Shopmade steady & riding the lathe

[Mike Minto]

here's my first use of my first shop made steady rest. based it on designs i saw here and elsewhere. not too pretty, but is working very well so far. i'm riding the lathe here, also, trying to hollow a (for me) very tall cherry form. don't really have enough room for this - from time to time it gets pretty crowded in here :o. i'll post the form when completed.

[John Keeton]

Pretty slick setup, Mike. But, you need a saddle for that horse!:D

[Bernie Weishapl]

May not be pretty but looks quite functional. Nice setup Mike.

[bill collier]

Where did you get the wheels?

[Rob Cunningham]

Looks great Mike. A saddle would be more comfortable than cold cast iron:)

[Mike Minto]

bill, i did a search and came up with a number of suppliers of 'clear' rollerblade/skateboard wheels. ebay is a good source for wheels, too, as well as the ball bearings you will need. i tried to get wheels that were as clear as possible, to avoid coloring the wood.

[Wally Dickerman]

Mike, I'm curious as to why you're hollowing in such an uncomfortable position when you could slide the headstock down and comfortably stand facing the piece. The sliding headstock is the best thing to come along in a long time for turners.

Wally

[Mike Minto]

wally, i could...but look again at the pic; i'd have to move my mini lathe, and the stuff on the floor (which will be moved soon as i can get to it). also, the tool i'm using is about 32" long - wall might get in the way :).

[John Keeton]

wally, i could...but look again at the pic; i'd have to move my mini lathe, and the stuff on the floor (which will be moved soon as i can get to it). also, the tool i'm using is about 32" long - wall might get in the way :).Mike, you are apparently ignoring the real solution to this problem - A BIGGER SHOP!!!!:D

[Bob Hampton]

I also have a shopmade one ..i used rollerblade wheels i found at "Goodwill" for about $3.00 a set ..took off what i needed and got rid of the rest...
I have done countless projects and have had no trouble with color coming off on the wood...
I have also use these wheels to make inersia sanders..the double bearings really make a difference

[Mike Minto]

John, i wish. this one is too well built to tear down, and i don't really think i have the room to add on to it - although i'm considering it - that would be ideal. bob, i have made an inertia sander using said bearings - have to say it works MUCH better than the sorby one i had and sold, as well as my monster one i still have. i'm trying to figure out how to replace the pad on that one. my shopmade can be seen at:

http://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=116404

[ROY DICK]

Very nice and as said before if it works good enough.

Roy

[alex carey]

I've done almost the exact same setup but instead I sit on my bed extension for my mustard monster.

Whatever works, works.

[charlie knighton]

an alternate to roller blade wheels, call oneway : they will sell their wheels for their steady rest seperately, they are made for woodturning :D

[Mike Minto]

charlie, how are they different? are they any 'better'?

[Thom Sturgill]

an alternate to roller blade wheels, call oneway : they will sell their wheels for their steady rest seperately, they are made for woodturning :D

I hope they are better than the ones on mine - they are flat, tapered and scar the wood. Looks like they came off a kids strap on skate.

[Richard Madison]

Mike, your steady rest looks fine from here, from the "Crude But Effective School of Design". I too have an advanced degree from that institution. Looking forward to seeing your HF when finished.

[charlie knighton]

oneway's wheel is some type of gum, that sort of sands itself off onto your hf, after hollowing take steady off and while still in chuck sand the area with 240 grit and take it (blend in) to whatever grit the rest of the turning is
the wheels from oneway are not flat and are not made to run on concrete or ashapht, most hollow forms are not flat either

for hollow forms i had a hand fabricated thing, it was ok, i used oneway wheels with it.... i had a oneway bowl steady (where i became hooked on oneway wheels) then one day on the want ads on a board someone offered another oneway bowl steady, i bought that one at a good price, i had seen where two oneway bowl steady where used on hf, one on each side, but they had used both bottom pieces, i took both down to machine shop and ask them to make with one base and one side adjustable

works for me :D i believe the wheels are the main thing, the rest is support
Mike i like your design, and wish i was "handy", i can see what needs to be done but anything with a 90 degree angle i would waste more time and material

[MichaelA Cooper]

That's great Mike!!!!
I just ordered the wheels for my steady rest yesterday! :)
It must be scary turning something that long for the first time!!!
Michael

[Mike Minto]

:( blew up the form in the pics above - dug too deep inside with my cutter, and when smoothing the outside (unplanned - was going to leave the 'grooves' on it) i made the outside diameter smaller than the inside diameter. oh, well - pencil holder for the hut now.

[Richard Madison]

Probably better luck next time Mike. Good test run for your steady rest anyhow. Recently had an unplanned design opportunity of my own. Didn't really want to make another hollowform. Maybe a lidded vessel would be good.

[Jeff Nicol]

MIke, Not bad for a guy who wanted a steady rest for little cost! As many of you know I make them to sell and I use brand new wheels that were made for inline skates. The material is the same as all the other wheels and the color is a non issue. The first one I made used wheels salvaged from an old pair of my sons inline skates that he grew out of. I had to use the belt sander to get them back to round, as many times the wear on one side more than the other. That being said there are some wheels that are made for indoor use only, not that there are many places that have indoor inline skate parks. The indoor wheels may be a little softer, but I have not seen any personally. But most are all the same and the GREAT "ONEWAY" company uses the same thing. Like I have said before if you think a name makes the tool the best of the best, then spend your money and be happy! Me I like to buy inexpensive and be even happier!!!

Your shop is like mine full the brim and still bringing in more stuff!

Some day you can sand it up and put some paint on it to make it purty!


Jeff

[Jeff Brockett]

Looks great - you can get wheels at any skateboard shop.

[Jamie Straw]

here's my first use of my first shop made steady rest. based it on designs i saw here and elsewhere. not too pretty, but is working very well so far. i'm riding the lathe here, also, trying to hollow a (for me) very tall cherry form. don't really have enough room for this - from time to time it gets pretty crowded in here :o. i'll post the form when completed.

Thanks, Mike, I think I have the materials I'd need for that one, except for the wheels and perhaps the part that holds it to the lathe, which I assume should be a stout piece of metal? Thanks for taking the time to post the pics.