Steady Rest Setup for Long Workpieces in Deep Hole Drilling: Placement, Alignment, and Support
Long workpieces cause problems that short ones do not. A 500mm shaft supported at both ends deflects under its own weight by a fraction of a millimeter. A 2000mm shaft deflects by several millimeters. That deflection pulls the hole off-center. Steady rests fix this. But only if they are set up correctly. A misaligned steady rest is worse than no steady rest — it forces the workpiece into a bend that the drill then follows. ...