Aftermarket tool rests

Check Beall Tools. Their tool rests will take care of your problem . Available from several suppliers.

Dale Anderson

********************************** You can address that problem with the rest you have by attaching (braze or epoxy) a piece of HSS drill rod, 1/4 or 3/8, to the top lip of your rest. That will give you a good smooth, hard edge, If you go much larger, then you lose some of the mechanical advantage. Most of the modular systems suffer from this problem.

Ken Moon Webberville, TX

What tool rests? I went to their site and didn't find any.

Give this site a look:

products and great people to deal with. I have an offset barfor my Jet mini and love it.Bob Edwards San Antonio

Make your own, or see if a friend or local metalworking shop will make them for you to your own preferences. I have been making my own tool rests in assorted sizes and shapes since I started woodturning. Steel can be purchased in the correct size for the banjo. Depending on the size of steel, the upper part can be either cold bent or hot bent. (My tool rests range in size from 3/8" to 3/4" diameter steel and are hot bent using only an LPG torch). All that is left is to weld the post to the top and you have a new toolpost, to suit your particular needs/shape. I have even made complementing shapes to turn the inside and outside of my work. I know there are different views of round versus flat /angled toolrest profiles, but for me reducing the toolrest to timber gap produces sufficient advantage to use round steel and it is easier to work. (Try bending a piece of 1"x1/4" into an uneven 'S' curve and also keep it on a tilt to the work. I certainly can't and then it could only be used on one side of the turning).

One of the benefits of making 'shaped' as against straight toolrests is that you can get the toolrest closer to the wood, thereby reducing tool overhang. This will eliminate or reduce tool vibration producing a much better finish. Regarding vibration, I have found that it is best to have the minimum clearance in the post to banjo area. The closer the fit the less inclined to vibrate, for that reason I am not fond of the system that uses a bolt to simply press the toolpost against the other side of the hole. If the fit is fairly loose and the load is at right-angled to the clamping pressure, the toolrest can vibrate quite easily.