Steel tool rest vs cast iron

[petebucy4638]

I am new to woodturning and decided to add a 12" tool rest to my lathe. The rest that I bought has a steel bar welded on the top instead of being all cast iron, as the tool rest that came with the lathe is. I was surprised at how much easier the gouges and chisels slid across the steel bar than the cast iron rest. Is there an advantage to a cast iron tool rest that I have not figured out?

 

[Mike Davis]

Cast iron is cheaper.

They break easily.

 

[wndopdlr]

I have both, but the one made by Robust is as you describe and I would agree that the tool slides much more readily. When I purchase more tool rests, they will definitely be from Robust.

 

[petebucy4638]

I have both, but the one made by Robust is as you describe and I would agree that the tool slides much more readily. When I purchase more tool rests, they will definitely be from Robust.

Robust is the company that made my 12" tool rest.

 

[Mac In Oak Ridge]

One polishes the top of a cast iron tool rest to make the surface more tool friendly.

 

[cyclopentadiene]

Agree on Robust, worth tge investment if you turn a lot

 

[chris_goris]

Not sure what youre replacing but cast iron deadens vibration. Thats why machine tools are made from it. Not necessarily cheaper though. Lathe tool rests that start as castings have to have some amount of machining to finish them properly. This can involve some intricate workholding. The robust rests are simple welded fabrications and Im sure work fine. Hardly a high tech component though. Castings on the other hand require "hard tools" to manufacture and the designs are static where as a simple, cut (any shape) , bend (any shape) ,welded fabrication allows for more design flexibility.

 

[iclark]

Cast iron rests need to be maintained. Divots are removed with a mill-smooth file. The Flat surface is then waxed to get that smooth glide.

If you use a skew and cast iron rests, then the edges of the skew need to be eased so that they do not cut into the rest.

 

[Michael Mathews]

I just came across this post by D-way Tools. It goes though the steps on how to modify your cast iron tool rests to steel. I haven't tried it but it looks like a decent modification!

 

[Hmerkle]

Pete, as everyone has pointed out, you have the "hybrid" if you will.
The advantages of a steel rest (the bar welded to the rest) and the cast iron body that will dampen tool vibration.

All rests work, after all it is only something to rest your tool on while you cut wood. but certain things work better (heavier tools on cast iron for example) but if you have a fully cast iron tool rest, periodically you may need to maintain it as Ivan points out.

 

[petebucy4638]

Pete, as everyone has pointed out, you have the "hybrid" if you will.
The advantages of a steel rest (the bar welded to the rest) and the cast iron body that will dampen tool vibration.

All rests work, after all it is only something to rest your tool on while you cut wood. but certain things work better (heavier tools on cast iron for example) but if you have a fully cast iron tool rest, periodically you may need to maintain it as Ivan points out.

I had only one cast iron tool rest that came with my Record Power lathe. My other lathe, a Rikon 30-40 came with a rest that had a hardened steel bar. I can definitely see the advantages of a heavy tool rest for a lathe. The problem that I was having was that all my tools moved easily across a rest with a hardened steel bar, but not so easily across the cast iron rest. That I why I added the hardened steel bar to the top of my 7" cast iron rest. If all I had were cast iron tool rests, I suspect that I would have adapted to the "feel" without any issues.

The Record Power tool rest was filed to level it a few times, and waxed weekly. That didn't help a lot. It is worth mentioning that the 7" Record Power tool rest is a much lighter duty rest than the much larger and heavier tool rests that I have seen on Powermatic lathes. The narrower tool contact surface on my rest probably contributed to some of the tool damage that it received, too.

One of my friends in Florida has been turning for decades. He won one of those round bar and post-type tool rests at a woodworking show and has retired all his other rests. He turns with his hand under the rest and a finger or two holding the tool from under the rest. He does of smaller projects and claims that he would never go back to a convention rest. I guess that it all depends on what you learned on and your style of turning.

Before posting this, I suspected that the experienced turners were already aware of this. I thought that it might be of some interest to some of the new guys, like me.

 

[petebucy4638]

I used the "hybrid" tool rest for the first time tonight. It is a much more enjoyable to use than it was before the hardened steel rod was installed.

 

[NOTW]

Cast iron becomes brittle in cold weather. I have broken rests before from them getting cold and then snapping.

 

[petebucy4638]

Cast iron becomes brittle in cold weather. I have broken rests before from them getting cold and then snapping.

I have heard of cast iron breaking in very cold conditions. Both of my lathes have cast iron banjos.

 

[Raymond]

Pete, you might want to look at a modular tool rest system. I used one and really enjoyed it. Modular Tool Rest System - Lee Valley Tools