Can anyone tell me a good steady rest for the jet 16-42 lathe....
Can anyone tell me a good steady rest for the jet 16-42 lathe....
Advanced Lathe Tools LLC. made by Steve Sinner.
Ditto what Joe said. Steve's tools are some of the best. Top quality.
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.
When working I had more money than time. In retirement I have more time than money. Love the time, miss the money.
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/turnin...e-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.
I built one about a year ago, piece of cake!
Steady Rest.jpg
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.
I have the Carter steady rest and greatly like using it. Will be adding the Carter XL steady rest at some time.
Last edited by William C Rogers; 07-02-2017 at 8:43 PM. Reason: Sp
When working I had more money than time. In retirement I have more time than money. Love the time, miss the money.
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.
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)
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