Beat up tool rest....

[Michael Costa]

My tool rest that came with my Jet 12-20 some 10 years ago is pretty beat up with nicks on it. I want to smooth it out but not sure the best way to do so.

I'm afraid to use my bench grinder or wet sharpener because I think I might make it uneven or worse. Is there a good way to go about this? I know I should just buy a new one but I'm so sick of spending money.

[Chris A Lawrence]

I bought a cheap diamond hone set from harbor freight. The set with the hole pattern in them. They are rigid enough to make it level and the course grit is just enough to get the gouges out.

[Steve Eure]

Most people I know use a large bastard file to clear burrs. I wound up buying a Robust tool rest and that eliminated all my problems with nicks and burrs. If you you can weld , you can take a peice of drill rod and weld it to the top of your rest and that will fix it permanently.

[Bill Boehme]

Get a large bastard file and lay it flat along the length of the tool rest. Work the whole rest down to smooth iron. Try to avoid or minize using the file crosswise because that will result in an uneven surface. Finish the filing with a fine pitch file. After that you use silicon carbide sandpaper (320, 400, 600, and 1500 grit to bring the surface to a brightly polished state. Finish by waxing with Johnson's Paste Wax. Your tools will glide across the rest almost effortlessly.

Alternatively, you can buy a tool rest from Robust that has a hardened steel rod along the top. Nicks will be a thing of the past and far less maintenance is needed.

[Michael Costa]

I think I have a bastard file around somewhere. Or was that just a bastard. Dont recall. And I have one of those cheap honing kitsch. Off to work I go.

Thanks all.

[Richard Casey]

You definitely don't need a bastard file, you need a flat smooth. You hold the file sideways in your fingers at a right angle to your toolrest and push it in one direction only. You will quickly work out which way is cutting.
Rgds,
Richard.

[John K Jordan]

My tool rest that came with my Jet 12-20 some 10 years ago is pretty beat up with nicks on it. I want to smooth it out but not sure the best way to do so.


I used a fairly wide flat file, held diagonally in a direction that lets the teeth cut. Some people file often, whether needed or not but I filed only when needed. After filing I used sandpaper on a stick to smooth the top then a bit of wax. I have also filled porosity in the cast iron on one new rest with bondo which was still fine when I retired the rest - might work for deep nicks too.

Maybe save up and someday replace yours with a new Robust rest. They have a hardened round rod at the top which won't dent. After trying one I got them for my lathes in various sizes and no longer use the original rests.

If you are getting nicks from sharp corners on tools like scrapers and skews you might consider rounding those. A diamond hone will do that even for hardened tools.

JKJ

[Michael Costa]

After using my bastard for a few minutes I broke out the dremel with grinding wheel. Same thing, right? Not perfect but my sqaure tools (parting tools, scraper, and new bedan) dont get caught on the rest anymore.

[John K Jordan]

After using my bastard for a few minutes I broke out the dremel with grinding wheel. Same thing, right? Not perfect but my sqaure tools (parting tools, scraper, and new bedan) dont get caught on the rest anymore.

Did you use the Dremel on the rest or on the tools? If the rest, just make sure your rest is very straight on the top with no unevenness or your fine tool control can suffer.

As mentioned, square tools need to have the corners rounded. This will help prevent them getting caught on imperfections in the rest (and don't cause them).

[Michael Costa]

Just the rest. I just wanted it good enough so the tools didnt catch. I've been eyeballing a couple new tool rests, but there is so much I need that I'm trying to make due with what I have. I'm not turning anything intricate enough to warrant a perfect tool rest.

Also, my tools dont have nicks. I think most dings on the tool rest came from dropping the thing a gazillion times. Lol

[John K Jordan]

Just the rest. I just wanted it good enough so the tools didnt catch. I've been eyeballing a couple new tool rests, but there is so much I need that I'm trying to make due with what I have. I'm not turning anything intricate enough to warrant a perfect tool rest.
Also, my tools dont have nicks. I think most dings on the tool rest came from dropping the thing a gazillion times. Lol

Yikes, how in the world can you drop a tool rest??!? In almost two decades of turning I haven't dropped one once. ?

