A couple of turners want to see my homemade hollowing rig and steady rest. I will demo it on Thursday from 10am to 12noon in the wood shop, if anyone else is interested. This is not a class. If you want to make your own - you are welcome to take measurements. I made it out of 1018 steel and a little bit of aluminum. It was amazingly simple to make – a few cuts on a horizontal bandsaw, drill holes and a few taps. It is put together with bolts. The original plan was to put together with bolts, test it, make sure the geometry was right, make adjustments then weld the pieces together. Surprisingly, the rig is very stiff, little to no vibration so I didn’t need to weld it. The cutting tools are 1018 5/8” round bar with ¼” M42 cutters. Total cost was about $100. I also made a sharpening jig to hold the cutters.
- Dan Wolf
