height of tool rest

The tool rest should be as close to the workpiece as practical. As to its height? The important question is not where should the tool rest be but where should the tool be cutting. Once you decide the right place to make the cut, and where you want to hold the handle of the tool (frequently well down against your body), then the height of the tool rest is a foregone conclusion.

The location of the cut varies from tool to tool. If you are using a skew in a planing cut, for instance, the cut is near the top of the blank. If you are using a roughing gouge, the cut is much lower -- maybe around center with the bevel rubbing. With the handle down as far as practical, that puts the tool rest somewhere below center.

If you are using a bowl gouge to hollow a bowl, then the tool rest must be somewhere below center so that you can make a cut into the center of the bowl without having to hold the handle high.

Anyway, if you recast the toolrest question to where do I want to make the cut and where do I want the handle of the tool, you will be well on the way to making the right choices, I think.

Bill

With a scraper, you should have the toolrest so the tool angles down (handle up) when touching the wood at the spindle height.

With a scraper, you should have the toolrest so the tool angles down (handle up) when touching the wood at the spindle height.

As has been said, depends on what you're doing. The way I work, it seems to be below center all the time. Dry firing is a good way to determine where. Lathe off, tool of choice, and check how you'll make contact with the work , roll the edge to begin, and continue in direction of cut. If any of those involve big vertical changes in the gouge handle, it's time to move the rest. It's critical that your tool be firmly supported on the rest as the edge enters the wood.

I like to contact a convex piece at its point of maximum diameter. That way an incipient catch goes into thin air. Concave pieces are contacted above the point of maximum diameter for the same reason.

Scraping's different. There you want the point of contact pretty much dead on centerline.

In all cases, keep the rest as close to the cut - I emphasize the cut - as possible. It's worth it most times to stop and move the rest rather than force a big angular change. Your dry fire will let you know how far you can lean, initially. After a while you'll know it instinctively.

I go with elbow high myself, but I would think that is a presonal preference.... Have fun with it..... Ken.

Sorry, miss read the question, I put my tool rest half the thickness of the tool below the center, so that the center of the tool is on the center of the spindle.. But again, that is personal preference..... Ken....

Good day, all

The tool rest should be at a height that allows the edge to be presented to the work in the proper orientation for the intended cut. This will depend on the individual. Start near center, perhaps a little above for scraping, perhaps a little below for cutting or shearing. As the work gets small and the tool projects further over the rest, raise or lower it more. Eyeballing the initial setting is good enough.

Regards Dave Kassover Troy, NY

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