I think the Rockwell 11' cross slide is only about 8' long and the MLA is a few inches longer. Without restarting the debate, it might be of some use for a rear cut-off tool post if for no other reason than it's always there and ready to go, regardless of opinion on relative merit.Īnother benefit that occurs to me, with respect to the Rockwell cross slide, is that slides like the MLA are considerably longer with more bearing surface. I could make a plate like Evans and get at least some of the light duty fixture benefits/options, though at the expense of swing. My original Rockwell cross slide doesn't really lend itself to mounting anything but the compound or a plinth. Stuff like primitive line boring on the lathe, and especially for those who choose to mill on the lathe, but in general is it worth the effort to machine and scrape in a custom slide like the MLA? I have 2 questions.ġ) What lathes ever came with multi t-slot cross slides like that? I see them fairly often and can't imagine they are all shop built.Ģ) Is it really worth going to the effort of making a custom cross slide with t-slots? I know it would be nice for some setups.

The one that sparked my interest in placing this post is visible in a pic on the Radius Cutter Designs thread in post #4. I've seen the MLA cross slide, and I've seen a number of cross slides with multiple t-slots.

Atlas lathe cross slide cover t slot