?  It seems to be quite a lot overhung towards the tailstock.


I have a SB 9A I've owned and used about 25 years and I agree with John's observation..... plus I don't like having to start a cut and then stop to adjust the rest to the proper diameter and then finish the cut. Other lathes I've used (Monarch, Mazak, American, Summit, etc.) , had the rest just ahead of or directly behind the tool.


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## Janderso (Dec 25, 2021)

On my lathe it mounts on the chuck side. Interesting.
Now I'm curious where the tool rides in company with the follow rest.


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## addertooth (Dec 25, 2021)

Now it is time to mill a slot in those contact points, and put a roller bearing in. 
I can always think of another project for someone else to do


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## Kevin T (Dec 27, 2021)

Nice score with the pair! I have the same steady as you and it is a nice piece to use. I have only turned 2-3" dia with it and it works great as is without roller bearings on that size diameter. I used to hunt for a follow rest too but gave up since my projects aren't usually very long.


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## DavidR8 (Jan 3, 2022)

Well done!
I've been searching for a steadyrest for my 10K since I got it. No luck, or not without extending my working years by a few months!


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## twooldvolvos (Jan 4, 2022)

DavidR8 said:


> Well done!
> I've been searching for a steadyrest for my 10K since I got it. No luck, or not without extending my working years by a few months!


I feel your pain.  A telescoping 10K steady rest seems to be going for about $400 - $500.  I couldn't believe the prices.  And as you know, the 9 inch and the heavy 10 will not fit properly on a 10K.  Good luck.  One will pop up.


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## woodchucker (Jan 4, 2022)

twooldvolvos said:


> I feel your pain.  A telescoping 10K steady rest seems to be going for about $400 - $500.  I couldn't believe the prices.  And as you know, the 9 inch and the heavy 10 will not fit properly on a 10K.  Good luck.  One will pop up.


sure it will, just add a 1/2" to the riser. Make a pad that it fits on. Machinists right? machine a new pad.. done.


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