Steady rest with predictable micron-sized adjustment

A steady rest for gripping and finely positioning a workpiece, the steady rest comprising:

• a working cover plate and a right-hand cover plate,
• a central plate disposed between the working and right-hand cover plates, the central plate being adapted to move slidably therebetween, the central plate having an upper and a lower cross-channel for engaging upper and lower gripping arms, the gripping arms being movable relative to the working and right-hand cover plates between a clamped position and a retracted position, the working cover plate also having a rail recess and a pair of cavities that respectively receive upper and lower guide tracks and track engagement springs that bias the guide tracks within cavities;
• a tapered horizontal rail situated in the rail recess, the tapered horizontal rail being adapted to cause displacement of the workpiece horizontally;
• a vertical rail with a flat face that abuts the horizontal rail and an opposing face with inclined sections that meet on opposing sides of a flat middle section, the vertical rail being adapted to move the workpiece vertically, the vertical rail also being received in the rail recess,
• the horizontal and vertical rails contacting the rail recess and each other while controlling location of the gripping arms, the horizontal and vertical rails being movable relative to each other under the guidance of rail pins that extend along channels defined within the horizontal and vertical rails and rail washers to avoid binding and to adjust a position relative to the working and right-hand cover plates at which the workpiece will be clamped when the upper and lower gripping arms are in the clamped position.