Lathe steady dilema

[matthew_g]

I am an old time reader and new time member of this forum.And firstly would like to introduce myself. My name is Matthew and I live in Bairnsdale Victoria Australia. Now my question is...........Can any travelling or fixed steady be used on any lathe or do they have to be specifically for that brand of lathe. thankyou for your possiable answers.:Dhttp://www.freewebs.com/myworkshopandprojects/

[Woodlee]

It would depend on how the steady is fixed to the lathe ,some lathes have an angled raised section on the bed witch fits into a corresponding groove in the base of the steady ,others locate on the inside of the ways for lathes that have flat ways . As long as you can get a good solid mounting and the centre height and front to back alignment are close you should be ok as the steady can be adjusted.
You may need to make some mods as far as mounting holes and clamping .You seem to be very well set up as far as workshop facilities go ,so I would think you could make some mods with out too much trouble.

Kev.

[damian]

For the mars ?

Your easiest option may be to make some. Basically it's just a frame that clamps to the bed or saddle with some pointers aimed at the center. For that machine you want maybe 5/8 thick or more steel, work out a good way to clamp it down then run something into the center with brass tips. If you want to get fancy put bearings on the pointers.

Afterall what else are you going to do with your time ? Isn't the primary purpose of a lathe to make tooling for the lathe ? :D

Ebay in the us has a good selection of steadies if you prefer not to make your own, but watch shipping. You should be able to adapt some from a 10 - 12" lathe. That mars is about 10" isn't it ?

[Fossil]

Hey Mathew. I used to have a GS just like yours. It was 4.9 litre and was the same yellow/black.

Last time I saw it was about 1990, crushed flat on top of a pile of other wrecks.

I had a lot of fun in that car. :2tsup:

[matthew_g]

I knew you guys would have some ideas to help me out.I will have a go at making one.Or at least copy a smaller one that I have.My main reason for the question is that there is a large steady on ebay I was hoping would fit straight on. I love this forum and am very glad i took the time to join.Thanks again Matt

[matthew_g]

Fords rule don't they Fossil. Well at least the the oldies like the GS. At the moment she is stripped down to a bare shell. Now the hard yards have to be put in to restore the old girl.In my spare time(LOL)