Here's my stupid newbee question of the day. I've got a steady rest but don't know how to use it. Does the round bar stock actually rest inside a steady rest or is there supposed to be space around the bar so it can turn? I've not been able to Google the answer to this.
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steady rest for lathe
- Thread starter SE18
- Start date
- Joined
- Jun 17, 2011
- Messages
- 2,070
SE18,
A picture or two would help here. Your steady rest should have three brass (or brass-tipped) fingers, which should rub gently but firmly on the surface of the stock. The easiest way to set it up is to pop a good centre-punch hole in the end of the piece and set it up in the chuck with a centre in the tailstock. This will hold the work in the correct position while you adjust the steady.
Here's a shot of a crude steady that came partly assembled with my lathe. The seller was a bike customizer, so the roller heads were HD valve lifters. As seen, they were pretty hard on the surface of the work. The shaft is being bored for an R8 spindle.
Slide the steady to a position where it will support the work close to where you will be working, supposedly toward the right-hand end, but leave enough room to move the toolpost as needed. Move the support fingers in until all three are almost touching the work. Then move them in until each is touching the work without pushing it off centre. Snug them up evenly and lock the fingers so they stay put. The tailstock may then be moved out of the way. You want enough pressure on the work to prevent it from moving when the tool is cutting, but not so much that movement is restricted.
Note that the stock must be perfectly round for the standard style of steady rest to work. Rough or out-of-round stock requires a cat-head added to the mix.
http://www.hobby-machinist.com/showthread.php/3060-Cat-head-Steady-Rest?highlight=cat-head
Hope this helps.
A picture or two would help here. Your steady rest should have three brass (or brass-tipped) fingers, which should rub gently but firmly on the surface of the stock. The easiest way to set it up is to pop a good centre-punch hole in the end of the piece and set it up in the chuck with a centre in the tailstock. This will hold the work in the correct position while you adjust the steady.
Here's a shot of a crude steady that came partly assembled with my lathe. The seller was a bike customizer, so the roller heads were HD valve lifters. As seen, they were pretty hard on the surface of the work. The shaft is being bored for an R8 spindle.
Slide the steady to a position where it will support the work close to where you will be working, supposedly toward the right-hand end, but leave enough room to move the toolpost as needed. Move the support fingers in until all three are almost touching the work. Then move them in until each is touching the work without pushing it off centre. Snug them up evenly and lock the fingers so they stay put. The tailstock may then be moved out of the way. You want enough pressure on the work to prevent it from moving when the tool is cutting, but not so much that movement is restricted.
Note that the stock must be perfectly round for the standard style of steady rest to work. Rough or out-of-round stock requires a cat-head added to the mix.
http://www.hobby-machinist.com/showthread.php/3060-Cat-head-Steady-Rest?highlight=cat-head
Hope this helps.
- Joined
- Nov 19, 2011
- Messages
- 966
when turning long pieces of stock the steady rest helps support the stock so it stays straight on its centers and gives support for heavy stock. once your stock is in your chuck and through your rest bring the fingers up and touching your stock then tighten. with your lathe off rotate your chuck by hand and make sure there is no binding of your steady rest and stock, the steady rest is a support not a truer upper, if it binds on your stock then your stock is not centered between chuck and tailstock:biggrin:Mac
- Joined
- Jan 22, 2011
- Messages
- 8,016
Use a bit of lube on the tips if it is not a roller type. Be aware that as materials get warm, they expand. If the OD of your part is not round, any out of round will transfer onto the fresh cut.
thanks, I promise there will be more questions as I'm at the planning stages of doing a lathe rebuild. I'll keep my questions to 1 a day so I don't overwhelm the board. I'll try to do several searches first before asking my questions to see if there's already an answer. A lot of old timers must be tired of seeing the same old questions asked but this forum has a newbie question of the day, which is just peachy for us newbs
That's a huge steady rest in the youtube btw
That's a huge steady rest in the youtube btw
- Joined
- Feb 12, 2012
- Messages
- 33
This is a biggie, you may have readjust your steady rest to compensate for material expansion and apply more lubricant to the fingers as you are machining the piece.
thanks! I am guessing that the only time a steady rest is needed is for a long protruding piece from the headstock.
If you are turning a long piece, for example going all the way to the end of the bed to the tailstock (max length), would the steady rest still be used? I guess it wouldn't hurt!
If you are turning a long piece, for example going all the way to the end of the bed to the tailstock (max length), would the steady rest still be used? I guess it wouldn't hurt!
- Joined
- Feb 12, 2012
- Messages
- 33
That depends on the material, diameter, length, how ridged your setup is, etc. if you think you might need to use it, you probably do.