Curved Bowl Rest Recommendations

[Jeremy Leasure]

I've been hovering my mouse over the order button over at Best Wood Tools on their adjustable curved bowl rest system. Figured I'd ask here to see what other options might be out there. The only thing that looks like it might bother me on the ones at BWT is the bracket in the middle. Dunno if it would be an issue in use or not. I'm using a 3520B.

[Eric Gourieux]

Sorry, I haven't used them. I don't really like my round toolrest, but it is a different brand. These look versatile and useful if they don't move or loosen up.

[Alan Trout]

I have the Robust bowl rest and it is great. They have a couple of different style now and the both are really nice. As far as I am concerned the Robust rest are the best.

Alan

[Bill Boehme]

For outside bowl turning, they can be useful, but in my opinion they are unnecessary and I rarely have anything where one particular curve has an advantage over a simple straight rest. A straight rest allows me to get the support closer to the wood. For inside bowl turning, they look like they could be a great idea, but my experience using the Robust (probably the best, IMHO) and several others is that their usefulness is somewhat limited. I have found the curve of inside rests occasionally becomes an obstacle that prevents me from orienting my bowl gouge the way that I want for a particular cut.

It is important to keep in mind that there are inside and outside bowl rests and they are not interchangeable. There are also "S" shaped rests where one half is for outside and the other half is for inside turning. I've had one of he "S" shaped rests for about seven years and used it a few times and concluded that my turning style and curved bowl rests are not very compatible.

[Dan Forman]

I have the Robust set of bowl rests, one size fits all doesn't always work so well, but I do like using them. Would be nice to have one with a smaller radius though for the inside. The thing about round rests such as the ones you are considering, is that they put you a little farther out over the rest than something like the Robust. On the other hand, the BWT's do have the multiple radii, if you are going that route.

Dan

[Richard Jones]

Jeremy,

If you do choose to go the curved route: make sure that whatever tool you get has as little flex as possible at the far end. The Robust-style rests, with the gusset, pretty much assures less flex than other style round bar rests. Some folks love the S-type rests, and they are very stiff.

Rich

[John Keeton]

The thing about round rests such as the ones you are considering, is that they put you a little farther out over the rest than something like the Robust.I would add that unless you shorten the post height on some of the round bar rests, they can also raise the point of gouge contact higher than I like as a result of being too far from the wood. Just a thought.

[Fred Belknap]

I have the Oneway curved tool rest and I use it on the inside and the outside of bowls. I like to keep it as close as I can to the wood when using a gouge, a scraper not so much.

[Philip Duffy]

If the rest sits directly above the banjo hole for the post it sits on then you will never get the rest to lay very close to the wood. Mine sits unused in favor of the factory issued original on my old 3520. Phil

[Prashun Patel]

I have a Jeff Nicol curved bowl rest. It's solid and does not flex at the tip. However, to accomplish this, he's made the 'gusset' very thick, which raises the minimum height of the rest a tad above where I'd like it to be (I have only a 12" swing lathe). On yr PM, this will not be an issue. My fear on the adjustable rests is that they'd be hard to keep ridgid and flexless. On a smaller lathe like mine, that might not be so much an issue, but if I had your lathe, I'd probably opt for one or two ridgid rests.

As for the necessity of multiple radii, this has not been an issue for me. I find the combination of a straight rest and a single large curved rest lets me work anything my mind can draw.

[Bob Bergstrom]

I have the Oneway on my 3520. The only time I use it is on big deep bowls of 20 plus inches and several inches deep. Every thing else is on a straight rest. I never thought much of the 1" bar kind because the fulcrum of the tool is always 1/2" away from the wood. If I am doing a big bowl with the Oneway it will also vibrate with too big a cut. The Robust looks to be better supported at the end of the rest.

[Ken Glass]

I second Bill's comments. Here are two I made when I first started turning and they are now rarely used. It seemed as I grew better with tool control and skill I needed them less and less.

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=85394&stc=1&thumb=1&d=1206929553Here

[Reed Gray]

The choices are many. If I had what I really wanted, and what works best for me, I would have about 3 different sized (smaller, medium and large/deep) sets, one for inside, and one for outside the bowls.

The Oneway bowl rests were the first ones I got. Their arc is a bit flat for what I do, but the steel is fairly hard, and resistance is minimal. The large inside bowl rest is again, a bit flat, but it works. It does tend to bounce a bit when you are on the very end of it, especially if you are roughing.

I love the Robust tool rests. The arc is a bit tight for my tastes, which I think is about a 6 inch radius. Same on the inside rest. With the support finger on the inside rest, you can do heavy roughing all the way to the tip with no vibration. The hardened drill rod is wonderful for little friction as your tools move across it.

My favorite shape for inside bowls is this one:

http://www.woodturnerscatalog.com/store/Lathe_Accessories___Tool_Rests___S_Curve_Bowl_Rest ___s_curve_rest?Args=

The nice thing is the curve at the top for working the rim, a curve on the inside, and a hook on the end for going across the bottom of the bowl. It would be difficult to bend a support finger for the drill rod for this one, kind of a compound radius arc type thing. I don't really like the cast metal as there is a lot more friction with it than with the drill rod.

To me the idea of the curved rests is that you don't have to move the tool rest as often, and it will keep your tools closer to the wood without having to over reach. I seldom keep my anchor hand on the rest when turning because then I tend to follow the tool rest rather than shaping the bowl the way it wants/should be shaped, which isn't always a bad thing. You also don't "feel" the wood as you turn, you feel the tool rest.

robo hippy

[Jeremy Leasure]

Thanks for all the replies. I'll be googling up everything mentioned and checking it out.

[Harry Robinette]

Jeremy
Try the robust I love mine.

[Roger Chandler]

I have the "S" shaped rest Reed Gray spoke of and I like it pretty well.......it can be configured for inside or outside the bowl depending on which hole you put the post into on the rest........works well and is sturdy.

[Tony Pridmore]

I've been using the Robust inside and outside curved rests on a 3520 for a few months. They are great. If I could have them custom built I would ask for two modifications to the outside rest:
1. Larger radius, as mentioned by Mr. Hippy
2. Mount the hardened rod farther back so that when I drop the handle way down for a shear scrape, the gouge rides on the rod, not the base of the rest. This may be more of an issue with the operator having developed bad form on the scraping technique.

[Reed Gray]

Roger,
I don't think I have ever moved the post in that tool rest. Not really sure why it comes that way. It works both ways though.

robo hippy