steady rest

[Plumber]

Here's a steady rest I have started I just haven't split it open to get the parts in easier works like a champ though this is a front and back pics

 

[CharlieW]

That reminds me of a steady I made for a Sheldon I had about 20 years ago. I thought bearings would be better to. It seems logical. I found that the bearings rolled a groove in my stock. I like the fixed tips better. I also found that chips sometimes jamb between the rollers and the stock. You might want to make an extra set of jaws for it so you will have both styles to use.

You did a nice job of making your steady rest. What are the 3 large disks for? Are they a knob to adjust a jack screw? I agree that you need to hinge the rest so it can be opened for easy stock insertion/removal.

Keep up the good work.

Charlie

 

[Plumber]

Yes sir the discs are just for adjustment I have had problems with grooving and chips also made a set of brass tipped ones the screw thru where the adjusters are now the females for the adjusters are plain old 1/2" coupling nuts..

 

[Tony Wells]

I have a strong preference for roller bearing steady rest, and am working out a design for an 8" capacity steady rest for my Monarch. I didn't get the original with the lathe, but a smaller rest on a spacer that is rather light and is only about 4" capacity.

If you have chip control problems, it may be that you aren't breaking chips properly, or have the rest too close to the end of the work. I have, when this problem presents itself, taken a coffee can lid (plastic), and fashioned a guard of sorts to keep the stringy chips away from the rollers.

If you are creasing the OD, you are too tight. That can happen when you are cutting of you allow the material to get too hot and expand. That also can cause ID egging. Bearings selected for steady rests are semi-spherical OD races, so they don't leave too big a track. Properly adjusted, they leave very little marking, unlike solid tipped rests.

 

[Tony Wells]

Usually you can get off the shelf bearings with semi spherical outer races, but not as many sizes are are available, so check that before you get too far in your design. I have some in hand I'm designing around. If you're building a large rest, like 10" +, you may want to consider double row bearings. I haven't seen spherical double row, but that doesn't mean they don't exist.

In high school, we built on that used 2.5" od bearings that would open up to round 14". It was hydraulic, and self-centering. Wish I had the drawings for it.

 

[Tony Wells]

I know what you mean. I may be only slightly ahead of you in that I do have a set of bearings I want to use, and I have the materials I roughly sized while over at a friend's fab shop where I burned out a few pieces of plate and found some heavy bar that loosely fits my concept. I haven't hit the drawing board yet, except for a few rough sketches to get the overall size of the plates....at least an estimate.

I guess I'll have to draw it up. I love working off of drawings rather than by eye on something like this. I can give it away, I can copy it, change the design and see the impact on the other components, etc..

 

[Plumber]

Wow gentleman I'm glad I showed my steady rest you folks just added a wealth of information for all Thank you