Just to be clear, the tools them selves won't have nicks. If the tool shafts have sharp edges they can cause nicks in the softer cast iron or even mild steel tool rests. But worse, if they have sharp edges they can catch on nicks as you slide them on the rest, messing up that perfect cut.

[robert baccus]

A good 6x48 belt sander does the job quickly too, if it's really beat up or heavily rusted.

[Mark Greenbaum]

I have a cast iron tool rest on my Grizzly G0766, and it kept on getting galled. I'd file and sand, and wax; but it still got dinged up. I had a neighbor tack weld a 1/4" x 14" long hardened dowel rod to the top, and I have had no problems since. He said it was tricky to weld cast iron to hardened steel, but he made it work.

[Reed Gray]

You can epoxy drill rod to the top of the rest as well. The A2 drill rod is harder then the W or O (water/Oil) drill rod. It will be better than the cast iron, but can still dent and ding. It will pop off if you drop it and it lands on one end... No clue about the hardening process though. Welding it after it has been hardened doesn't seem to bother the hardening.

robo hippy

[Kyle Iwamoto]

Just a thought here.
For those of us who do not have a welder handy, would it be workable to JB Weld (or similar) a hardened rod to the rest? Use the corner of the file to make a groove and then epoxy the drill rod on? I like the cast tool rests because they absorb a lot of vibration. And they are longer than my Robusts.

[John K Jordan]

Just a thought here.
For those of us who do not have a welder handy, would it be workable to JB Weld (or similar) a hardened rod to the rest? Use the corner of the file to make a groove and then epoxy the drill rod on? I like the cast tool rests because they absorb a lot of vibration. And they are longer than my Robusts.

I don't think you would even need to make a groove - just rough up the cast iron a bit first. When I epoxy hardened steel (or carbide) I also rough it up a bit with whatever it takes, sometimes a diamond burr on a Dremel. I heard that Robust used to use such a compound to glue the hardened rod to the tops of their steel rests but started tack welding when some popped off when dropped. They still use some kind of compound to fill in the gaps on the sides after welding.

I'm not stumping for Robust but as a satisfied customer I highly recommend their comfort rests and low profile rests for smaller things. They are the only ones I use now except for occasionally using a special rest such as a box rest. (And their replacement warranty is lifetime, no questions asked - problem, send it back.)

JKJ

[Reed Gray]

I used JB weld, I think, and the thicker version for my first prototypes. If you know a black smith, they may be able to case harden the drill rod. It wouldn't be necessary to put a groove in the tool rest. If you drop it and it hits the floor, the epoxy sticks to the rougher cast iron or steel, and the rod pops off. Been there, done that, more than once... All of mine are welded on now...

The comfort rest from Robust is nice. I do prefer a straight bar at about a 20 or so degree angle to the curved bar/support arm. Main reason is that if I drop the handle, the Robust arm is in the way. There are a lot of turners who when turning spindles prefer the tool rest to be above center.

robo hippy

[Michael Costa]

Yikes, how in the world can you drop a tool rest??!? In almost two decades of turning I haven't dropped one once. ?

Just to be clear, the tools them selves won't have nicks. If the tool shafts have sharp edges they can cause nicks in the softer cast iron or even mild steel tool rests. But worse, if they have sharp edges they can catch on nicks as you slide them on the rest, messing up that perfect cut.

I have 2 tool rests, an 10" and an 6'. When switching between them I often put them in places where a slight vibration from the lathe causes them to hit the lathe legs before the floor. Lol.

[John K Jordan]

I have 2 tool rests, an 10" and an 6'. When switching between them I often put them in places where a slight vibration from the lathe causes them to hit the lathe legs before the floor. Lol.

Can you put your lathe near a wall like this? Everything within reach and easy to put back.

406234 406235

I've had to rearrange them a few times as I got different tools but it was easy since I hang everything on deck screws in plywood. Of course, some people like to put their lathes out in the middle of the room so this wouldn't work for them.

JKJ

[john taliaferro]

I used the rods out of car struts to make tool post also rear hatch struts for small rest . They are hard and free remember to drill a hole first and vent the pressure .

[John K Jordan]

I used the rods out of car struts to make tool post also rear hatch struts for small rest . They are hard and free remember to drill a hole first and vent the pressure .

Are they 1" diameter?