I Share this steady rest option to contribute what I can to this enjoyable forum. I expect many have similar setups but on the off chance not I hope this option may help some. I have and use a traditional 3 point contact steady rest pictured below and it works pretty well.

On some of the vases I try they are considerably heavier than other vases and bowls as result of incorporating epoxy resins. The resin castings always need to be oversized a bit to accomodate the intended design. While the pictures show the basic vase in cherry and the resin mold configuration. The excess resin on the vase outer was removed with abrasive sanding with an angle grinder. Internally there is still considerable excess resin on the inside of the vase. All in all it is a heavy, dense product to rough turn . Initially I cleaned up the upper rim of the vase and applied the typical 3 point steady rest, you can see that detail and the steady rest wheel tracking path at the larger end. It worked but there was considerable instability and chatter turning with this method offering considerable opportunity to get a serious catch not to mention stress on my soul. I had to bit the bullet if I was going to continue with wood and resin work and bought another chuck, a threaded adapter and live center to create the between centers setup shown. This made a remarkable improvement and virtually eliminated any moving and shaking when rough turning / shaping. I pretty much figure the extra expense of the required parts is somewhat offset to laundry savings and swear jar contributions 🤪. Hope this will offer some .

mike c

Thanks, Mike! That is really a great looking steady rest. What type of wheels did you use?

Hi Lew they are just wheels off a cheap set of roller blades ( skates) that i had bought long ago and never used. They seem to hold up quite well and I have some hours on them, on the lather that is !!!!

Just now, calabrese55 said:

Hi Lew they are just wheels off a cheap set of roller blades ( skates) that i had bought long ago and never used. They seem to hold up quite well and I have some hours on them, on the lather that is !!!!

Thanks! I used them, too. Later I made a horizontal steady ala Alan Stratton. Just for the heck of it, I bought some LED skate wheels. Pretty neat but totally impractical

7 minutes ago, lew said:

Thanks! I used them, too. Later I made a horizontal steady ala Alan Stratton. Just for the heck of it, I bought some LED skate wheels. Pretty neat but totally impractical

That would drive me crazy and that is a short trip for me . I get a rush and a similar result by playing Black Sabbath on 78 speed backwards 🙃

I need to get busy and make one. I bought skatewheels some years ago and they're still sitting in my drawer waiting for me to do something with them.