The tailstock on this lathe is locked to the bed by a clamp plate pulled up by tightening a 13mm nut with a spanner. I have found this situation irritating for two reasons: 1. The need to constantly apply the spanner for any adjustment. 2. When the saddle is close to the tailstock, the topslide handle prevents operation of the spanner. (See photo 1). I decided that a lever operated lock would solve these problems. The question was how to achieve this with the minimum alteration to the tailstock and the minimum complication in its manufacture. What follows is my attempt to answer these questions. (See photos 2 and 3). I am sure that this is only a variation on a theme, but I have not seen anything similar described before and it may be of interest to others having the same problems. Some minor dimensional changes may be necessary when modifying other makes of lathe. The items could be made entirely of mild steel or whatever suitable materials are available. I used what was about and dimensioned the device accordingly. Clearly for prolonged heavy usage, some wear would be expected on the cam spindle, the bearing block and lock plunger. So far this has not proved to be a problem, but either case hardening or use of a hardenable steel would probably offer longer life.
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