Need info on small steady rest

[refueler1]

Hey guys, I made my first bic stick pen today and I think a steady rest would help me alot. Has anyone made a small steady rest for small diameter stuff? Anyone got any pics of small rests.

Thanks

 

[okiebugg]

pen flex and chatter

One thing I learned many years ago was to use your fingers of your left hand and continue your tool work with your right hand. Using your fingers seems to be a bit hard on your fingers, but it's not if you use a triple thickness of bounty paper towels, or a small doubled cloth. A little practice helps.


I make many bic type pens for give-away. If you are getting a LOT of flex, you neen to use a harder wood. Coco Bola comes to mind. There are others......I simply will not turn maple as it is too hard. You have to put too much pressure on Maple nd it will chatter until it breaks. I also make many hair sticks which I consign to Beauty shops. These are turned to a much smaller diameter, but the towels help, especially using a skew.

I hope this works for you

 

[refueler1]

One thing I learned many years ago was to use your fingers of your left hand and continue your tool work with your right hand. Using your fingers seems to be a bit hard on your fingers, but it's not if you use a triple thickness of bounty paper towels, or a small doubled cloth. A little practice helps.


I make many bic type pens for give-away. If you are getting a LOT of flex, you neen to use a harder wood. Coco Bola comes to mind. There are others......I simply will not turn maple as it is too hard. You have to put too much pressure on Maple nd it will chatter until it breaks. I also make many hair sticks which I consign to Beauty shops. These are turned to a much smaller diameter, but the towels help, especially using a skew.

I hope this works for you

This was my first Bic I have tried so there is probably a better way of making the pen than what I was doing. I took a blank and rounded it then stuck it in my PSI collet chuck and drilled the 5/32 hole for the ink tube. Then I brought up the tail stock with lite pressure and turned the pen blank. I then drilled the larger hole for the nib to sit in and thats when the blank was hard to hold and drill so I thought maybe a small steady would work great. Guess I should make the pen and drill last and then part off both ends instead of sticking the blank in a collet chuck??

Jack

 

[mrcook4570]

Try drilling both holes before turning the pen but after rounding and placing in your collet chuck. Drilling the finished pen might cause it to split while you are drilling.

 

[t001xa22]

I offer these 2 PDF files on making a homemade steady rest. The one I made is more like the full circle design, but they both work. The least expensive one I've seen online store-bought was at least $50.

 

[okiebugg]

TBC

As an afterthought, I always turn small diameter objects between centers. I don't know if there is a difference between TBC and a collet chuck. You might try it. I cut out the two step drilling, and drill the larger hole completely into the blank. I have found that the larger bit going deep into the blank is less likely to drift with the grain of the wood.

Not to disagree with the other gentlemen, but I have tried extensively to use steady rests and find them cumbersome both in the set up and getting in the way when going down the length of the blank in one smooth cut with a skew. If you're unsure about using the skew (I don't know what your experience level is) but......If you use the tutorials on this site, and practice (a lot) at using the skew, your experience at turning long thin materials will be much better. Once you start using the skew and 'get it', a light will turn on and you will say "I didn't know it was this easy".

 

[KenV]

If the end inserted into the collet chuck is smooth and straight - it should support about 6 inches of cantilever

Drilling/redrilling a thin piece can be a problem - especially if the tailstock is not loose and the drill bit very very sharp. The collet chuck defines the linear axis and the tailstock and drill bit have to exactly match that axis or the hole will not match and will be over size -- or the bit will be "grabby". Loose tailstock allows the bit to match the hole a bit but there is a lot of tailstock mass -- so the eyeball alignment needs to be really close.

Drilling at the start and then to run the tailstock control onto the hole will help at the drilling end -- but pin jaws in a scroll chuck (preferred) or a drive center will give you more flex in alignment. Scroll chuck does not put the work into compresson and allows easier parting off.

 

[Wildman]

I have made couple different steady rest, have been a mixed bag. Poor design gets in the way of turning. Also burn or burnishing mark take time to remove. For turning skinny items a string steady might be good op.

Here is an example of a string steady rests, might find other designs more suitable on the web.

http://www.hiltonhandcraft.com/Articles/String_Steady.asp

 

[refueler1]

Thanks for the suggestions. Now I see why there are not a bunch of small rests on the market. I think I will turn the pen and leave a block on each end then part off at both ends as a last step.