Steady rest

[jeff oldham]

Can anyone tell me a good steady rest for the jet 16-42 lathe....

[Joe Meirhaeghe]

Advanced Lathe Tools LLC. made by Steve Sinner.

[Paul Millo]

Ditto what Joe said. Steve's tools are some of the best. Top quality.

[William C Rogers]

I'm building my own. It is based on the Jeff Nicol design. Cost of materials is about $100. You can find the plans by Googling Jeff Nicol steady rest and a fellow by the name I believe is JD Combs has detailed instruction on how to build it.

[Paul Gilbert]

I just purchased a steady rest for my 3520B. I narrowed the field to the Clark from The Oklahoma Spindoctor https://www.theokspindoctor.com/ and the Carter http://www.carterproducts.com/turning-tools/multirest-lathe-riser-blocks. They are a study in contrast. The Clark is built like a Tank and the Carter like a finely tuned sports car. After visiting the Clarks at their shop in OKC I bought the Clark. I will pick it up next weekend when I am back in OKC.

[Ted Reischl]

I built one about a year ago, piece of cake!

363074

The frame is triple plywood, the arms are hard maple, the rest is simple nuts and bolts. Paying hundreds of bucks for something this simple just rubs my grain the wrong way. Steady rests are not precision tools, you push the wheels against the work and lock them down. I dunno, I think I got maybe all of $30 in this one and it works like it is supposed to.

[John K Jordan]

I'm building my own. It is based on the Jeff Nicol design. Cost of materials is about $100. You can find the plans by Googling Jeff Nicol steady rest and a fellow by the name I believe is JD Combs has detailed instruction on how to build it.

That looks like a nice design and easy to build (if you play with metal). I've never had a steady rest (I have always used the free "left hand steady rest" for spindles) but it might be useful for larger things such as vessels. I already have the materials.

JKJ

[Rich Colvin]

I have the Carter steady rest and greatly like using it. Will be adding the Carter XL steady rest at some time.

[William C Rogers]

That looks like a nice design and easy to build (if you play with metal). I've never had a steady rest (I have always used the free "left hand steady rest" for spindles) but it might be useful for larger things such as vessels. I already have the materials.

JKJ


Its just a lot of cutting and deburring, not hard. I used 1-1/4 and 1-1/2 square tube both 1/8 wall thickness over what he had. Once you grind the inside weld it is a nice fit between the two. I'm ready to weld at this point.

[Thomas Canfield]

I'm building my own. It is based on the Jeff Nicol design. Cost of materials is about $100. You can find the plans by Googling Jeff Nicol steady rest and a fellow by the name I believe is JD Combs has detailed instruction on how to build it.

I am fortunate to have one Jeff built for my 3520B. It is sturdy and easy to use. I did learn a trick to install a pair of opposing wheels in opposite position to allow the opposing wheels to support a smaller diameter than when all the wheels are in the same plane for a small spindle.

[Mark Motquin]

Check out JT turning tools, he has a smart steady that I purchased a couple years ago, it's hard to find on his web page, its listed under the gizmo and scroll down. I find it extremely versatile and very well made (no affiliation)

[Dan Henry]

If you are going to make your own study and using 3 wheels think about not putting the top wheel top dead center if you use a laser light to judge wall thickness the TDC will interfere with the laser support arm, put the arm about 20 degrees to the back of lathe.
Dan