Mellor lathe

You might struggle to find an original accessory. However, depending upon centre height you might be able to roll your own from one of the excellent casting from http://www.collegeengineering.co.uk/product-category/castings/steady-castings/

That should have been a very useful link, Brian

... But all variants of the steady castings appear to be 'unavailable'.

Any idea if this is a temporary glitch, or a sign of decline ?

MichaelG.

CES (the new owners) have stopped supplying castings and can't be bothered to update their website

Thanks, John ... It's as I feared.

MichaelG.

There is the possibility of fabricating one from steel, a welder would be handy but not essential.

Ian S C

Hemingway do a kit for the Myford 7 series. My 5" centre height lathe has a Super7 steady mounted on a packer block, works OK as long as you dn't want huge diameter

Like Duncan, my Peter "Bushy" Robinson Slotting Tool for a Series 7 Myford now sits on a packing block to suit my 6" centre height lathe.

As already said, if you can't find a secondhand one that can be adapted, you could make one. If you choose to go down this route, my preference would be to use sealed ball races rather than bronze shoes to steady the workpiece.

By making your own, you may be able to produce an item that meets your needs more exactly than a proprietary item.

There have several articles in the Model Engineering press on making a steady for a particular lathe, or for some job that is too big for the "normal" device.

Howard

Howard makes a good point, especially for older lathes now fitted with quick change tool posts. Lathes which originally would have had a lantern toolpost hold the tool on or very near the compound's swivel centre-line so a travelling steady would would be designed to sit just to the left of centre. 4-way toolposts and more recently quick change tool posts have much more width and hold the tool much further to the left, in a position which is likely to clash with the steady.

I've had to fabricate a steel travelling steady for one of my lathes for which I have the original item because of how awkward it was to use when making leadscrews.