The first curved bowl rests were maybe a 1/3 section of a circle, from Robust and the Oneway version. I didn't like either because they required a lot of adjustments with the banjo and set screw, as you turned out the inside of a bowl. Add to that, the Oneway would bounce when out on the very end of it. My old favorite was the blue S curved (small curve on both ends, and mostly kind of straight in between the curves) one that Craft Supplies used to sell, not sure if they do any more or not. It was cast iron, and more wide and flat than upright. If you were using it on the outside of a bowl, you couldn't drop your handle for high shear angled cuts. Since it didn't have the hardened drill rod on top, I didn't like it any more.... I haven't tried the J rest, but would expect that it would work fine on the outside of the bowl as well, and that would save you from swapping out rests when going from turning the outside to turning the inside. I do have one of the curved outside rests from Robust, and liked it, but the curve was a bit tight for me, though Dale Larson thought is was perfect. I wanted one more open like the Oneway outside rest. I have seen some that are like a big letter S, which I think are intended for both inside and outsides of bowls, but never even considered buying one. I have tried one or two of the 1 inch round bar rests, but didn't like them. I think it might have been mostly from what happens when you raise or lower the handle, your pivot point/fulcrum moves. They would still work inside a bowl I guess, since you tend to hold your gouges more level when turning the inside of the bowl. If I knew how to use a torch for things other than setting off fire works, I might have made my own....
robo hippy