Steady rest…

[tmac1956]

All:

I’m looking for a steady rest for my 8mm Levin. Does anyone know if someone is making these or where I might find one?

Thanks,
tmac

[willofiam]

hey tmac, keep a close eye out on e-bay, check with uncle larrys in Canada, otherwise I made one some time ago and it is on the forum under “new hints tips and tricks” not very fancy but It does the trick at a fraction of the cost. William

[tmac1956]

@willofiam wrote:

hey tmac, keep a close eye out on e-bay, check with uncle larrys in Canada, otherwise I made one some time ago and it is on the forum under “new hints tips and tricks” not very fancy but It does the trick at a fraction of the cost. William

williamfiam:

Hey – I saw that and forgot it was there. I thought it was a great idea.

Thanks for the reminder!
tmac

[tmac1956]

@willofiam wrote:

hey tmac, keep a close eye out on e-bay, check with uncle larrys in Canada, otherwise I made one some time ago and it is on the forum under “new hints tips and tricks” not very fancy but It does the trick at a fraction of the cost. William

willofiam:

Those are some very good decriptions and pictures. I do have a few questions…

1) What is the diameter of the main ring?

2) How did you set the height of the finished attachment?

Thanks!
tmac

[willofiam]

the inside diameter on mine is 57.6mm but I just found a ring that I thought would be large enough to fit over most wheels and clear the lathe bed, as far as determining the height look closely at picture # 3, first I made the ring and the base separately then I have a small diameter rod chucked up making sure it was centered with the tail stock, I used a clamp to hold the top and bottom together exactly where it needed to be with the resting pins all the way in to the rod , carefully take it off the lathe and braze or solder together and whallah 😯 , have fun and dont be afraid to experiment as I think there may be some better ways and maybe different parts. if you come up with any please post them here. William

[tmac1956]

@willofiam wrote:

the inside diameter on mine is 57.6mm but I just found a ring that I thought would be large enough to fit over most wheels and clear the lathe bed, as far as determining the height look closely at picture # 3, first I made the ring and the base separately then I have a small diameter rod chucked up making sure it was centered with the tail stock, I used a clamp to hold the top and bottom together exactly where it needed to be with the resting pins all the way in to the rod , carefully take it off the lathe and braze or solder together and whallah 😯 , have fun and dont be afraid to experiment as I think there may be some better ways and maybe different parts. if you come up with any please post them here. William

willofam:

I have access to welding students at a technical program and can get stuff built for material + 20% + 9% sales tax. The catch is that I have to draw up the plans. Since I was a CAD drafter for many years, I still have the CAD software – I just need to be sure I get it right first.

Thanks again!
tmac1956

[tmac1956]

@willofiam wrote:

hey tmac, keep a close eye out on e-bay, check with uncle larrys in Canada, otherwise I made one some time ago and it is on the forum under “new hints tips and tricks” not very fancy but It does the trick at a fraction of the cost. William

willofiam:

One unrelated question…. Where did you get that lathe belt?

Thanks!
tmac

[willofiam]

hey tmac1956, that is a belt from my unimat lathe, I had to use it in a pinch, what I use now is a belt from the hardware store which is sold as a water purifyier gasket, cheap and readily available. William

[arutha]

Which Unimat lathe do you have William? I had one of those awful Unimat SL/DB 1000’s. The motor was only rated to run for 7 mins at a time and it was great as long as you were only turning cheese. Anything harder than cheese and it would only remove microns at a time. They did do a constant rated motor for it but the lathe was so flimsy I just sold it on. The Unimat 3 I have heard is much better.

[willofiam]

Hey Paul, the horizontal one is a DB200 Selecta , and the other I use as a drill press it is a DB 200 SL. I havent noticed the motor doing what you are describing, I do not use it much but once in a while I do need it. I am debating about trying to sell these and my watchmakers lathe and finding a nice watchmakers lathe with all the bells and whistles. I wonder if a complete 10mm would cover my needs. anyone have any thoughts about that? I someday want to cut gears but at the same time be turning balance staffs, well not at the same time 🙄 but you know….. well maybe when I get as good as Paul. …William

[arutha]

Oh dear, you have the same Unimat I did They did later bring out motors that were constant rated so that’s probably why yours are OK. Have you not noticed the bed flexing when doing stuff? Those two rails are not very robust!
I don’t mean to disrespect your machinery
If it does what you need it to do then that is all that matters.

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