Bowl steady-homemade version

[Bill Bolen]

I made this bowl steady some months ago and seem to be using it more and more often for medium to small size HF’s. Works well on bowls too. No cost involved as all the parts were either left overs from making my big 4 wheel steady and a bit of scrap plywood. I do need to make a thinner plate that goes under the bed for mounting. The present one hangs on the bed webbing on the DVR but clears the jet just fine. Thought I would share as this is a great accessory for me. I wanted the Oneway steady but just get a kick out of making my own tools when I can….Bill…

[Steve Schlumpf]

Nice design Bill! Simple yet effective! I like how you captured the 2 T-track rails to prevent them from moving - a problem that I have yet to correct on my own steady! Thanks for sharing!

[Joe Mioux]

thanks for sharing those pics. I need to make a steady rest and those pics have given me some ideas.

joe

[Bernie Weishapl]

Simple but works. Well done Bill.

[Richard Madison]

Nice work Bill. Sometimes a smaller steady is more convenient to use than the big one.

[Jim Kountz]

I made one of these but I must be doing something wrong. I get my blank turned round and get the general shape I want. But when I try to apply the rest to the side of the turning it hits in some places and not in others. Like the turning is out of round. I have tried going back and truing everything up but it still does it. I havent been able to narrow the problem down yet but it seems this is a problem with my turning overall and not just the steady rest.

[charlie knighton]

very nice William, one good thing you did not mention is that you can check the thickness with calipers with that design, when you box the hf you have a very hard time checking thickness unless you unhook everything :D

[Rob Cunningham]

Thanks for sharing the pics Bill. A steady rest of some kind is on my to do list.

[Bill Bolen]

Jim,if you make your arms capable of independant movement rather than fixed you will be able to adjust to eliminate that problem...Bill.

[Dan Forman]

That and a donut chuck are on my list too. What's the difference in performance between the two wheel and three wheel versions?

Dan

[Bill Bolen]

Dan the 4 wheel gives a lot more support for taller broader pieces. The smaller stuff really only needs the 2 wheels to stop the side thrust from causing flex. 4 wheel works but is a bit of overkill.