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Knowledge You Can Build On — Est. 1998

Making Tool Rests *Pic

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Making Tool Rests *Pic

#1

Making Tool Rests *Pic

Garrett in Victoria

>My new lathe came with only one 12" tool rest, and I often need a narrower one. This morning I decided to put last summer's welding course to work and see if I could make one. It was so easy I made two, and have plans for more if I can solve a problem described below, ideas welcome.

I bought some 2-3 foot lengths of 1", 1/2", and 5/8" cold rolled steel rod from the Metals Supermarket.

Before/before cutting the post to length, I used the tablesaw to cut a long vee in a piece of scrap hardwood. I clamped this to the drill press table, laid the 1" rod in the vee, and marked the 6" length for the post. I then centre-punched and drilled a 5/8" hole through the rod. Then, I cut through the centre of the hole to give me one post with a perfect 5/8" groove in the top, and a second similar one still to be cut off.

I then cut a 5" length off the 5/8" rod, and used a mitre gauge on my disk sander to chamfer the ends of the pieces. (The grinder was too aggressive.)

The 5/8 rod fit perfectly square in the groove in the 1" post, and it was a simple matter to weld them together. I can make strong welds but not yet pretty ones, so a bit of work with an angle grinder and a file cleaned everything up. A test run on the lathe made me quite happy.

However, I was just starting to hollow out a small piece of spalted birch through a narrow opening, and using the Termite tool with just finger pressure rather tiring. So, why not make a gated rest? Same process, except that this one took about 15 minutes all in. The only extra steps were to drill a couple of 5/16" blind holes in the 5/8" rod before welding it to the post, and to cut a couple of 1" pieces off a length of 5/16" rod I found among my scraps. They just drop into the holes.

That little bit of leverage makes it so much easier and faster to hollow, I can't believe I didn't do this years ago.


Now I'd like to make some curved bowl rests. I have a couple of commercial ones, but have never particularly liked their shapes. What I need to do is figure out how to bed the 1/2" rod into gentle S curves. I am certainly open to suggestions. (I have a couple of 5 ton hydraulic bottle jacks left over from the cottage construction, but no frame to put them in.)

Cheers, Garrett

Re: Making Tool Rests *Pic

#2

Re: Making Tool Rests *Pic

MP Wall

>Like the rests, been waiting to try them myself, the 5/8 hole through the 1" was very smart. To bend rod, I have used the square box of my trailer hitch and good old hand pressure. Now I haven't done 5/8 that way, but I am sure you can rig a 2X4 with a hole in it and rest the rod against something else and manage the pressure you will need to ben the 5/8. Oh it helps to have the rod overlength to bend it and then cut it where you need to. MP Wall

Re: Making Tool Rests *Pic

#3

Re: Making Tool Rests *Pic

Arch

>Very nice tool rests, Garrett.

For smooth sliding and control you might want to make a simple gate by putting the pins closer together and adding drilled pieces of larger rod to fit as revolving collars over them. A piece of pvc pipe split and snapped over the bottom makes the tool slide even easier.

It's more work, but you could make the bottom of the 'goalpost' roll by welding a pin with a revolving collar between the uprights. Sorry that my description is one step below those for far eastern tools. Besides, my welding is uglier than yours, which is why I dont want a camera. :)

Turn to Safety, Arch

Re: Making Tool Rests *Pic

#4

Re: Making Tool Rests *Pic

EagleS.C.

>I've been meaning to make a smaller rest also,

I figured I would use some 5 notch bolts from the hardware store,

I like your description as to how you went about it.

Re: Making Tool Rests *Pic

#5

Re: Making Tool Rests *Pic

Tom in Red Deer

>Morning Garrett,

Do you have a big vice? Perhaps you could make another version of you gated rest only have the gates a bit closer together...put that in the vice...heat the rod and put it in the gate and bend to shape. It may have to be done one end at a time but it should work.

Just an Idea.

Ps...how do you like the DVR so far?

Tom in Red Deer

Re: Making Tool Rests *Pic

#6

DVR

Garrett in Victoria

>Hi Tom

Thanks for the suggestions. I'm also considering welding a small tube steel frame to hold the bottle jacks, and then making forms out of the hardest wood I have - something like purpleheart - and see if 10 tons of hydraulic pressure will do the job without any heat. If it works, i.e. if the forms are strong enough, the curves should come out exactly as I want them.

As for the DVR, I like it a lot more than I anticipated, especially since I thought I was moving "down" from the General 26020. On the contrary. I will post a proper review with a lot more info in the next few days.

Cheers, Garrett