Follower rest bolts for the 13"?

Just trying to figure out what fasteners I need to order to mount the follower on my 13". 5/16 is too small. 3/8" seems to be the right O.D. but the thread pitch doesn't seem right. Are the saddles on the 13s tapped for fine thread 3/8-24 fasteners?

They are standard on my 1966 13, but 50 years of use without anything in those holes left a lot of grime, etc. in the holes. I chased them out with a bottoming tap before attempting to attach my follower. I keep a couple of short screws installed now to keep grime out.

Just a Sparky said:

Just trying to figure out what fasteners I need to order to mount the follower on my 13". 5/16 is too small. 3/8" seems to be the right O.D. but the thread pitch doesn't seem right. Are the saddles on the 13s tapped for fine thread 3/8-24 fasteners?

Click to expand...

Funny you should mention the follower rest bolt thread size as I just went through
this issue a few days ago. Sorry but my machine is a 9", not a 13.
But it took quite a lot of soaking and cleaning of these threads before I could
even begin to screw in a bolt to determine thread size. I even used a 90 degree dental
pick to clean out the beginning few threads. I finally determined that it was
5/16 - 18 thread, and used a thread restoring tool (not a tap) to clean out
all the hardened muck and swarf, followed by a dozen swabs soaked in thinner.
I screwed in a couple of set screws just to block them off for the time being. (photo)

Point being, make sure the threads are super clean and that you can start a few threads
with a bolt before chasing. I would be inclined to guess they are 3/8 course thread
as opposed to fine, especially in cast iron. But someone around here knows for sure.
(OOOPS there it is...Gene Poole beat me too it)

PMc
(For some reason, my photos are being limited to 15kb.)

View attachment 310484

The screws are 3/8" x 16 x 1-3/4", according to the South Bend Parts Manual. You'll probably find that years and years of being open to the world has filled the threads with all kinds of small swarf and dried oil. I had to chase my threads with a tap to properly clean them out in preparation for use.

Three ways of saying the exact same thing.

Chased all the s*** out of the threads with a tap and got it to fit.

Thanks!