Lathe tailstock bed clamp

This is how I clamp my 7x16 lathe tailstock. It’s similar to how it works on standard, lower price mini lathes, but with a permanent lever and a left hand thread instead of a hex nut and wrench.

This takes a little more room than the regular M10 nut, and where I could usually squeeze the open ended 17mm wrench underneath the top slide, now this often requires moving the carriage to clear the lever but it’s quicker to use and requires a little less attention. It was also easier to make than modifying things to add a cam lock mechanism, and is more compact than many of those.

It works pretty well, though a thinner flat lever would have better clearance than the round one I foolishly made to match other levers on the lathe.

I notice Stefan Gotteswinter added the same kind of clamp to his lathe several years earlier: youtu.be/n1ytS1lhVFg?t=25m25s l’m surprised it’s not more common.

The clamping plate and lower end of the stud of mine are threaded 3/8-16 right hand, and upper end and the lever are threaded 3/8-16 left hand. This way I could reuse the clamping plate, and makes it simple adjusting for the best handle position.

Side view showing the tailstock clamped in place, and end view showing top slide clearance:

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Top view showing the lever in un-clamped, and clamped positions:

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