Two wheel steady rest completed and question about use.

[Dan Forman]

This is what I came up with, copied from Steve Schlumph. I can see I may have to find a smaller knob to lock it on the ways, as there are some braces underneath that the current knob won"t clear that will limit placement options.

I do have a question about using though. It seems that once hollowing begins the outside of a form or bowl will soon distort, either due to internal stressors being released, or moisture loss. So what do you do about that? It would seem that before too long the form will be bouncing around on the wheels as it changes shape. Thanks for sharing your insight on this.

[Joe Meirhaeghe]

Dan replace the ways knob with a T-nut and just use a bolt with a washer through the top. This will require a wrench to tighten but is quick and easy to tighten & will work well.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Dan, I also had to contend with the support braces under the ways. Found the easiest thing to do was simply locate the rest where I wanted it, secure it, then slide the headstock (with blank already installed) so that the wheels get positioned where I wanted on the blank. As far as the wood moving, I guess it does but I never had a problem where the wood warped so much that it became a problem. If you are roughing out a green wood blank, you can always spray the wood with water to keep areas from drying out too soon. I do that all the time because I DNA the piece after roughing. If you are finish turning a piece, then the wood should be pretty dry to begin with and movement from stresses should have already taken place.

[Dan Forman]

Thanks for your replies, I like the idea of moving the headstock, one less tool to have to keep track of. Hope to get a chance to try it out soon, I have done some hollow forms before, but nothing large enough to need extra support.

Dan