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Wheels for steady rest

Don Wattenhofer

Don Wattenhofer

Joined
Jul 19, 2018
Messages
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Location
Ponsford, MN
After about 25 years the salvage store skate wheels that I used on my home made steady are beginning to deteriorate to the point where I can't get even pressure on all wheels. Does any one know how to judge the skate wheels available on line for durability.
 
Don......I'm using the Oneway bowl steady, and got about the same amount of use out of my original set of wheels. About a year ago, I ordered a new set of wheels directly from Oneway. I went through the same questions you are thinking, and decided to just get the original wheels......just too many types of wheels to know what will work, so just bought those I know will work.

Actually, I got two sets of wheels......so, if I'm still alive in about 20 years (God willing), I'll have a back-up set ready to install.
-----odie-----
 
If I remember correctly, skate wheels come in variable hardness, which is expressed as a number. I can't recall the range or which end is harder, but I bet you can get that info on a skate parts web site. One thing to consider is color--apparently it can come off on things in contact with them.
 
Glenn Lefley said:
Do you use the wheels on larger bowls, and do they work well?
Click to expand...

Glenn......I use the Oneway bowl steady on bowls up to about 14" in diameter. What I've found is you can get higher rpm without vibration using the OBS, but it's not a cure-all. You still have to adjust the speed to the least free-running vibrations, and then adjust further to how well your tool reacts at any given rpm, but it will be a higher rpm than without the OBS. A higher vibration free rpm will normally result in a cleaner cut, but if the tool isn't as sharp as it could be, or the technique/presentation needs improving, the OBS will not help as much as it could.....if it helps at all. It's just one small component in the overall equation that is well worth fine tuning the capability it offers. However, the OBS will definitely be a disappointment to those who need further refining on other relevant related aspects of what it takes to get a cleanly made cut.....and therefore reducing the need for excessive sanding.

There are no "silver bullets", but each component of the equation is a valuable asset in conjunction with each other for acquiring the best, most refined overall tooled surface.........:D

-----odie-----
 
I've been using the Keith Clark's steady rest for over ten years for pieces weighing north of 200-lbs. He uses "razor scooter" wheels as you can see in his website: www.theokspindoctor.com
The new pneumatic wheels for the motorized rental scooter are intriguing - they would easily fit on Keith's system. Anyone have any experience with pneumatic scooter wheels?
 
I bought some Razor wheels from Lee Valley Tools LTD for $3.70 each and they included 2 608 bearings in each wheel. I added a spacer between the 2 bearings and bolted them on with a 8MMx1.25 socket head machine screw and also trimmed off the outer diameter of the tire to get more surface area. They worked well without denting this piece of jack pine101_1409.JPG
 
I did a little homework on wheels when I made my steady a couple years ago - the durometer rating indicates the hardness. There are two scales A and B. The A scale is most common, with numbers that range from 78 to a little over 100. Larger number, harder wheel. The B scale is measured differently, so an 80B wheel will be harder than a 90A wheel (the difference between the scales is about 20).
All this and what I found for my equipment (AB lathe with 24” homebuilt steel steady) is that harder wheels actually resulted in less vibration in use compared to wheels on the softer side. I think that since the softer wheels tend to absorb some shock that having three on the same plane set up some harmonics (just a guess). Harder wheels solved the problem for me...also, white or clear wheels leave fewr marks. If I remember, I try to leave a slightly raised area for the wheels to track that gets taken down in final sanding. When I forget, a single layer of masking tape helps prevent any marking, but it hasn't really been a problem.
 
JeffSmith said:
I did a little homework on wheels when I made my steady a couple years ago - the durometer rating indicates the hardness. There are two scales A and B. The A scale is most common, with numbers that range from 78 to a little over 100. Larger number, harder wheel. The B scale is measured differently, so an 80B wheel will be harder than a 90A wheel (the difference between the scales is about 20).
All this and what I found for my equipment (AB lathe with 24” homebuilt steel steady) is that harder wheels actually resulted in less vibration in use compared to wheels on the softer side. I think that since the softer wheels tend to absorb some shock that having three on the same plane set up some harmonics (just a guess). Harder wheels solved the problem for me...also, white or clear wheels leave fewr marks. If I remember, I try to leave a slightly raised area for the wheels to track that gets taken down in final sanding. When I forget, a single layer of masking tape helps prevent any marking, but it hasn't really been a problem.
Click to expand...
I think you are right about the soft wheels since my old wheels were getting spongy especially when hot from running and no mater how smooth the contact surface was they would vibrate.
 
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