Why are live cone centers so hard to find? I am new to woodturning and I hold my breath every time I tighten the tailstock against the bowl blank with a standard 60° live center for fear that I'll split the thing. So far that hasn't happened, luckily. I finally got one on E-Bay last week, but you seldom see them even listed. I don't see them at Rockler or Woodcraft.
Is this something the REAL wooodturners don't even use? What do YOU do?
Pete Stanaitis
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My Oneway lathe came with one.
Try looking at Packard Woodworks. All they sell are items directly related to turning.
Phooey! I meant "Live Cup Center" or "Live Safety Center" (for the tailstock) as they are sometimes called.
Pete Stanaitis
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spaco wrote:
I use the Oneway live center. It has a cup end with a removable point in the center. It also has two cones that can be screwed on, one goes from 0 to about 2 inches, the other from about 1 inch to about 4 inches. The large cone is reversible to make a large cup. I love it and use the small cone a lot. For small items like tree ornaments the cup center works well and does not cause splitting.
Hello Pete,
I think what you are looking for is a live center with a cup plus the center point. Oneway makes a live center like this, Nova makes one, and Woodcraft did sell a live center with various interchangeable heads that had a cup center in the lot. Personally, since they came on the market, I use the StebCenter from Robert Sorby. It has a spring loaded center pin that does not dig in too deep and will not split your wood. It also has a notched cup around the center pin that holds exceptionally well. I use the StebCenters is both the headstock and the tailstock. They are a bit expensive, but no more expensive that the Oneway or the Nova centers. I know that Craft Supplies USA carries them and I'm reasonable sure that Packard Woodworks does also. Once you use the StebCenters you'll not want to go back to regular centers.
Fred Holder
OK, now that I know what it is you are after. Grizzly, Penn State, Delta and Jet all sell cup centers. There are many more. Woodcraft has them but only in a multipoint kit. The Sorby Stebcenter that Rockler sells is effectively the same thing. A lot of people use the standard 60 degree center and put a small washer on it to limit the depth.
If you need the cup center, look closely at the live center(s) you have now. I have three Jet #2 Morse tapers and another of unknown origin. All of them allow the point to be tapped out (which also allows for drilling into your project through the tailstock) to give you a small cup.
Robert
In message , " snipped-for-privacy@aol.com" writes
If its the black one that comes with the lathes, the earlier versions of these centres the pin was removable having a shaft with a flat on it and held with a grub screw
The later ones have no grub screw, and as you say may be tapped out, though I haven't tried it as yet. But it does permit fitting "Other" centres
One word of warning on these centres and it relates to the angle of the tip. Too Pointy :)
I had an issue with these when I started pen turning. You wind the tip into the hole in the end of the mandrel and away you go , for a week or two, then your stuck.
In some cases the hole in the end of the mandrel is not deep enough or not wide enough, causing the tip to bottom out, and allowing movement of the mandrel from side to side ( though not immediately visible). At first it may not be noticeable but after a while you will find a groove on the pin, and its all down hill from there. Next time your turning, your work slips so you assume the problem is caused by the knurled nut that clamps the tubes in place not being tight enough, so you nip it up a bit and continue turning, then again its loose so you do it again.
What has been happening is that the bar of the mandrel is being pulled out of the Morse Taper as the pin in the revolving centre wears (they are normally are a press fit, though some recent designs are adjustable so no problems) You will get to a point where it will not come out more as you get to the width of the hole which matches the revolving centre pin, but by then the damage is done.
If you can the best solution is a 90 degree revolving centre, and if you can make a nut which will extend past the end of the mandrel and provide a good mating surface to the revolving centre.
Hopefully that makes some sense to someone:)
The end of a pen turning mandrel is drilled with a standard center drill for use with a 60 degree center in your lathe.
In message , CW writes
That would make sense as the standard revolving centre that comes with Jet and other smaller lathes is nearer 30 degrees so they bottom out. Would be nice if they had instructions with the kits we get. Even at a demo at the shop recently they encountered the same issue so obviously staff didn't know either:)
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