Has anyone ever built a spindle steady for tiny spindles?

[Brian Brown]

I am turning a lot of small spindles lately. They are about 8-9 inches long, and about 1/4" diameter. I am getting a lot of chatter, especially on soft wood like Box Elder burl. I want to make a light duty spindle steady that will support them from the back side, to decrease the chatter. I looked at router bit guide bearings for the wheels, but most were between $35 and $60. Not worth it. I found some wheels for a sliding glass door that had a bearing, but they were not really designed for this kind of mileage and RPM, so I don't know if they will work. I also have to create a design that will hold the steady wheels off center, so they don't interfere with my banjo. I am using a Delta 46-460, and an LA 200 lathe, and want to build one for each. The only difference will be the spindle height. Has anyone ever made one, and do you have plans? It would be nice if I didn't have to reinvent the wheel (no pun intended). Thanks for the help.

[Ryan Mooney]

Curious what others suggest as well.

I was thinking of just using a V cut out of some UHMW instead of wheels/bearings. I think it should work ok, but haven't tried it yet (maybe this weekend).

[Ken Kimbrell]

Never given this a try, but it looks like it might work well... (unless you also need to have the tail stock in place.)
http://eddiecastelin.com/yahoo_site_admin/assets/docs/steadyrest.54183933.pdf

[Scott Lux]

I've often debated a string steadyrest. Only reason I haven't tried it is that I don't do many hair pins or drumsticks, and no finials.

Here is a link to another design.

http://www.hiltonhandcraft.com/Articles/String_Steady.asp

[Faust M. Ruggiero]

Brian,
Have you ever seenJean Francois Escoulen make a trembleur. I have only seen it on video but he makes use of string steadys along with amazing skill to produce them. String steadys are cheap to make if they fit your bill.
faust

[Kenneth Hertzog]

sherline offers them for there lathe
maybe they can be retrofitted for your application

[Thom Sturgill]

+1 on the hilton page that Scott posted. Good tutorial. String rests are an old solution.

[Ed Morgano]

If you decide to go the UHMW route, it needs to support from the back and top only. When you're cutting a spindle, all the pressure on the piece is in those two directions. I've done some small work using a skew and my fingers for support. It wouldn't be good for too many at one time.

[Brian Brown]

I have thought about using a string steady, but I was worried that the friction would leave burn marks in the wood. Maybe I'm over thinking it.

[Ryan Mooney]

If you decide to go the UHMW route, it needs to support from the back and top only. When you're cutting a spindle, all the pressure on the piece is in those two directions. I've done some small work using a skew and my fingers for support. It wouldn't be good for too many at one time.

back and top or back and bottom? I was actually thinking a more like:

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[Brian Brown]

back and top or back and bottom? I was actually thinking a more like:

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_ _|

I was thinking of 45* between back and top, and 45* between bottom and back. I think that is what your drawing shows. I figured that in this orientation, the tool ends up taking the place of the third wheel. I hope this will give maximum stabilization. Is this right or wrong?

[Jack Gaskins]

Take a look at these. The specs look good and you could use a 1/16th hinge pin as the axel or a nail. They are only a $1.39. Shipping is probably $50 though! Ha.

http://www.robotmarketplace.com/products/0-SUL350.html

[Ryan Mooney]

I was thinking of 45* between back and top, and 45* between bottom and back. I think that is what your drawing shows. I figured that in this orientation, the tool ends up taking the place of the third wheel. I hope this will give maximum stabilization. Is this right or wrong?

I believe we're on exactly the same page. I have no idea if it will actually work or not, but its about the same support I give when using my hand as a steady so it seems... mostly correct :D

[John Shuk]

If you watch Richard Raffin videos he supports thin spindles with his hand behind it. It works quite well and is pretty intuitive.