Oversized Steady Rest Clamping Plate?

[G-ManBart]

A bit of background might help before I get to the question. A few years ago I bought a Sheldon 13" lathe and I spent two years looking for the correct steady rest and taper attachment for it without luck. A few weeks ago a newer example of the same lathe popped up at an auction 15 minutes from my house....it has the steady, the taper, a pile of other tooling, and is in even nicer condition, so I bid on it, won it and got it home...super happy. I noticed that the clamping plate for the steady had a brazing repair, right in the middle through the bolt hole, but didn't think much about it.

A week later I saw the same steady rest pop up on eBay so I bought that as well...the price was right and I figured it would help make the first lathe easier to sell after I get the second one in place. Both steadies have the correct part number from the parts manual, and I'm certain they are the correct version for both machines.

I went to put the steady on the newer machine to get it out of the way as I'm sorting through all the tooling in the drawers. That's when I noticed the clamping plate wouldn't fit between the bottom of the bed rails. It's maybe 3/8" too wide. I can put it a bit lower than where it's supposed to mount and it will fit in the gap, but it's not flush with the bottom of the bed, and I suspect that's what happened when it was damaged....they put pressure on the bolt with it only supported on the far ends, and it cracked.

I tried both steadies and both clamping plates on the older machine, and they fit perfectly. Both steadies fit the ways on the newer machine perfectly, but both clamping plates are a bit too wide.

I don't know if the newer machine wasn't machined properly under the bed, or they just expected folks to fit the clamping plate to the lathe? I haven't compared the clamping plate for the tailstocks, but I'm going to do that just out of curiosity.

I'm thinking of just making a clamping plate that fits to replace the damaged example anyway, so it's not really an issue, but it got me wondering.

Has anybody had to fit the clamping plate on a steady before....at least on one that's supposed to be correct for your machine?

Here's the undamaged plate, but the one with a repair fills the space the same.



Pics of both steadies on the ways of the newer machine...they seem to fit identically, and properly.





Since folks like pictures, here's a cluttered picture of the newer machine after I unloaded it...this is in my "temporary project storage" area in my shop....lol. The paint on the cabinet isn't as nice as on the older machine, but the machine itself is cleaner, seems tighter, and better paint. To the left is a Little Giant 50lb power hammer waiting a rebuild (delivered Oct 1941) and to the right is an Encouraging 6x18 surface grinder that needs a new set of ball retainers.

 

[Peyton Price 17]

looks like the parts are bad castings. look in the manual to see how they are mounted. if they are too big then you could machine them.

 

[G-ManBart]

looks like the parts are bad castings. look in the manual to see how they are mounted. if they are too big then you could machine them.

Why do you say bad castings? Both plates are the same dimensions, and fit the other lathe perfectly.

 

[Peyton Price 17]

Why do you say bad castings? Both plates are the same dimensions, and fit the other lathe perfectly.

they might have been for that lathe but if they fit the other lathe fine then you might have the wrong size plates. they properly were bought with a different size lathe. make some new ones if you want to use them.

 

[G-ManBart]

they might have been for that lathe but if they fit the other lathe fine then you might have the wrong size plates. they properly were bought with a different size lathe. make some new ones if you want to use them.

The lathes are the same model, the steadies have the same part numbers and are identical to one another, so I'm pretty sure the steadies and plates aren't the issue. I measured the bottom of the bed gaps on the newer machine and it's narrower than the older machine even though it's the same model.

As I mentioned in the post, I'm probably going to just make a plate to replace the one with a repair, but I was just wondering if anybody had ever had to fit a clamping plate.

 

[Peyton Price 17]

The lathes are the same model, the steadies have the same part numbers and are identical to one another, so I'm pretty sure the steadies and plates aren't the issue. I measured the bottom of the bed gaps on the newer machine and it's narrower than the older machine even though it's the same model.

As I mentioned in the post, I'm probably going to just make a plate to replace the one with a repair, but I was just wondering if anybody had ever had to fit a clamping plate.

changing to make more money is the issue. just make a new plate but still sad to see companies trying to make more money by changing parts.

 

[benmychree]

Just modify it so that it fits --- I like your power hammer, I have a 100 lb Little Giant that I rebuilt a little over 10 years ago, it was pretty much a wreck as received, one thing that I did was to fabricate a very effective brake, which makes it possible to deliver one hard blow if desired; if you would like to see pictures, PM me.

 

[G-ManBart]

Just modify it so that it fits --- I like your power hammer, I have a 100 lb Little Giant that I rebuilt a little over 10 years ago, it was pretty much a wreck as received, one thing that I did was to fabricate a very effective brake, which makes it possible to deliver one hard blow if desired; if you would like to see pictures, PM me.

I was thinking the smart thing to do is to use the one that hasn't been repaired on the older lathe since it fits properly, then modify the repaired one for use on the newer lathe. I figure making a modification to one that has a repair doesn't really harm anything. I'll probably make a replacement out of steel for the one with a repair either way...it'll be stronger and it's an easy project on the mill.

The power hammer is going to be my second hammer restoration. I found two within ten days of one another a while back, so I bought both. I restored the first one and sold it to a local buddy. I made a few bucks on that deal so at this point it's like I have nothing in the second hammer. It needs a few small parts replaced, but nothing serious, and I did have it running shortly after I got it. Hammers are a lot of fun to run! I've seen some brake ideas, but I'd love to see the pics of the one you made so I'll send you a PM.

 

[cathead]

I don't see much of a problem here. Does the clamp have to be offset 90 degrees to the ways or would 85 degrees suffice?

 

[G-ManBart]

I don't see much of a problem here. Does the clamp have to be offset 90 degrees to the ways or would 85 degrees suffice?

I'm sure it would work at 85 degrees, but that isn't enough to get the clearance needed.

I'm probably just going to make one that fits properly for the newer machine with the narrow gap, but it just seems odd for their to be a difference between the two that are supposed to be the same. I figured someone might have seen something similar before. Maybe they made them all on the plus size figuring it was easy enough to grind away a bit for a perfect fit, but I sort of thought that lathe bed dimensions really shouldn't vary much from one to the next.