I was foolishly trying to round a large piece of tree stump which was out of round and the roughing gouge caught on the wood and broke my cast iron tool holder. The tool holder (as I discovered) was probably not flat and not very heavy so it was really only designed for lightish work.
When I looked up replacements they were of the order of $160. After some research I decided to fabricate one from bits of steel I had lying about the place.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDaTKwyUAUz7rm_BvNSX5p5lCqkpf0rDi82Kah0sG8fVnFshpy6igeSr0sJxZnc9wJ0wZNlc12r6gJsp7vdzktqrQj4KD_N13RQ6dctkpmCTzKQd3V32PrLhvAUzbSnRvMhM6zpyOcOjHa/s320/IMG_1439.JPG)
Parts list
- Length of 15mm square steel
- 75mm x 5mm flat steel
- 3/4" water pipe
- 10mm nut
- Eccentric bar and circlips (recovered from the old tool rest)
- Bed securing assembly (recovered from the old tool rest)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOgy_pYP3l5zNqGHjAPntNITggt9SmGYN5ZnYS7w__pzjWUpF1u37bKhunsQr54cV-iiqlVAn2HNFqBMd20yxTToadyBJWOftn7LfM6lmfyWEomOP8YjjO73KNQb5eYqCJwYhSeCyr5Gg6/s320/IMG_1440.JPG)
I started by cutting the 15mm steel square into two lengths the length of the old holder less 10mm for the two end plates. I put a small 45 deg chamferon the corners of the bars to take the weld. From the flat steel I then cut two pieces one for each end, the one at the tool rest end being higher to cater for the tool rest. I then cut a short piece of the 3/4 water pipe for the tool rest.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBpqg8Em0GMrUhAAXlcJqD25e-QKkRPqrg8MYMb9t5iPtjKvW15gIfHv2dpAre5fR0uRjs4IqZzIulF3sKSMQPzr6tPkdrwbW6IdmLf-8-6nE_qgjgvPhR2AGBGjBr6dAbvC3ZCRJyy5Wq/s320/IMG_1441.JPG)
I drilled two 20mm holes in the end places centered across and 5mm up from the bottom. I then welded these plates onto the 15mm bars I cut previously. This left a gap of about 50mm in the center for the eccentric bar. I then welded the piece of 3/4" pipe to the inside of the longer end plate to take the tool rest. After drilling a 10mm hole in the side of the pipe, using a short piece of threaded rod as a gauge, I welded a 10mm nut to the pipe to take the tool rest securing screw. I used a 10mm tap to clean up any splatter that obstructed the thread and to cater for any misalignment with the 10mm hole in the pipe.
The assembly was now complete. I then reassembled it and tested it on the lathe bed.
My thanks to Kryn over at the
Woodworking Forums for the idea.