large capacity mini lathe steady rest

[MCRIPPPer]

here is a steady rest im making for my 7x16. it should hold pieces 3" or a little bigger.

 

[Don B]

here is a steady rest im making for my 7x16. it should hold pieces 3" or a little bigger.

That will be nice, might want to check you bearings on your machine you have a couple of flat spot on your main through hole:rofl:

Seriously though nice work...!)

 

[MCRIPPPer]

LOL



yep. that band saw doesn't do curves to well. lots of metal to still take off.

 

[Don B]

LOL



yep. that band saw doesn't do curves to well. lots of metal to still take off.

I'm not sure how the bedways are constructed on your lathe but is it an option to push your steady with the saddle and use a boring head right on the lathe, it will give you the main through hole perfectly positioned and you can use the power feed...!:thinking:

 

[MCRIPPPer]

i thought about it but cant figure a way to let the steady rest move, and still stay rigid.

 

[Don B]

i thought about it but cant figure a way to let the steady rest move, and still stay rigid.

It really depends on how the bedways are constructed, if there the open type a large brass washer would provide a temporary gib plate, but the bedway thickness would need to be constant over the length of the cut, you might get away with a little inconsistency by using a heavy spring to preload the gib plate and take small cuts.

 

[MCRIPPPer]

got the center bored out. its about 3.4"

 

[12bolts]

Nice work, do you have a plan for getting your steady fingers all straight and perpendicular?

Cheers Phil

 

[MCRIPPPer]

its really not critical, but to make it as close as possible, i think i will find center, and then spot drill three dimples using coordinates to make the 120deg
angle. the fingers will just be a round polished steel rod with a keyway. locking screws will serve to align the keyway and lock it down. so all i need to do is drill in line with the center point of the steady rest bore. the angle is not really a big deal, although i want to try to get it as close as possible.

 

[MCRIPPPer]

made some progress. i used the tilting head capability of my mill finally, and drilled the holes for the fingers. im waiting on a reamer to finish the holes. also waiting on drill rod to make the fingers out of. they will be 16mm diameter.





then i went on to mill the outside of the steady rest. since i dont have a rotary table, a harbor freight bandsaw wheel had to do. i machined the wheel to fit really tight in the bore of the steady and bored the center of the wheel out for a tight fitting hub. the setup worked well and left a surprisingly good finish.






its amazing how far this hunk of steel has come.