Hand Steady rest for fine work

[Gearup]

One of the frustrating things is hand-shake while trying to place and glue that really small part to a model. Holding a small part with tweezers can amplify the motion or a distraction can result in the part going in the wrong place.

I recently discovered a steady rest for small detail work. Its similar to a jewellers ball vice for holding small work. This is different because it has a rod to steady the tool while leaving the other hand free. It is also similar to the idea of a "Maul stick or Mahl stick" used to steady the artist's hand to avoid touching the painting surface while adding detail.

Unable to justify the expense of a jewellers vice or to purchase a steady rest online, I came up with this tool.

Materials:

3" solid metal ball. I used a lead rubber-coated fishing down-rigger ball that weighs in at 5 lb. Smaller/lighter would also work but I would keep it above 2 lb. The down rigger ball had a handy integral wire loop that is used when fishing. If there is no loop, the ball can probably be drilled to the rod size and epoxied in place.

5/16" dia x 5" bolt with two nuts.

Small piece of 2" pvc drain pipe 1" long or an end cap of that size. Even a small tin could work.

Small piece of rubber sheet or sand paper to act as an anti-slip surface .

1. Cut the head off the bolt. Using a drill spin the rod against a belt sander or file to taper the end. I tapered the end to about 1/8" diameter over a distance of 1-1/2" from the end. Then I gave it a polish using 600 grit paper and steel wool while spinning it in the drill.

2. Make the base by cutting a 1" section of 2" pvc pipe. Using the belt sander or a 1/2 round file, make three equidistant scallops about 1/4" deep around one end of the section. This will leave you with 3 flat points about 1/2" wide spaced around the end. Since three points define a plane, the ball will sit stable on the base even if the ball is out of round.

3. Thread on a nut until it contacts the unthreaded portion. Pass the threaded end through the heavy wire loop on the ball and secure it with the other nut and tighten with two wrenches. If your ball does not have a loop, you can drill the ball to fit the rod and epoxy or ( if your so equipped) thread the hole for the rod. I would have done this to the down rigger ball, but I didn't want to drill a hole in it.....

4. Set the base on the rubber anti skid pad, set the ball on the base and your done!

To use the steady, position the ball in the base so that the rod end is positioned where you want near the model. You can now rest the tweezers against the rod with the part in position and not have any hand shake affect the positioning of the part! Your other hand is free to use for what ever you need to do. If you have hand shake that may make applying adhesive difficult, why not make a second steady to position the adhesive applicator. Ive also found that I can use my left hand to hold the part on the steady and use my right hand to accurately apply adhesive. It can also steady a tiny paint brush while doing small detail work too.

Hope this helps with the fiddly details and small parts manipulation!

The photos are pretty much self explanatory. I used chalk to highlight the scallops on the base so you could see the three points.

Happy modeling!

Fraser

[lastvautour]

Good technique Fraser. Thanks for posting.

Lou

[Boomerang]

Well Done Fraser!

I like the approach home made and relatively cheap. Fit for task.

Cheers

Gordon

[Gearup]

Thanks,
Fraser