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Show me your Steady Rests

Jeff Horton

Jeff Horton

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Finally got some roller blade wheels for a steady rest. I need to make one to hold the drill press column so I can clean it up. It will be much longer than the lathe bed but it will be low speed too. I have an idea or two but wanted to see others ideas.
 
Funny you should mention steady rests, Jeff. I'm researching home-made bowl steadys in anticipation of my hollowing rig's arrival, and have spent a chunk of the evening Googling 'bowl steady', 'skate wheel', and 'bearing'. For what you've described, it seems somthing simple like this would work:

bowl_steadyw_2.jpg


or this:

bowlsteadyw_3.jpg


(Credit to this article.)

I'm trying to figure out the best way to do one that won't be in the way of a laser, so I don't think this particular approach would work for me.
 
I cheaped out and just bought one. Not really for bowls though. Just spindle work.
 
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I know the idea was homemade but, with a digi camera making it so easy to post pics, what the hey?
This is the Grizzly model made to fit my lathe and other Griz'es. I have never had much success using it. I bought originally with the intention of turning canes (as in walking sticks) but found that 36" or longer, slender, hickory rods are simply just too 'whippy' to turn successfully. It would take four rests to hold them rigid. That is why most canes are made with joints and things like pool cues have special lathes for the job.
And a p.s. to Stu: Yes, I occasionally do try to use up the full length of my 42" bed. Not brilliantly yet, but I try. ;)
 

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jeff, here are a couple shots of the duplicators built in steady rest on the minimax/centauro lathe i use and a pic of the loose one i use for freehand work...tod
MVC-205S.JPG

MVC-206S.JPG

MVC-207S.JPG
 
This looks interesting to me. Pretty simple and straight forward. Most of all I can make it very cheap. ;)

rest.jpg

It should work on anything I need and would work on bowls just fine. Just would limit the size a bit. Main think right now it to steady some Drill press columns to polish them.
 
Jeff Horton said:
This looks interesting to me. Pretty simple and straight forward. Most of all I can make it very cheap. ;)

View attachment 2979

It should work on anything I need and would work on bowls just fine. Just would limit the size a bit. Main think right now it to steady some Drill press columns to polish them.
Click to expand...

jeff, for spinnin` drill press columns you`d be smart to consider making one out of metal instead of wood......tod
 
tod evans said:
jeff, for spinnin` drill press columns you`d be smart to consider making one out of metal instead of wood......tod
Click to expand...

I thought about that Tod. However they will be spun at very low speeds. Totally aware of the dynamics at play here. ;) No way am I going to spin these at any high speeds! Probably in the range of 40 or 50 RPMs. My chuck is made for wood, not metal so no high speeds. Don't want to die.:)

Secondly, this is a 3 time deal. That is I have two to do. A buddy wants to do one and then it goes to the shelf of back to scrap pile. If I ever do HF then it might be used.
 
40-60# 40-50rpm........wood-n-rollerskates:eek: ........stand to the side when you first hit the switch;) ......if it spinns you`re golden...tod
 
I finally got round to finishing mine.

I ended up with a wild and wobbly ride with just the big chunk of angle iron (I forget how soft steel can be!) and I put a big chunk of hard Sakura under it..............

bowl_steady_front.jpg
It is ROCK solid with that big chunk of wood in there now, but maybe you can see the new problem I've created..... :rolleyes:

bowl_steady_low.jpg
Yep, I'm going to have to do some shaping with the angle grinder :dunno:

bowl_steady_back.jpg
All in all, I think it worked OK, now I got to get some time to do some turning so I can try it out.

Cheers!
 
I like that Stu. But why the wood base? I would have thought all metal and and no wood.

Tod, I have VS on the lathe so I will start at 0 rpm's and work my way up. All I need is it spinning so I can wrap the emery cloth around it.
 
If I could get a piece of 1/2" thick metal long enough, I would have used it, but I just could not find a supplier of one chunk of steel, say 3", 1/2" thick and 18" long, I had the wood, and it was a fair bit easier to work....... :rolleyes:

I'll see how it goes.

Cheers!
 
OK, I fixed up the Bowl steady and took it for a test ride :D

improved_bowl_steady_front.jpg
Boy is it noisy! :eek:

That was a bit of a surprise, but I think I can improve things more with a few more tweaks. The arms holding the wheels are too thin, I need to make them form some thicker stock.

improved_bowl_steady_back.jpg
The base does not move at all now, I could make really nice smooth cuts with the steady in action.

With another mod or two, I should also be able to use this as a steady for spindle work.

Cheers!
 
Looks good, Stu. Out of necessity, I think mine will end up being made of wood. I'm leaning towards making a 4-wheel contraption that encircles the turned object, but I think I'll hold off until I get the hollowing setup and see where I might have clearance issues, so I know best where to place the wheels. (I do have my rollerblade wheels and bearings on their way, though. Getting ready, ya know.) ;)
 
Very nice looking. Wouldn't work for polishing these drill press columns though :D I have always thought that was a good design for bowl work though.

Where is the noise coming from? I assume it is not the bearings?

I looked in the box last night and I have quite a few wheels so I may have to look at building something like that too.
 
Jeff Horton said:
Very nice looking. Wouldn't work for polishing these drill press columns though :D I have always thought that was a good design for bowl work though.

Where is the noise coming from? I assume it is not the bearings?

I looked in the box last night and I have quite a few wheels so I may have to look at building something like that too.
Click to expand...

Just the sound of the wheels rotating over the wood.

I must point out that while fairly smooth, my bowls are not super smooth, so there is some variation of the surface, and at 1200 rpm or so, this makes a bit of noise..... :rolleyes: :D
 
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