Wheels for a Steady Rest

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Villa Park, CA
I mostly do spindle turning for furniture. To support small work, I made a steady rest, shown in the attached pixs, using in-line skate wheels.

My problem is that if I try to support anything smaller than about 1/2" I can't bring the wheels in close enough - the wheels hit before they touch the spindle.

To fix this, I need smaller wheels but I don't know what to use. Any ideas?

I'd probably need really small rubber wheels, maybe an inch in diameter, to be able to support really small things. I thought about roller things, but it's generally better to have the wheels with a small footprint on the spindle so you can work all of the spindle except for the small footprint of the wheels.

All suggestions appreciated. Maybe this problem has already been solved in lathe land.

Mike
 

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Skateboard wheels are a much smaller diameter than inline skate wheels :dunno:

They are about an inch wide, but that might actually help, the good ones have ball bearings in them, and you can easily buy just the wheels, as skaters change wheels for fashion, different surfaces for just fun! :D
 
If you are doing really small spindles make a string steady, it is what the pros use for really spindly spindles. Sorry, the pics of have of it are at the L shop, I'm at home now.

Cheers!
 
I ran into the problem turning the spindles for the back of a Windsor chair, specifically the chair shown in the attached pix. Each spindle is long and without the steady rest, it flops around quite a bit between centers.

My estimate of 1/2" for the steady rest I have is actually too small. Those spindles were a bit larger than 1/2" diameter and the steady rest would not support them properly.

So I'm looking for smaller wheels which will allow me to turn things like those chair back spindles with support. But I'd like narrow wheels, like the in-line skate wheels, but in a smaller diameter, and with good bearings, like the in-line skate bearings.

I suppose I could use the bearings by themselves, and that's what I'll do if I can't find any wheels to meet my needs.

Mike
 

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Mike, could you alter the spacing on the wheels...set one wheel on the other side of the rest and maybe a block on the third so they don't all touch the spindle at the same apex? Don't know if that would work or not.
 
Thanks for the suggestions. Vaughn, Those wheels look like what I need. I wouldn't have thought to look there.

Chuck, that's how I was able to turn those spindles - I moved the top arm to the other side of the jig. But with my design, with captured arms, there's still a problem (I won't go into details) so I was looking for smaller wheels as a simple solution.

Tony, thanks for the pointer - I'll check it out.

Mike
 
could you alter the spacing on the wheels...set one wheel on the other side of the rest and maybe a block on the third so they don't all touch the spindle at the same apex?

Off setting the wheels for me is the way to go. But your settings or pressure as you set it up will be important. It might pay to add an additional wheel for greater support when the offset occurs.

By off setting you can support any small diameter.
 
Mike H.

I have the same Jet 1236 as you. Couldn't help but notice the oversize hand wheel...........where did you find that ?
I could use one myself so I don't have to lokk for the small chrome piece I have.

Thanks,

Angelo D
 
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