Woodturning Steady Rest for 12 inch Swing Medium Size Lathe (12'')

I've used this for a couple of turning projects now, a 32" broom handle and a longer (20+") tool handle. Steady rests provide additional support in the middle of longer workpieces to reduce or eliminate the inherent problems from longer material flexing during turning. Like another reviewer, I made a simple riser block (stacked & glued two pieces of 1" plywood) to adapt it to my 16" swing lathe. This also required a longer screw handle, and the Kipp M10 90mm adjustable handle (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B013IYRX5E?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details) has worked well for this. There's no undue flex in this steady rest, and everything about it feels well made and has worked as expected. No problems with the wheel bearings, which did include the proper spacers to prevent problems from over-tightening the axle bolts.

I am turning chalices and needed to have better stability when turning the stem and gouging out the cup. This is perfect and less expensive than other brands. If I had one minus, it is the bottom plate. Would rather have the large washer set up like the tail stock and banjo. I may have my son weld me one or I can epoxy two different size washers and be done. Highly recommend.

I was looking for a cost-effective steady for my JET 1642 wood lathe. Most of them are either flimsy, expensive, or not versatile. This one seemed to have what I was looking for as being made of all steel parts except the guide wheels which are made of tough&nonmarring PU roller skate wheels. The first one I ordered came in within a couple of days and was well packed but had a problem with the frame being not at a right angle. Thanks to Amazon, they sent me a replacement with a free return. The second one was fine with all parts in good condition. It is made in China but seems well machined with all plasma cut steel and powder coated paint. One downside is it is made for a lathe with a 12inch swing which I have to adapt to my 16inch lathe. I had to make a proper raiser block along with adapting the clamping mechanism suited to my lathe bed. It took careful measurements to make all the parts fit my lathe but in the end, it is able to support any stock up to about 6-inch diameter anywhere between centers. The lockdown clamps are a bit awkward to use due to tight spacing but it is not a show stopper. I tried it on a 12"x1/2" spindle and it held it steady to shape the tip which is a good test to see how well the steady rest will hold up in real use where the stock is usually larger. Overall I am quite satisfied with the quality and functionality of this steady rest if you are able to customize the fit specific to your lathe. I am a pretty handy person and can figure things out but it would be helpful if basic instructions were included about how to clamp and support the stock specific to their accessory although there are many good videos on YouTube on this subject

It works well. Keeps the turned piece in place as our lathe is not high end and we need more support than the tenon alone. It is not a super heavy duty tool and it is not huge, but it works very well for a light to medium weight tool and fits everything we need it to turn.

The overall structure of this stabilizer is of good quality however the wheels are horrible . Upgrade the wheels to a set that comes with a bearing spacer and it a night and day difference . The wheels it comes with have no spacer between bearings so when you tighten them you get a lot of resistance . Instead of trying to find a spacer that will work just buy a set of new wheels and then this thing works great!

This is a steady rest used on a wood lathe when turning items that wobble when turning. These are usually long thin items. I was going to make one, but when I saw this I immediately purchased it. It was delivered the next day, was easy to figure out and install. It performed flawlessly and allowed me to finish the piece I was working on. The cost and quality of both design and construction exceeded my expectations, and I would and have recommended it to other turners.

It's been working great for the last 8 vase turning I made. I think it's 100% worth the price I paid. Skate wheels are doing fine out of the box and I'm going to guess ppl don't know how to assemble things without breaking them on Amazon. I didn't use the star knobs, but instead used bolts and the lever bolts supplied, as the second fixture point to give some extra turning diameter. As this allows about an extra inch of diameter to the O.D. of the roughed out piece. This thing keeps vases/open forms from breaking loose out of the jaws while aggressive hollowing is being done.

This is not a tool that I use that often. As such I really didn't want to spend a lot on it, so I took a chance on this unit and I am impressed. If you are having problems hollowing taller items, or getting wobble on longer spindle work, this steady rest is what you need. Well built with thicker steel than some of the other affordable models. I also like the design on this one. You will lose a bit in terms of max diameter, but I feel like the hoop design makes for a much sturdier hold. Takes a few minutes to square it and get all the wheels in place, but I've found it to be pretty forgiving and fairly easy to set up once you get a feel for it.