I've had a large 10" pulley in the workshop for some years and thought that it could be turned into a 3 point fixed steady by removing the central boss and taking 120' arc from the disc to form the top part of the 3 point steady. The bottom of the disc to be shaped to suit the bed slideway. Guides were made to slide in grooves in the disc 120' apart. I later added small bearings on each guide to limit the friction when in use. It works quite well for small jobs - probably not as good as the robust 3 point steady on the market - but ok for occasional use. It's at that point that I realised that by not using the top section and re-positioning the steady on the saddle I could use it as a 2 point moving steady. Some time required shaping the pulley to suit the curvature of the saddle casting but it seems to do the job and it's nice to use the old pulley for two purposes. The photos attached show the stages of manufacture.
Oh, and what happened to the boss removed from the centre of the pulley, you may ask? I used it for the housing of thread cutting dial - see photo
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-George M.