a few ?? on use of Bowl Steady

[Dr_dewey]

have the Oneway system - where should the wheels be placed, on the very tip of the outside edge or somewhere back in a bit say 1/2".

And then how much pressure do you apply to the wheels, just enough for the wheels to slip a bit, or tighter but not distorting the shape.

I still get chatter marks with it when the wheels are inset from the edge by 1/2" and wonder if its the tension or position.

thanx

 

[Andrew]

have the Oneway system - where should the wheels be placed, on the very tip of the outside edge or somewhere back in a bit say 1/2".

Don't put it out on the very tip. You'll not have much support out there in most bowl/hollowform/platter configurations when things get thinner. The same goes for putting the wheels drastically (and that meaning is completely dependent on so many things ... how thin you are, how hard you're cutting, condition of wood, geometry of your form, etc.) out of the area where you are cutting. I don't get mine more than an inch from where I'm working unless I'm doing some very very fine finish cuts/scrapes. The point is, keep moving that steady to the area where you're working.

And then how much pressure do you apply to the wheels, just enough for the wheels to slip a bit, or tighter but not distorting the shape.

I start with the wheels just barely touching ... enough to slip if I touch the wheels. Start cutting and adjust from there. Don't distort the shape either one way or the other (moving it too close and deforming it "in" toward the hollowed portion or moving it too far out so that you're only touching while pressing/cutting hard). It's easy to do sometimes when things get thin.

Now, realize, too, that the wood is likely to start moving on its own as you hollow out. This makes it appear that you need to adjust your wheels when you really don't or at least not just moving them in or out. When this happens, you'll usually see (or hear in my case) that the wheels touch in about 2 places on the circum. of the turning and the other 2 places it doesn't touch as much. The wood is moving. How to correct this? Try just moving the wheels to a slightly difference place on the turning and readjust how much touching the wheels are doing on the turning. This helps a lot of times. Other times, when the wood REALLY get to moving, you can build up the "low spots" with tape or can even fashion a halo made of wood or metal onto the moving wood. It fits tightly (but doesn't deform the wood ... forcing it into a round shape) but the outside of the halo is perfectly round which is what the wheels ride on. Does that make any sense in words? hmmmmm

I still get chatter marks with it when the wheels are inset from the edge by 1/2" and wonder if its the tension or position.

thanx

Don't know unless I was standing right next to you and maybe not even then. So many factors to consider and technique, etc. Just keep going at it. Don't completely assume that it has to do with the steady rest. It can help a lot of times but it can only do so much.