Brian Caddy of Slideway Services did my Super 7 bed and saddle. Excellent job.

John

Have you actually determined that the bed needs regrinding? A lot of "worn out beds" are mostly the headstock bearings and carriage dovetails worn. If you measure the lathe bed and the vertical thickness of the front shear is within five thou or so but the width is worn more, you can probably get away with doing the "Wide Guide" conversion, for the the cost of a short piece of 1/16" x 1/2" gauge plate. You pin it or glue it in the rear of teh carriage dovetails so it bears on the back of the rear shear, which is unused and therefore unworn, on the pre-1970s models that did not come standard with the "wide guide". The worn out front vertical shear is then left unused after the conversion.

Ah, well now, scrap value, sounds like you are doing well. Man after my own heart and all that! A few hacksaw marks will not do any harm. They retain a bit of oil if anything. Smooth the edges off and carry on. You'll soon measure the wear with a standard 0-1 mike when it arrives. Thickness of the front of the front front way six inches out from the lefthand end compared with the far righthand end will pretty much tell you in a heartbeat if a regrind is imminent in your life. Further confirmation with a straight edge and feelers is always a good move though, just in case the gods of straightness are smiling on you through the clouds.

Yikes! Good thing, yes. Must have been a very goodly height, or very large RSJ to bend a lathe bed out of shape.