Steady Rest Trial Run and Question ?

Last day for fun before i go back to work so i thought i would try out the steady rest i had built (see below). It worked fairly well with a bit of a wobble when i started using it.......put it on and hand screwed the bottom wheels to the bowl and then tighten it up....then lowered the top wheel and snugged it down lightly and tighten it up......I think the bowl was a little out of round but not sure (i did not take it out of the chuck)....except the wobble it seemed to work well and i finished the small vase below...
Ok problems i ran into were the wobble and i did tighten it up more and snugged it more but didnt help....loosen it back up a bit as i began to get some stress cracks ....very mild but i thought it may be from the tension
Any thoughts on this ??
Then sanded it with 100 grit and put several coats of lemon oil inside and out and will have to wait until it drys out a bit and i have some time off to finish it.

The other bowl in the picture labled Tennon was just a bowl out of some wood i had but the tennon broke on it...it was a soft light kind of wood...............any thoughts on reparing to finish ???
or should i just flatten it and put a glue block on it ???

I forgot the website but someone made a really nice steady rest out of steel with wheels but i cant find it........i may try to make another one out of steel............

Anyway.......fun to write and share this stuff..........Thanks Dan

This one?

http://familywoodworking.org/forums/showthread.php?t=11883

Tony.........thanks......now needing some demensions and such but yes that is the one............very strong and nicely built......

I'm guessing those wheels are 3-4". That would make the side and upper members about 12" and the lower attachments about 6". Keep in mind that this is pure speculation on my part

Dan Mosley said:

Tony.........thanks......now needing some demensions and such but yes that is the one............very strong and nicely built......

Click to expand...

The dimensions are dictated by the size of your lathe. You can figure out where the middle is (the spindle), and work your way outward from there.

Dan,

My thinking is that you are squeezing the vase too hard and distorting it from round to more of an oval shape. This may be the cause of your stress cracks.

I remember we discussed this some when you first posted about your steady rest. I advised you to only bring the wheels up to just touch the piece being turned. A steady rest is just that, a "rest", not a clamp. The primary job of the steady rest it to guide the piece to keep it from moving away from the cutter and keep it from getting out of center while it spins.

If you have ever seen a "follower rest" for a metal lathe, there are only two contact points on the rest, one behind the piece and one above. As the tool cuts, the reaction movement would be for the piece to move away from the tool (flexing to to the back of the lathe) and while the piece turns downward on the cutting face, the reaction would be to want to climb upward (in resistance to the cut) There is no clamping at all, just a holding of the piece in position and center. On a full steady rest there are three contact points but those only have a small flat that rides on the piece (no wheels) and these are only brought to touch the piece and keep it in position.

This is what the wood turning steady rest should do also. It does not need to be so vary tight as to distort the piece. And I still think you should have the two wheels on the top bar.

Hope this helps.

Aloha, Tony

Tony - - - - I agree and on my day off im going to try it again and this time add the extra wheel to the top and make sure im not tightening it down...........ill let you know and thanks for the tips......Dan

Dan, I'll second Tony's advice. When I use my steady, I adjust the wheels to just touch the wood. If the piece is ever so slightly out of round, it only touches on the high spots.

Dan,

There really is no reason to have to add an extra wheel to the top, just switch positions of the crossbars placing the two wheel one on the top, and the single wheel one on the bottom. This should work well enough. All you need to do is a "whole lot of nut spinning" to make the swap.

And I think you can eliminate those split lock washers too. All you need is the flat washers. When you tighten the nuts down on the crossbars, give the underside nut a little tightening to eaqualize the bar position and keep the wheel in the correct position for proper pressure on the piece.

Hope this helps.

Aloha, Tony