Looking for Small Wheels

[Mike Henderson]

I mostly do spindle turning for furniture. To support small work, I made a steady rest, shown in the attached pixs, using in-line skate wheels.

My problem is that if I try to support anything smaller than about 1/2" diameter I can't bring the wheels in close enough - the wheels hit each other before they touch the spindle.

To fix this, I need smaller wheels but I don't know what to use. Someone suggested skateboard wheels but they're too wide, which means they have a big footprint on the turning. I want a wheel like an in-line skate wheel (with a narrow contact area on the turning) but much smaller diameter. The reason is to be able to turn almost all the spindle before having to move the steady rest.

Any ideas?

Mike

[Nate Carey]

Mike, www.smallparts.com (http://www.smallparts.com) might have something you can use...

...this outfit has some stuff too www.aircraftspruce.com (http://www.aircraftspruce.com)

...and perhaps model aircraft parts distributors...

[Andy Bardowell]

What about the bearings that are pressed into those Mike, as I'm not a turner I don't know how much of a mark they would leave or if it could be sanded out.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Mike,

Check a local bearing shop for a "cam follower"...basically a bearing on a bolt. The ones I'm familiar with...the bearing is about 1/2" in diameter. The last time I bought one they were about $7-8.

[Mike Henderson]

What about the bearings that are pressed into those Mike, as I'm not a turner I don't know how much of a mark they would leave or if it could be sanded out.
That's a good idea, Andy. I'm going to try that. I think it will work.

Ken, I'll check out the cam follower, also.

Mike

[mike holden]

Mike,
Why not turn the wheels you have down further?
You could also turn a mold which you fill with silicone caulking to make your own wheels.
Mike

[Mike Henderson]

Mike,
Why not turn the wheels you have down further?
Mike
That's an interesting idea - I have more of the in-line skate wheels. I'll look into that and see how I'd chuck the wheel so it's true to the center. I could probably turn a shaft that the wheel will fit on without its bearing. Thanks.

Mike

[Eric Larsen]

That's an interesting idea - I have more of the in-line skate wheels. I'll look into that and see how I'd chuck the wheel so it's true to the center. I could probably turn a shaft that the wheel will fit on without its bearing. Thanks.

Mike

You could always skate until the pavement wears the wheels down to the size you want.... :D

[Mike Henderson]

You could always skate until the pavement wears the wheels down to the size you want.... :D
If I did that at my age, the ER costs would be a lot more than some custom made wheels:)

Mike

[Bob Vavricka]

Mike,
You might ask this over on the turning forum to see if anyone has already come up with smaller wheels. Just tell them you need it to turn a hat :D. I tried, but couldn't resist.
Bob V.

[Mike Henderson]

Mike,
You might ask this over on the turning forum to see if anyone has already come up with smaller wheels. Just tell them you need it to turn a hat :D. I tried, but couldn't resist.
Bob V.
Yeah, I thought of that (both posting there, and of the hat).:)

Mike

[Steve Schlumpf]

Mike - have you tried reverse mounting one of the wheels on your steady? Meaning attach it to the headstock side of the arm? Should allow you to get a lot closer.

[Lee Schierer]

Here's a place that says they have 2" dia wheels, which should get you as small as .317" between them when the wheels touch each other..
Urethane Wheels (http://www.algood-casters.com/urethane-wheels.html)

[Mike Henderson]

Mike - have you tried reverse mounting one of the wheels on your steady? Meaning attach it to the headstock side of the arm? Should allow you to get a lot closer.
Yes - that's how I managed to turn the spindles.

But let me explain my problem a bit more so people know what I'm talking about .

I ran into the problem when turning the spindles for the back of a Windsor chair - see attached pix. Those spindles really flop around without support and they were just a bit too small to be well supported by my existing steady rest. I said 1/2" above but that's a bit smaller than what I encountered. Those spindles were a bit over 1/2" and the steady rest could not properly support them.

As Steve mentioned, I finally was able to turn them by moving the top arm to the headstock side of the steady rest. But because of how I made my steady rest (the arms operate in guides) it was tough to get the support centered.

I could remove the arm capture mechanism on one of the bottom arms and it would work (I could keep the two bottom wheels from hitting) but to simplify things, I wanted to just use smaller wheels.

I hope that's understandable.

Mike

[Mike Henderson]

Here's a place that says they have 2" dia wheels, which should get you as small as .317" between them when the wheels touch each other..
Urethane Wheels (http://www.algood-casters.com/urethane-wheels.html)
That's what I'm looking for - thanks, Lee. I'll contact them.

Mike

[Orion Henderson]

McMaster Carr has an item called an idler roller. You can see them here:

http://www.mcmaster.com/#idler-wheels/=2jjrvf

Might work?

[Mike Henderson]

McMaster Carr has an item called an idler roller. You can see them here:

http://www.mcmaster.com/#idler-wheels/=2jjrvf

Might work?

I'll check. Thanks for the suggestion, brother Orion.

Mike

[Brian Brown]

What about the bearings used with router bits? They can be smaller than 1/4 inch, and very narrow, I personally would not be crazy about the metal to wood contact, but I think they would work on something as small as a toothpick.

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

You can use those wheels you have if you stagger along the direction of the length of the lathe bed them so they don't impinge on each other.
So long as your work isn't so short that you use up all the room to work that should work.

[Mike Henderson]

You can use those wheels you have if you stagger along the direction of the length of the lathe bed them so they don't impinge on each other.
So long as your work isn't so short that you use up all the room to work that should work.
That's a good idea, Cliff. I can just put spacers behind the arms to accomplish that, and the footprint won't be too large.

I think what I'll do is reverse one of the wheels on the arm (put it on the back of the arm) then do one of the other arms with a spacer.

That's one of those ideas that you say, "Why didn't I think of that?"

Thanks.

Mike