Steady Rest Models and Plans
Added 2020-04-18 17:59:39 +0000 UTCHey Patrons! Here are the drawings for the Steady Rest project. I've posted these before, but since I just put up the final video in that series, I thought people might like to see them again. Feel free to ask any questions about it. Obviously if you want to make this yourself, it would likely need to be tailored to the size of casting you have (or want to make) but maybe it'll be a helpful guideline. At the very least, this is a design that I can confirm works very well, if you're looking for inspiration.
Comments
I used these: https://www.mcmaster.com/57155K387 Stainless steel, good to 50,000 RPM and can take a 240lb dynamic load. Pretty impressive for a 1/2" bearing! They're not even very expensive, considering they are ABEC-5 rated. That's probably more precise than the bearings in my lathe, to be perfectly honest. They put what amount to truck wheel bearings in these Chinese lathes. Very good, but not "high precision spindle" good.
Blondihacks
2020-04-21 21:28:18 +0000 UTCLoved the idea of modifying a steady rest to work better/properly, I have pulled my out out to use only to find it does does not align up also. What was the bearing you used for this project?
Paul Vlatkovic
2020-04-21 09:11:56 +0000 UTCThank you. I really enjoy the insight you provide into your thought process and decision making process.
Todd Simkins
2020-04-20 22:28:19 +0000 UTCThat's a great question! I thought quite a bit about whether to reuse that casting and I decided to do so for a few reasons: 1) At the end of the day, it's a hunk of cast iron the right size and shape for this lathe. It seemed unnecessary to replicate that with some other material. It has an opening centered on the spindle, it has right shape on the bottom for sliding on the prismatic ways, and it's a beefy chunk of iron. Those are all things that would be a fair amount of work to recreate. 2) Scope control. I knew this was going to be a big project with a lot of fiddly parts to make. If I didn't draw the line somewhere, I was never going to finish it. As it is, it was probably a 40-50 hour project just in machining time, but it's hard to say for sure because it was a lot of small sessions, and a lot of camera setup time. 3) I can always make a new frame later if I want, and move all the parts I made over to it, so there's no effort lost here. It has crossed my mind that this steady rest is a little on the small side for this lathe, so I might like a bigger frame someday. If I had it to do over again, one thing I would do differently is to machine that casting a lot more. I should have faced both sides, and bored out the interior. That would have allowed me to control overall dimensions a lot better, and not need to build in so much adjustability.
Blondihacks
2020-04-19 20:21:42 +0000 UTCI enjoyed the steady rest project series, but was wondering what drove the decision to reuse the casting versus starting from scratch? Was it the cost/complexity of machining from all new material, the fun of trying to improve on the budget hardware, or something else? I really appreciate how much insight you offer with your design and decision making process.
Todd Simkins
2020-04-19 11:27:51 +0000 UTC
