Steady rest

[Powder Keg]

At work we have a job to do that is using some 14" sch 80 pipe. The ends need faced off and pilots bored in them. There will be plates welded In at least one end to mount a hydraulic pump. Our biggest steady rest went to 4.5". So we had to make a bigger steady rest. Here is what we came up with. It's made out of 3" square by 3/8" tubing. I even threw some paint on it to make it look nice\0/





This could be easily scaled to fit any of your lathes and it was fairly easy to build.


Enjoy
:o)

[bry1975]

Looks a useful bit of kit and much tougher than the old cast steadies!

[Andrew_D]

Looks good, but I have questions........

I need to build a steady rest for my 20" WWII-era lathe, so I'm currently gathering ideas.
1.) I wasn't planning to go with anything as heavy as 3" x 3/8" tubing  I was thinking 2" x 3/16", maybe 2" x 1/4". What is the reasoning behind such heavy tubing?

2.) I am planning to hinge the top half of mine. Should make loading parts a little easier. Any particular reason why you did not?

3.) It looks like the fingers have brass pads pressed in, correct?

4.) Can we see some pics of the base and shots of the steady rest sitting on the lathe with the carriage out of the way?

Andrew

[Sorekiwi]

Wow, thats a big version of the one on this page:  http://www.jrbentley.com/workshop.html

( but there is some cool stuff to look at on that site).

[Powder Keg]

Hey Andrew,
1.) I tend to over build everything 2" would probably be fine.

2.) We were in a hurry. It might get a hinge later.

3.) The brass is pressed into the 1" threaded rod.

4.) More pictures will have to wait till Monday. But I'll get some.

I collect pictures, off the internet, of things I think might come in handy someday. I had a picture of one similar to the one on the Bentley site but it was bigger. I liked it because it was simple and looked easy to build. It was on This website It looks like he used the Bentley website to build his from

[Andrew_D]

Looks great- what material did you use for the metal pads on the  3 adjusting feet. Will they have to be lubricated so that the pipe can slide across them?

3.) The brass is pressed into the 1" threaded rod.

I've always used a bit of oil on the brass myself...

Andrew

[Powder Keg]

Here are some clearer pictures.







I prefer the brass to bearings. It's probably just how I learned to use a steady? I use anti seize  to lube the pads with pretty good results.

[Andrew_D]

Here are some clearer pictures.

Thanks for the pics of the base.

I'm thinking of continuing the hexagon across the bottom too, but it looks like you didn't have enough room for that.

My basic plan is to make the bottom part of the hexagon out of 2" solid square, with the rest of the hexagon made from 2" x 1/8" tubing. Then notch the 2" solid to fit the v-ways. It needs to be narrow enough for the carriage wings to fit around it...same idea as the tailstock base really. Then it needs to be high enough that the rest of the hexagon made out of the square tubing can clear the wings.

I will probably also make a smaller version.

I prefer the brass to bearings. It's probably just how I learned to use a steady? I use anti seize  to lube the pads with pretty good results.

I never would have thought of using anti-seize...I'd be worried that chips would stick to it and get caught between the pipe and the brass pads. I read somewhere about a steady rest with a drip-oiler mounted on it to provide continuous oiling of the pads...thought that might be a heck of an idea!

Andrew

[Bogstandard]

Actually, bearings are not recommended for when turning metal, they can very easily get shattered by the forces acting on them, and will brinell very quickly indeed. The main place you see bearings being used on steadies is when turning wood, that has more 'give'

Brass or phos bronze is the usual order of the day.


Bogs

[John Stevenson]

Or believe it or not hardened steel, the pads on my big TOS are hardened steel, when i first saw them I though what a bad idea but 20 odd years of use and they do get used hasn't scuffed them up at all.

John S.

[Andrew_D]

Or believe it or not hardened steel, the pads on my big TOS are hardened steel, when i first saw them I though what a bad idea but 20 odd years of use and they do get used hasn't scuffed them up at all.

John S.

Wow, I never would have thought of hardened anything for the pads. I, like most I'd guess, always figured some type of brass so that the pad wears before the part being turned. Did you notice wear on any of the parts you've turned over the years?

My guess as long as you kept them lubed to try and wash any chips away, it should work...on the other hand, keeping it dry might prevent the chips from sticking...

Andrew

[John Stevenson]

No wear, in fact it burnishes the parts if you run with a drop of oil on them.

John S.

[Powder Keg]

The Old Axleson lathe we use at work has Steel arms. They need some kind of lube or the part will get hot

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[John Hill]

Actually, bearings are not recommended for when turning metal, they can very easily get shattered by the forces acting on them, and will brinell very quickly indeed. The main place you see bearings being used on steadies is when turning wood, that has more 'give'

Brass or phos bronze is the usual order of the day.


Bogs

Hi Bogs et al...

I have taken delivery of my Drummond lathe c:1908 and among the accessories is the curious 'F' shaped device you can see in this illustration lying on the face plate on the chip tray.



I believe this is a travelling steady in which one fits  blocks of wood drilled to accommodate the workpiece.

[John Stevenson]

The problem with roller bearing steady rests is that it's very easy for chips to get under the rollers and indent themselves into the work or even stall the machine.

With careful use and making use of a cardboard disc as a protector can help.

The truthful answer is that just like collets there is no one steady fits all jobs, I have three lathes and 9 fixed steadies between them and I still have to improvise on certain jobs.

John S.

[smthrll]

It looks like this thread has long since gone idle, but if anybody is checking I wonder if you could fill me in on a couple details.   The rest looks solid, and I'd like to eventually have a go at fabricating a smaller one:

-the bolt passes through the tubing and is held by what exactly - is there a threaded sleeve that passes completely through the square tubing
-it looks like a sleeve that passes through some kind of slotted nut  - how does that part work, specifically - is this a custom part or is there a name for that nut/sleeve combo that can be purchased
     -I'd considered just welding a nut to the tubing and using a second one as a jam nut. 
-what is the construction on the bottom side of the square tubing where the bolt exits - some other kind of threaded nut?

I could use some enlightenment.  Thanks,

Rollie

[SwarfnStuff]

Rollie,
   If you do a search for fixed steady rest plans you will find more than a few pages to read. If you are referring to the Bolt at the bottom, that goes down to a clamp piece made to suit the underside of your lathe ways. The three that are around the upper section can be threaded through bushes or nuts fixed to the frame in some way. If the frame is of solid construction (Say bar instead of tubing) then it is drilled and tapped to suit your bolts.
  Hopefully this is not as confusing to you as it seems to me reading it back. Do a search and read stuff. There is also a video  here

and probably others you could watch.
Seems to me that it's up to your imagination and scrap bin a lot of the time.
John B

[smthrll]

Thanks for the pointers.  I had been wondering about those 3 around the upper section.  I'll probably be using the hollow square tubing, and it wouldn't be too hard to weld a threaded bushing into place and then use a nut to secure the bolt/finger.  We'll see what the scrap bin produces.  Good video link.

Rollie

[Manxmodder]

There was mention in an earlier post about the size and wall thickness of the steel tubing to be used. My penny worth of advice would be to use as thick a wall section as you can get as this will increase rigidity and provide better dampening characteristics which will prevent any tendency for chattering marks....OZ.