robert sorby stebcentre a must have!!

hi to all, first i must say thanks to all replyed to my earlyer posting about tool sharpening and i am currently looking into buying a robert sorby grinding jig. i have just bought a sorby 7/8" stebcentre a must have for any turners tool box. the centre delivers so much grip and security compared to the ordinary 2 and 4 pronged drive centres. i highly recomend the stebcentre and at only 40-65euros a bargan as its built to last. if any body has the robert sorby revolving sebcentre please let me know what its like as i am thinkiny about purchasing one. safe turning.

Reply to
keith
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I'm not sure about the current exchange rate for the euro, but so far as a very useful accesory, I would agree that the steb center is a good thing to acquire. I bought one last summer at the AAW trade show and don't believe that I've used my 4 prong drive center since!

Kip Powers Rogers, AR

Reply to
Kip

I have two Stebcentres, but I can't quite see the point of the revolving drive centre version though, unless you're going to use it to do off-centre stuff.

Reply to
Alun

I use a dead center. It is like a stebcenter with no teeth. The neat thing with the dead center is the amount of drive is determined by how much you advance the tail stock. If you are worried about a catch as with a skew you can leave it loose. You can even grab it and stop it. The dead center just slips as your you get better and less fear full you can add more drive. I use one all the time. I got this from Alan Lacers video on the skew. works great. Have not had a chance to use the stebcenter yet.

Bruce

Alun wrote:

Reply to
Bruce Ferguson

Mine came with a dead center in the headstock, but I haven't been able to do much with it- how do you handle roughing? I imagine I could use it for finishing work, but by that point, the work is already mounted.

Just curious, as I have the thing, and it's not doing much of anything but laying around unused. I thought maybe it was just the tailstock center that originally came with the lathe, not a drive center.

Reply to
Prometheus

Pressure on either end will certainly hold a workpiece firmly enough for a proper cut. Which is beside the point. The Steb and such workarounds as using a dead center (cup type) rather than a spur center are compensation for _improper_ cuts or excessive belt tension/better grade belts which no longer slip when a tool is misapplied. In the case of a dead center, you may actually hurt your case by causing flex in longer spindles if you squeeze hard enough to keep them spinning.

Proponents of Steb centers cite a couple of reasons for use. First, a catch won't dismount the STUPID 60 degree metalworker's live center, second, driving the center presents less risk of splitting because of the cup design, which is what should have been at the tailstock in the first case.

So if you don't care to get the best cut by tool presentation, or you're too busy to make a saw kerf for a spur center, sounds like the Steb's your thing. Trouble is, they cost as much as a good gouge.

Reply to
George

Holy Moley, I''m forced to agree with George twice in less than a week. :) (Actually I usually do.) The ring on a dead or live center prevents splitting, but doesn't do the driving in the head spindle or the pushing in the tail spindle, neither does the tip. I think It's the flat between them that does the work. If so a shallow ring and short tip should provide a better grip with less tail pressure. The Steb should be useful for off center turning or for leaving the lathe running while changing spindle blanks, but I can't see it as a "must have". YMMV, which isn't a bad thing.

Turn to Safety, Arch Fortiter

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Reply to
Arch

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