Lathe Steady

This is a shop tool that I made to help make it easier to turn thin spindles. But it will also help stabilize a bowl or urn when turning the inside by reversing the side it is mounted on. I started this project by buying a pair of used roller blades from a local Goodwill for $10. That gave me 8 wheels to work with. The body of the steady is made from Corian. I laid out the wheels on a piece of paper to start so I could get a feel for their size and the position I needed so they were close together. I was also able to lay out where the mounting hole would go where this attaches to the vertical riser. I laid out and drilled the holes, then cut the Corian to shape. I then rounded all of the corners. After that I mounted the wheels to test the fit and saw that clearance was needed between the wheels, so after removing the wheels I cut a V shape in the center on the bandsaw and rounded those corners also.

The next part was making the support, so I started this with the vertical riser. To position the hole I stood the riser on the lathe and using the tailstock center as a guide marked the first of 2 holes I drilled. I drilled the second hole directly beneath the first and used a file to smooth out the slot this created. Then I took a long base piece and cut a notch on one end so I could glue the riser to the base. Again I smoothed out the cuts with files. I glued the riser and base together with medium viscosity super-glue using a square to make sure I kept the riser straight up. As it was setting, I grabbed a 45 degree scrap I cut from the wheel assembly and also glued that to the riser to provide additional support.

After attaching the wheel assembly to the riser I realized the knob I wanted to use had too short a bolt on it and it would not reach all of the way through 2 pieces of Corian. So I removed the wheels again and drilled a hole large enough to put in the nut and epoxied it in place.

I wandered away for about 4 hours to let the glues dry.

When I got back I assembled the steady and located where I wanted to place a slot on the base support. I marked one spot as if the item I was turning was about 1/8 inch thick. I made a second mark where I would be able to steady a 5 1/2" object. I drew a line between to two marks and headed over to the drill press. I then drilled holes all along this line. After that I took a jig saw and connected all of the holes. It was still rough so using files I smoothed the slot. Since the slot was done I was able to mark an end of the base, which I cut and again rounded off the corners.

In the pictures you can see the parts individually and the assembled unit. I still ran into one final problem. The metal base and 5/16" screw on a handle that I had were not long enough to fit, so I need to get/make a handle for the lathe steady base support with a 2" screw.

Enjoy, and be careful of the splinters.