Anyone know a source for very long tool rests? I have the Oneway inside curve rest which works well for bowls of about 6" in depth, but can't go as far as I need. I'm looking for a rest at least 12" long. I'm tempted to go to a junkyard and find an old piece of leaf spring and buy a cheap welder. The oneway rest definitely flexes when taking wide cuts. Maybe someone knows a vendor that supplies longer rests. I know they must exist.
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extra long tool rests
- Thread starter Nate Hawkes
- Start date
Try Robust Tools. If I understand correctly Brent may even make custom rests.
I used to make a bowl rest that was 10 inches from the post to the end, and there was zero vibration/wobble all the way out to the end. Brent at Robust does make 2 bowl rests in the same design now, and he did not make the long one. I think the larger one he makes is 7 inches from tool post to tip. They are rock solid. I think Emelliano does have one, that is long and J shaped, but don't remember the brand. Maybe you could PM him.
Oh, I had the same problem with the Oneway rest. They need a wing under it like they use on their coring system.
robo hippy
Oh, I had the same problem with the Oneway rest. They need a wing under it like they use on their coring system.
robo hippy
Vicmarc makes some very big ones that need two banjos. They also make custom clamp blocks so their banjos fit other brands.
Lance Mirrer
AKA "taxman"
Check this out. Nice to deal with company. All USA Made. I suspect he can accomodate custom.
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I like the Robust J rest for hollowing bowls
It’s excellent for bowls up to 16-17” wide
And is usable for larger bowls.
I like Steve Sinner's rests https://advancedlathetools.com/. I own the 16" and he makes a 22". His design, which allows for a vertical tool handle position, is very helpful for shear cutting and scraping.
Did you purchase the standard post or long post option? I still think I may end up making a really long tool rest but the Robust one will be a major upgrade I think. I would really like something in the 14-16" long inside curve. I use the "Bill Grumbine" extra long bowl gouge from Doug Thompson, which helps with the distance hanging over the rest, but it's impossible to achieve good finish cuts when your gouge is hanging 3-4" over the tool rest. Thanks everyone for the replies.
The post length will depend on your lathe. Brent does make a short and long version of his "J" rest, I have the short version, but the long version is on my wish list. They work great. He also has an inside the bowl tool rest intended for 12' bowls, but I have used it on much larger and found it works as it should
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I bought it at the robust booth at a Florida Symposium - Don Geiger said it was the one for my lathe. He was right.
Robust can tell you which one will fit your lathe.
With experience and an appropriately ground gouge you will get a smooth inside surface with a 4” overhang.
My older Delta 12" lathe had a 22" toolrest, which required a pair of banjos. It was for a 1" banjo, but I recall the posts on the rest were relatively short, so it might not play nice with larger lathes.
Robo Hippie's curved tool rests are the best I've ever used.
Trent Bosch is selling asymmetric tool rests (long right wing). I have no experience with them. Good luck.
If still considering that route, try a local welding/fab shop. They could probably make something up quickly from materials on hand and without a big price.
I'd offer to do it here but I heard divorces were expensive.
JKJ
I made a few because I was curious to see if I could see an improvement over other tool rests on the market.
Made a wood pattern shown at the bottom and cut out several with my plasma. These are 14" long. Next step was to bend to the perfect shape with a heat and weld a 3/8" round bar to the top. The first couple I used O1 round steel bar and hardened it in my heat treating oven after welding. With the high carbon content of O1 its hard to weld and I guess that's why some glued it on with epoxy. Switched to plain cold rolled 3/8" round and didn't have any problems. I tried a couple of different bends and didn't see any improvement over the J rests sold by Robust.
If you decide to go down this road forget about spring steel as its hard to weld with the high carbon content. Go to your local welding shop and get it made.
Made a wood pattern shown at the bottom and cut out several with my plasma. These are 14" long. Next step was to bend to the perfect shape with a heat and weld a 3/8" round bar to the top. The first couple I used O1 round steel bar and hardened it in my heat treating oven after welding. With the high carbon content of O1 its hard to weld and I guess that's why some glued it on with epoxy. Switched to plain cold rolled 3/8" round and didn't have any problems. I tried a couple of different bends and didn't see any improvement over the J rests sold by Robust.
If you decide to go down this road forget about spring steel as its hard to weld with the high carbon content. Go to your local welding shop and get it made.
One thing that sits my tool rests apart was that the blade was set at an angle of 15 degrees which matches the inside diameter of a 12 inch diameter bowl. You need some thickness for supporting the forces of turning, especially if you get a catch. The Oneway rest is a thick but not very tall O shaped rod. Considering the length of the rod, it is no wonder it vibrates when you are on the tip. If Oneway took one of the support fingers for their coring system and welded it to the tool post, then there would be a lot less vibration, maybe even totally eliminating it. If you use a really thick and tall piece of metal, then it does not fit inside a bowl well since you can't move it in close without the bowl getting in the way.
Larry, those appear to be a good start. If you angle them to that 15 degree angle, then they would work great. I used a 6 inch radius bend in mine to at least kind of match the arc of a bowl. Getting the drill rod bent and hardened was a good idea, which many will echo. I did find out that I could have the drill rod welded without it losing any of the hardness.
robo hippy
Larry, those appear to be a good start. If you angle them to that 15 degree angle, then they would work great. I used a 6 inch radius bend in mine to at least kind of match the arc of a bowl. Getting the drill rod bent and hardened was a good idea, which many will echo. I did find out that I could have the drill rod welded without it losing any of the hardness.
robo hippy
Nate:
Robust has a great line of tool rests at:
Turnrobust.com/toolrests/
Another option depending upon your needs is to make your own:
Timmanneychairmaker.blogspot.com/search?q=tool+rest
Hope one of these works for you!
Rob
I have the 22" Steve Sinner rest that Rip noted above. I only use it for spindle work and it is fantastic for that purpose. Not sure I would want to use it for bowl turning but it is available if you want to try it. You may want to call Steve first and chat with him, though.