building a 3 wheel bowl steady-rest

[Max Taylor]

I am planning to build a 3 wheel bowl steady-rest for my PM3520b. It is 10 in. from the live center to the ways. If I cut a 'donut' 3 in. wide, should the center hole be a 7 in. diameter circle? Any way I can make it larger? Frustrated in Ft. Worth.

 

[john lucas]

Dustpan I don't have a photo of mine but I made what amounts to a C shaped steady with the opening of the C at the bottom sitting on the bed of the lathe. I have a 3/4" piece of plywood that sits on top of the bed and the C is bolted to this with some blocks of wood on both sides to give me extra support.
I mounted the wheels in such a way that they will go almost flush with the inside diameter of the C. The are bolted to wooden pieces that slide in grooves in the C.
I've seen this or something similar in several places on the web.

 

[Gary]

Shop built stead rest

Check out this LINK
There is a ton of stuff here. I found at least 5 articles on steady rests.

Here is a LINK
to a pdf you can save on your pc and print

Gary

 

[Richard Baker]

Dust,
Here's a 3+ wheel steady on a 1642, built from scrap angle. Multiple mounting holes are a lot easier than slots, and don't reduce the strength as much. The frame has multiple drilled and tapped holes to mount the "arms" where needed.

 

[Sean Troy]

On mine, I find that roller blade wheels seem to run smoother than roller skate wheels.

 

[Richard Baker]

Oops, too big. Sorry. It was a 96k file. How does one adjust the picture size for this forum?

 

[Richard Baker]

Sean,
Are they also (one hopes) quieter? Mine are left over from 13 year old daughter's skates. She is now married and mother of two children. Probably I should buy some new wheels.

 

[Jeff Jilg]

40kb limit for pics posted within the text forum. Look in Help, Rules, and FAQ menu button in top left for tips.

 

[Richard Baker]

Thanks, Jeff.

 

[eganfire1]

picture sizing

Hey Texian , and all others you can use the paint in accessories in windows open the picture hit image , stretch and skew .. and down size it there by percentage ... .. it works well for general use.

 

[Frank Kobilsek]

Scatter shield?

Richard,
In the picture what's the board behind the steady rest that covers your headstock yet lets the spindle come through. Does your family hide behind the 'statter shield' ready to dial 911.
Frank

 

[David Somers]

Picture Resizing

Hey Texian , and all others you can use the paint in accessories in windows open the picture hit image , stretch and skew .. and down size it there by percentage ... .. it works well for general use.

Another easy and free tool for resizing is Microsofts Resizing tool. It is available on their web site at http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloads/powertoys/xppowertoys.mspx

If you look on the right hand sidebar you can download just the image resizer and install that.

It is a nice little utility. Once installed you access it through Windows Explorer or my computer. Select one or more images to resize and then right click on one of them. The drop down menu will offer you resize and then you can choose some preset sizes or set your own size. The resulting resized image will be in the same format as the original, but with a name that distinguishes it from the original. It won't overwrite your original file which is nice. Real convenient and simple.

Hope this helps.

Dave

 

[DeanGThomas]

On Richard's Rig

What great ideas, Richard! Now all I have to do is find one of our members who does metal work and get him to weld me up one for my Jet 1236. It'll be worth the search, methinks.

Looks like it will offer about the max that one could hope for out of a steady rest.

 

[Richard Baker]

Frank,
Actually she hides in the house, car keys in hand to haul me to the E room. It's just cardboard to keep overspray off the headstock when finishing on the lathe. There's another little piece that goes under the spindle and plastic to cover the bed. Thought it would make the steady easier to see with a uniform background.
Dean,
Thanks for your comments. You could bolt it together, check fit, alignment, etc., and then carry it to your local welding shop. My nearest local welder is me. Not well equiped or very skilled, but I can stick stuff together.

Since original post have learned to resize pictures to 640x480 pixels. Thanks for y'all's help and advice.