Radial joint insall

[JonW]

Measure the center height on your lathe and figure out what steady would be best suited and check eBay and similar sites and buy a used metal lathe steady and modify it to work on your lathe. The scooter wheel ones will do more damage than they will help you.

Yeah the scooter one just got delivered, I’m not very impressed now that I’ve done some more research since it’s only adjustable by hand and not some sort of screw mechanism. I’m sure if I take a ton of time to get it centered it will do okay but it’s going to be a pain for sure.

 

[DeeDeeCues]

Once you figure out a center steady, buy a morse taper boring head. Drill undersized, then bore to final. Small tailstock alignment issues are rendered meaningless, and you don't need to attempt to drill/ream to final size.

 

[JonW]

Once you figure out a center steady, buy a morse taper boring head. Drill undersized, then bore to final. Small tailstock alignment issues are rendered meaningless, and you don't need to attempt to drill/ream to final size.

Awesome idea, I didn’t know those existed! Basically takes the place of the tool holder I was used to on metal lathes (to a small extent)