Carriage lock
The basic design of my carriage lock is very similar to that described on the gadgetbuilder website (www.gadgetbuilder.com) and I shall not describe it in detail. The tee slot cross slide is a little wider than the standard cross slide and the boss of the locking screw and the lever must be below the gib screws. This means that it fouls on the cross slide casting when the carriage is unlocked, as shown above. This in turn limits how closely the tailstock can approach the cross slide. In most instances this is relatively unimportant but sometimes it is a nuisance.
As this photo shows the problem can be easily solved by making the lever a little shorter than the space between the "legs" of the cross slide casting. The lever is still long enough to transmit enough torque to lock the cross slide, but when necessary it can be slid in and tucked away between the two "legs".