tool rest purchase

[Brian Deakin]

I live in the uk and will be travelling to the usa in july for a family holiday

I have the lathe below

http://www.axminster.co.uk/axminster...g-lathe-501214

the tool rest supplied with the lathe is not the one shown in the diagram but similar to the link below but is welded together to form a T shape 9 inches long

http://www.robert-sorby.co.uk/woodtu...st-system.html

Can anyone please advise on the purchase /design of additional tool rests for turning bowls

[John K Jordan]

Brian,

I have a variety of tool rests including some commercial models like you show and a couple I've welded up myself. For several reasons I do not like the tool rests with the large round horizontal bar.

My new favorites are the Robust rests. I am not alone - many of the turners I know have gone to these rests. They are well designed with a small diameter hardened rod that can be placed very close to the work. I use five of these rests in different sizes including one "J" rest designed to fit inside curved things like bowls.
http://www.turnrobust.com/tool-rests/

After using these, I don't use any other rests.

They come in a variety of tool post lengths to fit various lathes.

JKJ

[Brian Deakin]

John Thank you for your post I too do not like the the tool rests with the large round horizontal bar.The lathe I use at a woodwork has a tool rest similar to the one below which I find more comfortable


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And the link below shows the lathe the lathe which is in the local school woodwork shop There are 2 of these lathes which are 3 phase Sadly they are not used by any students at the school and only used by woodwork students over the age of 50 attending a weekly evening class

http://www.lathes.co.uk/harrisonwood/

[William C Rogers]

I also have 5 Robust tool rest. They are a joy to use. I raised my PM 90 to get a 18" swing. I called Robust and the made me the special tool rest I needed. I still have my midi lathes, so I just bought a Robust for it. I tried the cheaper Rockler knock off of the Robust, but it is not near the same as the Robust.

[John K Jordan]

John Thank you for your post I too do not like the [COLOR=#333333]the tool rests with the large round horizontal bar.The lathe I use at a woodwork has a tool rest similar to the one below which I find more comfortable
...
And the link below shows the lathe the lathe which is in the local school woodwork shop There are 2 of these lathes which are 3 phase Sadly they are not used by any students at the school and only used by woodwork students over the age of 50 attending a weekly evening class
http://www.lathes.co.uk/harrisonwood/

No picture showed up in your post, but if it's the same one in the link it would be much better than the round bar rest. The biggest thing the round bar has going for it is the modularity (I.E. Best Wood Tools rests); second is the ease of making one yourself. I needed a longer rest to haul around with a Jet mini so I made one to fit in about 15 minutes.

The Robust rests have a curved support (instead of the angled flat) which can give more room for your hand. The best thing, compared to softer steel and cast iron rests, is the small diameter hardened steel top bar rod which will not dent and never needs filing or dressing or even waxing. Compared to the cast iron rests that came with my Jet 1642s and PM 3520b, they are lighter in weight too, although the curved design makes them quite rigid. They are not quite budget rests...

Perhaps in your travels you can visit someone with some of these you can try out. I currently have the 4", 6", 9", 15", and 9" J rests. If I did a lot of large bowls I might consider the larger "J" or the interior curved rest.

BTW, I'm happy with the "low profile" versions for the smaller rests but the larger support on the 15" rest makes good sense to me. Since I mostly turn smaller things, I like to hang the rests (and everything else that will fit!) on the wall within arm's reach:

lathe_PM_Jan17_CU.jpg

JKJ

[William C Rogers]

+1 on every thing JKJ says about the Robust rest. The Robust rest I have are the 4", 12", inside bowl, outside bowl, and 9" J rest. For me the bowl rest are much better choice for bowls than the J rest. I have only used the J rest a couple of times for vase/hollow form turnings. I would buy the same rests again except maybe the 15" straight vs the 12" straight. Still I'm happy with what I have. None of mine are the low profile, so no experience there. The one I bought for my midi is low profile (of course), but I haven't used it yet. Not inexpensive, but using them they are worth more than I paid. I'm thankful Robust would make them special for my PM 90 lathe.

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[Robert Willing]

http://www.general.ca/products/1_gen...he/25-114.html your lathe looks a lot like this link. It is in Canada. I would call Robust direct and they should be able to satisfy your needs.