Tool Rest Upgrade

[Bill Alston]

Anyone tried this?

 

[Ricc Havens]

I did that a few years ago on my Jet 1642 lathe tool rest. It held up for a couple years until I upgraded to a PM3520 and sold the Jet. Last I knew the guy who bought the lathewas still using it.

 

[Bill Alston]

Thanks for that. I may give it a try.

 

[robo hippy]

The only bad thing about epoxying a hardened bar on is that if you drop it, the bar can pop off. Not difficult to glue back on. The early Robust ones were epoxied. Now they weld them on. I used A2 drill rod which was hardened on my bowl rests when I made them. I found out that you could weld them on without losing any temper in the rod. Not sure how the D Way case hardened rods will work.

robo hippy

 

[Aaron Harris]

Yeah, I did it right after I got my 3520C. Followed his instructions in the video, and LOVE the results! I have turned some heavy, wet, uneven blanks riding on that rest. So it has taken an enormous amount of abuse already, and that 3/8" hardened steel bar stays smooth as glass, though I'll still buff it on occasion with steel wool, and then rub in some paste wax.. I promise you it's not going anywhere with that JB weld. Definitely worth doing if you hate filing an iron tool rest like I do.

 

[Bill Alston]

Not sure how the D Way case hardened rods will work.

robo hippy

They’re not case hardened. According to the website they are M42 HSS. If I do it I’ll use ordinary M2 HSS, should be good enough.

 

[hockenbery]

If I do it I’ll use ordinary M2 HSS, should be good enough.

I have several Robust rests with the drill rod. Also several cast iron.
I use the cast iron a lot. File the edge occasionally and run an old candle over it.
Smooth and reliable.

I use the Short Robust when I want a short rest. A comfort rest the end tucks in nicely between work and tailstock
Use the robust Jrest for hollowing bowls.
These I run sandpaper over occasionally to clean them. These start to add a bit of drag when sap and stuff collects on them.
These I choose for the shape and function. They are great at their jobs.

The cast iron rest is great at its job.

 

[Doug Freeman]

I’ve never tried it, having bought rests with a hardened rod to replace cast iron, but it’s what I would do with a cast iron rest. Just a pita to have to deal with cast iron.

I do have one soft rest - Lyle Jamieson’s threaded rest. Lyle’s reasoning for a soft rest is to have the rest ding vs a hollowing tool bar.

 

[Bill Alston]

I do have one soft rest - Lyle Jamieson’s threaded rest. Lyle’s reasoning for a soft rest is to have the rest ding vs a hollowing tool bar.

I’ve not thought of it before but that would seem to make sense.

 

[Earl Recker]

Where is the best source for the rod?

 

[robo hippy]

They’re not case hardened. According to the website they are M42 HSS. If I do it I’ll use ordinary M2 HSS, should be good enough.

View attachment 62890

Well, Jimmy did tell me that the box rests were case hardened, and I have several of them and love them.

I have no clue how to harden the drill rod that is common for a lot of tool rests. I do use the 'A' which is for air cooled or what ever. It is far harder just to start with than the O 'oil' or W 'water'. The A drill rod can be had at a lot of places.

robo hippy

 

[Bill Alston]

Where is the best source for the rod?

I’ve seen it on Amazon and eBay at reasonable prices. I’ll probably try some 6mm or maybe 8mm on the 6” tool rest for my Midi lathe.

 

[Aaron Harris]

Where is the best source for the rod?

I just got the 14x3/8" rod from the D-Way site to fit my big PM tool-rest: M-42 Steel Rod for Tool Rest

He also has them in 6 and 8 inches, or can cut to any length you want. There are no doubt cheaper options, though I used it as an excuse to throw in another one of his tools too.

 

[Peter Van Rijssen]

This is great! Tired of filing down my Jet rest which knicks easily. My neighbor welds, are there any special techniques to weld this rod onto my rest that I should share with him? He does both mig and tig.

 

[Brian Gustin]

This is great! Tired of filing down my Jet rest which knicks easily. My neighbor welds, are there any special techniques to weld this rod onto my rest that I should share with him? He does both mig and tig.

don't need welding, just some good quality 24 hour set JB Weld (not the 5 minute stuff) will hold the rod very nicely (See D-Way's video that is linked in the Original Post, perhaps.. I'd seen it some time back and reviewed it today) I just started putting mine on my OneWay rests following that same advice - using the same JB Weld they recommended.

 

[Brian Gustin]

don't need welding, just some good quality 24 hour set JB Weld (not the 5 minute stuff) will hold the rod very nicely (See D-Way's video that is linked in the Original Post, perhaps.. I'd seen it some time back and reviewed it today) I just started putting mine on my OneWay rests following that same advice - using the same JB Weld they recommended.

Update on this, after it got fully cured (24 hours) I was sanding down some of it to smooth things out and get some bits of over-drip off the rod itself, and dropped it on the concrete floor (from about 34" bench height) it landed right on the corner of the rod where one might expect it to take the worst beating and it held together just fine- dented the floor and didn't even ding the M42 steel rod at all, so I would have to say if a catch is gonna break it off, it'd have to be a MONSTER catch! That stuff holds real good.

 

[Peter Van Rijssen]

Update on this, after it got fully cured (24 hours) I was sanding down some of it to smooth things out and get some bits of over-drip off the rod itself, and dropped it on the concrete floor (from about 34" bench height) it landed right on the corner of the rod where one might expect it to take the worst beating and it held together just fine- dented the floor and didn't even ding the M42 steel rod at all, so I would have to say if a catch is gonna break it off, it'd have to be a MONSTER catch! That stuff holds real good.

Good to hear it held up. Just ordered one. Thanks again for posting.