I am new to the group and not real good at doing detailed searches so this topic may have been addressed in the past.
I am looking for a steady rest for my Jet full size lathe (14"). Woodcraft has their own with bearings, OneWay has theirs for about $110 with rubber wheels and then I see some homemade units that look really slick using the roller blade type of wheels.
Question is: Throw me some opinions of what works and what does not work. I really like the idea of making my own but I went to a sporting goods store and just to buy inline skate wheels with the bearings and you can drop anywhere from $40 to an insane $100+. My kids are grown and gone or I would snag some from their old skates that we probably threw away a few years ago. (ARGGGGHHH).
I have both, and the one with metal bearings was nearly useless to me. It was hard to adjust, a pain to put on and off, and when I used it, it left compressed wood and marks where I held the wood.
The Oneway is easy to set up and install, and easy to adjust. I think the Woodcraft one one you describe is made for metal lathes. It had no brand name on it, but I got it at a Woodcraft store. Maybe someone can adjust it so it's just right, but I gave up.
I would go for a home made steady rest, they are not that hard to make at all, and there are several plans out there. As for the wheels, yes you should go for the inline skate wheels, not the hard metal ones or just ball bearings. I was very lucky, happen to see a set that had been priced down to $9.-- I think it was, couldn't believe it, brand new high quality set that somehow had only 7 wheels in the sealed pack, but that just don't happen to often, so yes go to any Goodwill or a recycle place, maybe a skating ring/place around where broken ones might be discarded.
You haven't told us what you're trying to steady. Makes a big difference. Spindle steadies are on the far side of the object, and are designed to counter thrust down and away. They can be as simple as a notch and wedge, which notch can be modified with a file to suit the contour of the piece being steadied. Bowl steadies are on the near side and counter up and toward. Easy to think of what you want in a homebuilt steady by looking at commercial ones like the Oneway.
Soft surfaces, as mentioned, beat hard ones, especially convex soft surfaces like the inline rollers skates use. I bought a replacement set at Wally world for about twelve bucks for my steady. The convex wheel form allows contact against sloping surfaces with minimum scrubbing. So your steady should mount to get the support opposite the tool position when cutting, and be adjustable to diameter. Nice dense Baltic Birch can make one, though with fathers' day coming, I might be tempted to do what I did and put the Oneway on my wish list.
I have been reading this newsgroup for a good while and have learned much from all the contributors.
I built a steady rest based on some other jigs I use on my lathe. It uses in-line skate wheels. I have used it for finishing the bottom of hollow vessels and working thin spindles and it works excellently. You can put as much pressure on your work piece as needed with the adjusting nuts and it is very steady.
I used 1/2"x2" bar steel with 3/4" threaded rod for the support, 1/2" bolt for the T-nut underneath and 1/8"x1" bar steel for the wheel brackets. The spacer bushings on the 3/4" threaded rod for the wheel brackets are cut from pvc water pipe. Any or all of it could be made from oak or some other hardwood. I originally planned to weld ends on the wheel brackets but tested it before I did and like the ability to slide the top single wheel brackets to completely remove them from the support without loosening the threaded rod nuts very much. The ability to slide the wheels sideways a bit, allows adjustment to center the rotating work. This is one of the neatest fixtures I have built and used. My threaded rods are 10" on center only because they are the base supports for another jig I use. Also, the wheel bracket is in the way of the work piece if the wheels are separated more than this jigs allows. The bottom bracket could be make longer to support larger pieces, but the wheels cannot be spaced much farther apart with this design.
I drilled extra holes in the supports to provide other positions for the wheels for various diameter work. The top and bottom wheel brackets can be exchanged for additional wheel positions.
I will copy this post with photo's to alt.binary.pictures.woodworking
Thank you all for the helpful responses on this newsgroup.
A special thanks. It never dawned on me that we have a Goodwill about 6 miles away. Stopped by and bought a practically new pair of skates. Wheels were hardly scuffed. Willing to bet they were somebody's wrong size. Picked them up for $15.
Good rig. In case you haven't got one, I find that one of those 3/4 ratcheting box wrenches are a handy as can be for tightening and loosening it from the ways.
You have the spindle too? Less attractive, though the kids got one for me.
InspirePoint website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here.
All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.