Jim Bradley just wrote up an article for building one...
http://familywoodworking.org/forums/showthread.php?t=20577&highlight=steady+rest
Hint: Hit the thrift store and look for some used roller blades for donor wheels.
Hi,
The steady rest works fine. It has one flaw. It works fine unless you are trying to steady a piece with a large diameter...The lower wheel unit hits the base before the wheel unit is fully retracted.
It has two aggrevations. It is inconvenient to attach to the lathe. You have to put your hand under the bed to align the hold down block. It is really crowded at the head of the bolt use to tighten the unit to the lathe.
I put a quarter inch earth magnet near each end of the hold down cross piece. This automatically turns the crosspiece to the proper location once it has been passed down between the ways.
The room at the bolt head can be solved either one of two ways. First way: Move the lower left wheel unit up a few degrees. This will allow it to move further away from the turning center. This is the also the way you solve the flaw mentioned in paragraph one.
The second way: Cut the rectangular area at the bolt head so that it is wider (2 inches or more). Also cut it deeper to give more vertical room for the wrench.
I am building a second unit and taking more pics. It is, unfortunately, going a bit slow. For example Glenn and Debbie are visiting tomorrow so writing a tutorial will be far from my mind (Glenn will probably make me clean my shop somewhat.). I had a bad fall and I just plain move slowly (when I can move) at this point.
The second unit will be as simple to construct as the first one. The text is a bit more verbose because I am trying to make the tutorial more generic. I try to explain how to make it for YOUR lathe, I also give the dimensions for my particular unit. The concept behind the design was KISS.
Do remember, the larger the wheels the larger the minimum size wood it will work with. You can draw three circles that just touch each other. Try one inch circles and try two inch circles---notice how the space for the wood enlarges. The wood has to be large enough in diameter that it will touch all three wheels or you get no steadying.
It will be done. The text part is pretty well done. The building is started and some photos have been taken. This should be a much clearer and hopefully more logical presentation than the first write-up.
It will be done, however it will be a few days.
Enjoy,
Jim