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which steady rest to get

Joined
Feb 15, 2018
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Canton, GA
I am looking for recommendations on a steady rest. I have 2 lathes one with a 16" swing and one with a 490 mm swing, ideally I would like a steady rest that will work on both lathes, if I had to pick one I would pick the Vicmarc which has a 490mm swing. I prefer metal as opposed to wood for this steady rest, but am open to any input/advice

Thanks--Don
 
Joined
Jan 20, 2006
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Martinsville, VA
One-way....
their bowl steady can be used on bowls & hf

Craft supplies carry them....probably need 2 different block for the ways as u have 2 lathes from different manufacturers....probably have machine shop to make the other block for ways
 
Joined
Jan 16, 2017
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Eastern Washington
I had a Carter steady rest and liked it, it did everything I expected for the few times I needed to use it. When I bought my Robust American Beauty I ordered their steady rest and all I can say is WOW! Its all metal, heavy and doesn't flex at all. I'm sure you could talk to Brent at Robust to see if he can make one for the 490mm lathe.
 
Joined
Nov 4, 2011
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Bay Settlement, WI
I have a shop-built wooden hoop with three skateboard wheels ... it works okay, but I prefer my Oneway bowl steady. I got the Oneway (from Craft Supplies) about a year ago, and haven't used the wooden steady since.
 
Joined
Aug 6, 2009
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Lummi Island, WA
I built a Nichols style steady rest using an angled steel flange with easily fabricated parts. If you know a welder, or have the equipment, its a simple build and strong enough to handle most anything I can put on the Robust AB. Total cost was under $100. May not be quite as well engineered as the Robust rest, but it gets the job done.
 
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Thanks for the input folks, I am going to look at the Oneway bowl steady a little closer, and try to find a Nichols steady rest to check out....
 
Joined
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Don - there are excellent instructions available to build a Nichols Steady rest. They were written up by J D Combs and are probably still available if you google ‘Jeff Nicol style woodturning steady rest’ they should come up. I do still have the pdf somewhere...

Just tried googling - it comes right up. Look for plans by JDC.
 
Joined
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You could also fabricate a modular steady rest frame from readily available Unistrut channel and fittings. You can easily scale the size of the steady rest to fit any size of lathe by using different lengths of channel for the square frame.
 

john lucas

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I was lucky and picked up a homemade steel steady that is massive. It's made from 1/2" steel and it's all I can do to pick it up and set it on the lathe. It has 8 wheels but I only use 4 so far. I haven't turned anything big enough to use all 8. I really want a Carter light weight version for my small work. Either that or a gantry crane above the lathe to pick up the big one.
 
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Jan 3, 2012
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If the reason you are getting a steady rest Is to replace your tailstock when hollowing then it has to be as strong as the tailstock. So size is not as significant as strength in the ability to support without vibration. I own the legacy Serious Tool steady for my 2436. It does the job well.
There are quite a few flimsy rests on the market. If I were Purchasing one today, for my style of turning, I would buy the Clark system with 4 wheels and look into the robust.
 
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Dennis is spot on with the strength of the steady rest being able to support the piece without any vibration, if the steady rest vibrates or moves from the motion of the work piece it can set up a harmonic vibration and magnify the problem. You also want the steady rest to be strong enough to contain the work piece in case it comes loose from the headstock, having your arm extended halfway into a hollow form while it is running and breaking free from the headstock can get pretty messy if the steady rest also breaks free.
 
Joined
Sep 19, 2010
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Roseville, CA
I do a lot of hollow forms of various depths. Use a Jaimeson hollowing rig for anything greater than 6” in depth. Can’t imagine ever having one of my arm/hands halfway into a hollowform! My hand never goes beyond the tool rest!
 
Joined
Feb 24, 2013
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Indiana
1E1532EE-22C7-46B8-B0C2-636BB675CF26.jpeg Don, I have 16” swing on my lathe and below is the steady rest I built about 6 months ago from steel angle. If you can weld or have a friend that can they are not difficult to build. I had one built from wood, but the steel is much stronger.
 
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Joined
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McKinney,Texas
This is the “Smart steady” by J T Turning Tools. It is strong heavy well made. It can easily be set up as a two wheel bowl steady. There is no “hoop” or frame work to interfere with your laser or camera.

upload_2019-9-23_21-26-0.jpeg
 
Joined
Jan 3, 2012
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New City, NY
I can understand a single wheel offsetting some side pressure from the cutter at 9 o’clock. The oneway bowl steady works in a similar fashion for about 125. Other than that, I just don’t understand the physics of JT smart rest as a viable steady rest at least for the type of work I do. The two wheels even set at 4 and 8 o’clock could put you at risk. If you should catch, the work piece could travel upwards and possibly fly off the lathe. At $495 plus shipping it also competes price wise with the robust and Clark rests. I suppose it will work fine with curtain shapes and size blanks while not so much with others. So why not buy an all inclusive rest that works securely for all types of work?
 
