Steady Rest Question

[Quinn McCarthy]

I finally built a bowl steady rest. I stole it from some pictures that Steve S. had of his in a thread. I made it out of 2x6 with a layer of plywood one each side for a little more strength. I used 3/4" pipe for the arms that the wheels are attached to. I used U bolts to hold the pipe on. I have it tweaked so all 4 wheels are in contact with the bowl I am turning. I mounted the wheels perp. to the ways. The segmented bowl I am working on has a V shape to it. When I look down from above the wheels are touching on the corner rather than straight on. Do any of you angle the wheel so that it rides on top or doesn't it make a difference where it rides. It was hard to tell from the pictures that I looked at if that was a feature of that rest or not.

Thanks

Quinn

420 miles NW of Steve S.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Quinn - guess from your description that I am not sure what you mean by riding on top. On my steady - the arms can swing and I just move them so that I have contact on the turning and then tighten everything down. As long as you are supporting the turning such that it counteracts the forces applied with your turning tool - you should be in good shape.

[Dick Sowa]

the wheels are touching on the corner rather than straight on. Do any of you angle the wheel so that it rides on top or doesn't it make a difference where it rides.

It shouldn't make any difference as to what part of the wheel surface makes contact with the bowl, provided that (like Steve says), it supports the vessel against the pressure of your tool, and can turn freely. Rarely will you be able to support a vessel on a perfectly horizontal surface anyway.

[Norm Zax]

The purpose is to give the turning vessel support distributed evenly around the circle, without obstructing the turning tool. This is usually achieved with three wheels, sometimes with four. Theoretically two can work if carefully placed to oppose the tool's pressure. See pic attached.

[Quinn McCarthy]

Thanks for the replies.

It is definately getting support all of the way around. I won't lose any more sleep over it.

I am definately getting a cleaner cut with the rest. The bowl is 13" wide and with the waste chuck probably 11" from the head stock. I was getting a bad cut in the curly maple before. Glad I stopped and built the rest.

Thanks

Quinn