home made tool rest

[Gloon]

Here is a very simple and quick short tool rest I made in about 20 minute this afternoon.

Just a piece of 5/8 inch aluminum cut and drilled and a tendon turned on the lathe at the top of the post. Initially I was going to thread the attachment so i could swap out the top bar but just epoxied it instead.

Given that it's aluminum I'll see how beat up it gets over time.

 

[Fish30114]

I think where that would be most likely to get chewed up is where the screw presses against the post to raise and lower the tool rest. I would make sure I had a piece of nylon/plastic between the 'set' screw and the post--a piece of tennis ball lid is a good thing to use.

 

[low_48]

A coat of paste wax on the rest will help, aluminum can get "draggy". As mentioned. the post won't last long against the steel bolt. The joint is called a mortise and tenon.

 

[raar25]

Good luck it will probably get very nicked up. When it does just hit it with a file. As mentioned aluminum has a very high coefficient of friction so it isn't an ideal material.