Joined
Jan 3, 2012
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New City, NY
Don, let me add that if you are looking at the oneway bowl steady and are considering their spindle steady that attaches to the same post the above idea of limited use applies here as well. I got creative and tried to bore an 18 inch pepper mill with it in lieu of the tailstock support and I ruined my billet. I should have used my full size steel Serious Tool steady. The oneway spindle steady was meant to prevent flexing when working on longer and thinner stocks that are turned between centers. I shouldn’t have attempted to support a 24 x 3 blank with the 1w spindle steady as a tailstock replacement.
 

Bill Boehme

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Four pictures on the page each show three wheels, but answering any questions you might have is easy ... just call JT Turning Tools and ask them.

When a steady rest is set up properly the wheels aren't applying any more pressure than just barely touching so that the wheel is making contact without skipping. This obviously means that the piece must be perfectly round. You don't want the wheels to be applying any significant pressure or else they will slightly deform the piece as it rotates beneath the wheel and that will be the source of unwanted vibration.
 
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For those of you who had an erector set growing up this is a modular way to build a steady rest that will fit just about any wood lathe and you can take it apart and store it in a drawer when not in use. There are several manufacturers that make these strut systems used in the mechanical trades for supporting various piping systems in the commercial and industrial world. This is very sturdy and the wheels and brackets can be moved anywhere along the steel strut channel.

strut steady rest.jpg
 
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John,

They make several different sized angle supports that you can use to support the wheels from and they can slide along the strut channels to engage the vessel wall where needed. They also make 45-degree angle connectors so you can cut the strut channel with 45-degree miter ends and join the segments together to make an octagonal shaped steady rest which will provide closer engagement from the channel to the vessel wall all the way around the piece. I used the heavy gauge strut system which is also available in a half size 3/4-inch by 1-5/8 wide channel and some of the channels are made with a 14-gauge metal offering in various materials like painted steel, aluminum, stainless steel, fiberglass and anodized steel. You could easily cut the pieces and weld them together to eliminate the mechanical joints and still be able to use the modular fasteners and brackets that fit the channel. These strut channel systems are manufactured under different names, Uni-Strut, Power-Strut, Super-Strut and Kindorf etc.
 
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Jul 26, 2016
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They also make corner gusset plates that readily bolt to the channel systems if needed. The angle supports are fairly heavy components and provides plenty of strength so far with a large piece I am turning today.
 
Joined
Sep 20, 2019
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Location
West Lake Hills, Texas
I didn't know what a steady rest was until I did some research after I got tired of chasing bowls around the shop floor. This one is 1x1 steel tube from home depot with skateboard wheels and knobs from amazon. I had an old rip of 5/4 IPE I used for the arms.
 

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Joined
Jul 26, 2016
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Location
Nebraska
Lester,
Looks like your steady rest will work just fine based on your design, most people use the softer skateboard and inline skate wheels for the steady rest on wood lathes to prevent damage to softer woods and the fine finish of a wood piece in process. The harder plastic wheels can dent softer woods and bruise the finish on a wood project in process. Some of the colored wheels can leave marks depending on the compound used to make the wheels.
 
Joined
Sep 22, 2022
Messages
1
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0
Location
Largo, FL
If the reason you are getting a steady rest Is to replace your tailstock when hollowing then it has to be as strong as the tailstock. So size is not as significant as strength in the ability to support without vibration. I own the legacy Serious Tool steady for my 2436. It does the job well.
There are quite a few flimsy rests on the market. If I were Purchasing one today, for my style of turning, I would buy the Clark system with 4 wheels and look into the robust.
 
Joined
Jul 5, 2015
Messages
312
Likes
2,763
Location
Strongsville, Ohio
I have the Smart Rest by JT Turning Tools. It has 3 posts but you can choose to use 2. It works well. I was not aware that JT was still in business---- I thought the owner had died. I have seen the Sinner and Clark models, they both look nice. I always wondered why Clark doesn't get more press, never bought anything from him because I already made my purchases before I was aware of his company. His hollower looks like an excellent choice at a competitive price.
 
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