• March 2025 Turning Challenge: Identical Bowls or Plates! (click here for details)
  • Congratulations to Michael Nathal for "Ash Ring" being selected as Turning of the Week for March 17, 2025 (click here for details)
  • Welcome new registering member. Your username must be your real First and Last name (for example: John Doe). "Screen names" and "handles" are not allowed and your registration will be deleted if you don't use your real name. Also, do not use all caps nor all lower case.

Soft Steady Rest Wheels

Randy Anderson

Randy Anderson

Beta Tester
Beta Tester
Joined
May 25, 2019
Messages
980
Likes
1,533
Location
Eads, TN
Website
canthony.gallery
Sometimes I want to mount a very tall hollow form and do a bit more sanding or cleanup inside the neck area a bit deeper than I did when I first turned it. Based on the shape I may also want to be able to sand and buff the finish deeper inside. Nothing heavy and slow RPM or even turning by hand, no real risk for catches or snags. The piece will have been second turned and fully sanded. It may also have a final or near final finish on it. My standard steady rest wheels will leave a compression mark or mar the finish. When the piece is very tall I don't want it just suspended by the tenon hanging out 30" from the chuck.

Question - anyone know of some soft wheels that would work? Not squishy soft foam but maybe wider than normal and easily conforms to the shape without much pressure. I searched the forum and didn't find anything. If I missed it pls point me there.
 
Thanks. I've used tape before and it does help some on smaller pieces. I've had the wheel ring show up once I get into the finishing process and backing up to fix it is extremely difficult. I've also had times when I can see the tape glue residue where the wheels were pressing on it. A wrap of plastic then tape helps with that. With a very tall piece there can be a good bit of leverage on the tenon without some support so looking for something I know won't mar the surface.
 
The weight of the piece may not be great, but apparently there's still enough pressure to leave a mark. Will a softer wheel NOT leave a mark? Why wouldn't it? Rather than trying to find a different material, maybe the solution is much wider wheels, or more wheels, so that the pressure is distributed over a bigger area. If the answer is a different material, maybe the Rubber Chucky people have a solution.
 
Dean, I don't know the answer. Investigating options/ideas. Seems that a soft foam wheel with maybe a tape wrap around the piece to eliminate abrasion would work. I don't have a squishiness spec so might work, might not. I've looked at the rubber Chucky products and all of their stuff is based on cone type centers. I need the opening open.
 
On most large pieces I leave a 3/4" - 1" collar ring at the opening for the steady rest. I can easily take it into account for my shape and proportions. On some it's not a good option. Either way it has to come off at some point to work the opening and the inside surface as deep as a I can get. It's easy to turn it off for final work with a wooden cone center on the tail stock live center. I can't leave a ring of material on the body of the piece since I need to be able to get the overall shape just right, boil the piece, dry, then second turn and sand and apply finish. I've seen folks do that but I need to be able to work the curve, shaping and sanding from top to bottom in a smooth continuous motion. I'm at the final steps so the outside of the piece is essentially done.
 
Randy Anderson said:
Dean, I don't know the answer. Investigating options/ideas. Seems that a soft foam wheel with maybe a tape wrap around the piece to eliminate abrasion would work. I don't have a squishiness spec so might work, might not. I've looked at the rubber Chucky products and all of their stuff is based on cone type centers. I need the opening open.
Click to expand...
Soft foam will compress during turning and you will get a ton of vibration. Steve Sinner won't even tolerate urethane wheels on a steady rest, let alone soft foam.
 
Richard Coers said:
Soft foam will compress during turning and you will get a ton of vibration. Steve Sinner won't even tolerate urethane wheels on a steady rest, let alone soft foam.
Click to expand...
I got this advice when building my steady rest several years ago. Harder wheels produce less vibration than softer. Makes sense - also the contact pressure of the wheels makes a difference. Mine are set to just barely contact. Good in-line wheels come in a range of hardnesses - can’t recall the number sequences, but google knows. I got the hardest I could find (I think they were made for street use, but wouldn’t swear to it.

The OP mentioned that this situation is run at very low rpm, so vibration may not be an issue.

I got the hardest wheels I could find and they’ve been working great for many years now, but then the total hours is probably pretty low.
 
In my younger years inline skates had a wheel profile called fatboys. They typically didn't last the full season, but were gloriously smooth ride. You might stop by the local miscreant skater shop and try to find a plush set of longboard wheels and pare them down to fit your rest. You could also pour silicone moulds with 22mm id pipe and make your own.
 
Thanks for the inputs. Not worried about vibrations or chatter since it's not intended to be spun up to high rpm for turning or hollowing. Picture slow turning for sanding or very light work inside the neck area. I'll keep looking and may be an idea that doesn't work out. Doing large pieces has created all sorts of non traditional problems to solve along the way. Some ideas work out. Some don't.
 
Inline (and quad) skate wheels come in a variety of durometers (hardnesses) intended for use on varied indoor vs. outdoor surfaces. One easy start would be to get some that are on the very soft side and give them a try. Look to a dedicated skating supplier, e.g. a local or online skate shop. More info on the range of skate wheels at this inline skate wheel guide.

I’ll also second cleaning off the mold line before this application. Normally, skaters don’t care since those lines don’t affect skating performance and will just wear off/down on their own.
 
Here's a picture of the longboard type wheels that Michael mentioned. They're wider and flatter than inline skate wheels. That should spread the pressure out over a bigger surface and produce less compression. They also come in different hardnesses, so you could see which works best. Maybe I'm off the mark by assuming the wheels you've tried are causing compression and therefore marking of the wood. If it's an abrasive effect, then, Nevermind.
 
Skateboard wheels come in a variety of hardnesses, 73A durometer is about the softest available. And that's not what would be considered "easily conforms to the shape without much pressure". Sports shoe sole hardness is in the 30A +/- range which might conform to shape but nothing in wheels ready made in that durometer comes to mind.
 
This would be a perfect scenario for custom 3D printed wheels. I would use TPU as it is already flexible and grips quite nicely (I use it for vacuum chuck rings). The hardness would be tuned by adjusting the amount of infill. That would get you just the right amount of squishiness when it is engaged.
 
Randy Anderson said:
Sometimes I want to mount a very tall hollow form and do a bit more sanding or cleanup inside the neck area a bit deeper than I did when I first turned it. Based on the shape I may also want to be able to sand and buff the finish deeper inside. Nothing heavy and slow RPM or even turning by hand, no real risk for catches or snags. The piece will have been second turned and fully sanded. It may also have a final or near final finish on it. My standard steady rest wheels will leave a compression mark or mar the finish. When the piece is very tall I don't want it just suspended by the tenon hanging out 30" from the chuck.

Question - anyone know of some soft wheels that would work? Not squishy soft foam but maybe wider than normal and easily conforms to the shape without much pressure. I searched the forum and didn't find anything. If I missed it pls point me there.
Click to expand...
I use rollerblade wheels, if they are too hard, you can run a couple of grooves around the circumference with a 4" grind and 1mm cutting blade
 
I bought replacements wheels from Carter Products. These are the wheels they use on their MultiRest. The inline skate wheels I had on my steady rest were crazy noisy and had all the other problems you mentioned. I put the Carter wheels on and all my problems went away, they are whisper quiet and run true and soft.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top