Has anyone come across any articles and/or plans for building your own stationary tool rest?
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Stationary tool rest
- Thread starter Finn Posner
- Start date
john lucas
AAW Forum Expert
Do a search for free standing tool rests. My favorite version of an outboard tool rest is sold by vicmarc I believe. Look up vicmarc lathe and then search their sitep
There are a couple of points to keep in mind with independent rests -
if there is any movement in the floor it will make the rest hard to use, however rigid the rest itself.
you should try to brace the rest to the lathe so it is not completely independent. Slight flexing movement of the rest towards the work makes digs more likely. A normal toolrest moves with the lathe (if it moves at all) and makes tool control easier.
Terry
if there is any movement in the floor it will make the rest hard to use, however rigid the rest itself.
you should try to brace the rest to the lathe so it is not completely independent. Slight flexing movement of the rest towards the work makes digs more likely. A normal toolrest moves with the lathe (if it moves at all) and makes tool control easier.
Terry
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Building your own is easy, but building a good one isn't. A lot of turners use an old automobile wheel rim from a junkyard with the center filled with concrete for the base. The vertical post is a heavy duty metal pipe about 2 - 2.5 inches in diameter. I suppose that a drive shaft could also be used for that. As already mentioned, the lathe will always be moving -- maybe just a very tiny amount and maybe a lot. That is the part that make this free sanding outboard tool rest not the best option. I have an outboard rest made by Robust on my Robust lathe. It was more expensive than the wheel and pipe option, but if I were to build something like it myself, it would cost nearly as much and not be nearly as nice. It mounts on a swing arm at the end of the lathe and has a considerable range of motion -- more than I could ever possibly need.