Introduction

[blekenbleu]

I have owned a 3-in-1 for over 10 years, only using the lathe
and mostly for fabricating and adapting parts for my track car.
Now, I want to turn inside tubing, so need a steady rest,
but they do not appear to be available for 3-in-1s.

I intend to fabricate the rest from an extra HF 3979 bearing separator.

References to draw bar in the 3-in-1 forum here
finally convinced me to more thoroughly investigate my HF 5980;
the top of its spindle bore was plugged solid with grease.
I bought a 1/2 inch mill holder on close-out long ago for $5,
but just ordered a 3/8 holder to mill slots for steady arms.

[spro]

I see the separater part loosely conforms to the rest you envision. I don't think it is a good choice. I did stuff like that and it doesn't work except like emergency. The surface at least of these are Very hard and knarley to drill through. I think you will be pleased when you use that head. You just find a piece of angle at least 3/8 thick or alum 1/2 You can open that up with a large hole saw. Again with your new holders shape it out.

[blekenbleu]

I see the separater part loosely conforms to the rest you envision. I don't think it is a good choice. I did stuff like that and it doesn't work except like emergency.

sigh

The surface at least of these are Very hard and knarley to drill through.

Shoot, here I was worrying about how to cut 2-inch radii when my main cutting weapon is a 30-year-old 4x6 bandsaw; now I should worry about bimetal blade abuse.
I ground one end flat using a 6" belt sander, but it probably would be hardened closer to the semi-circular wedges.

I think you will be pleased when you use that head.

I've read about accelerated wear from milling with the spindle extended, so will try to avoid that.

You just find a piece of angle at least 3/8 thick or alum 1/2 You can open that up with a large hole saw. Again with your new holders shape it out.

I expect that a 3-inch metal-cutting hole saw will be spendy, and angle that big costs more than the bearing separator.
Oh well.

[spro]

Hold on old bleu. I hope you know I'm just a garage type machinist and not really able to call myself that among many here. It is just that it could work but be entirely inapropriate. You have to consider the footprint for a steady and how it will lock securely to the bed. I don't see any way the holes in ....blah blah (meaning you already know). Anyway what I was referring to is a section of angle to where the face of the verticle is perpendicular to the bed ways. The bed part is cut off to be narrow. It must be thick to have some meat for getting some Vee groove and flat mating going on. So then if you follow me aluminum at 1/2" thick is ok or more better. You can profile and cut to fit the bed and it wont scratch it. The thickess blah you can mill cut recesses to hold the fingers of brass or bbrg holders. You have to work this up and remember they open up so it's like a lap joint at the back hinge. So if you hawg out a hole its going to be different once together.
Now you may wonder where to get this stuff but if you are specific it is there. Also now aluminum prices are down and many offices buildings and hospitals had heavy aluminum fixtures 10 20 feet length all the time to hold heavy monitors and these are demo'd so I leave that to you. They don't want to be responsible for anything.
The deal with perfectly useable scrap is that I have only my own and don't know what they do now.
My mental picture is a guy walking in with 100s lbs new coppa wire and plumbing pipe and being a good baby daddy his gal is rolling around a stroller and the kid falls out. It's a big calamity and they just shut down pick-a-part stuff. Somebody likely to get injured. LOL

[blekenbleu]

Hold on old bleu. I hope you know I'm just a garage type machinist and not really able to call myself that among many here.

Fair enough, but I had not really thought about that bearing separator being hardened, much less using a hole saw in thick steel angle.

It is just that it could work but be entirely inapropriate. You have to consider the footprint for a steady and how it will lock securely to the bed. I don't see any way the holes in ....blah blah (meaning you already know). Anyway what I was referring to is a section of angle to where the face of the verticle is perpendicular to the bed ways. The bed part is cut off to be narrow. It must be thick to have some meat for getting some Vee groove and flat mating going on.

With my 3-in-1, the rest will probably have to anchor to the cross-slide T slots.

So then if you follow me aluminum at 1/2" thick is ok or more better. You can profile and cut to fit the bed and it wont scratch it. The thickess blah you can mill cut recesses to hold the fingers of brass or bbrg holders. You have to work this up and remember they open up so it's like a lap joint at the back hinge. So if you hawg out a hole its going to be different once together.
Now you may wonder where to get this stuff but if you are specific it is there. Also now aluminum prices are down and many offices buildings and hospitals had heavy aluminum fixtures 10 20 feet length all the time to hold heavy monitors and these are demo'd so I leave that to you.

I expect some welding will be involved before this is done, so steel sounds better to me.

The deal with perfectly useable scrap is that I have only my own and don't know what they do now.

Likewise, but nearly all my scrap is automotive.
I decided to follow-on to this in the 3-in-1 forum:
http://www.chaski.org/homemachinist/vie ... hp?t=80601

[spro]

Cool. If you have a junk auto transmission most of the new one have a housing around the input drive bearing. To further explore slicing is dicey as the walls are thin and this must be stronger. Let's see no, no, no, starter casement ~ not excactly the starter Okay. Junk bellhousing! where the starter would be mounted. Some are too bulbous but some I'm sure lay into the possibilities area.