Stubby 4-prong drive center

[Mike Minto]

Here's my latest aquisition - the Stubby drive center! Can't afford the lathe, but this is a really great, HEAVY, well made center. I'm a real tool junkie, like many of you here, and now that I have my new Jet lathe, have been outfitting it. Will post my opinion of it's utility when I get the opportunity to use it. Mike

[Steve Schlumpf]

That's the first one of those I have seen! Very impressive! I have the one that fits in the Oneway Talon and for the couple of times that I have used it - it worked just fine. I am impressed with the mass of this one! Looking forward to seeing what you think of it!

[Paul Atkins]

Looks like something ready to take off skin and flesh. No thanks.

[sascha gast]

I got mine for my Stubby 1000 when Bill started making them and it is just an amazing product. the size of it hold just about anything in place and it threads on and off easily.

enjoy, I know I do

[alex carey]

Love the girth of this thing, may I inquire how much?

[Joe Mioux]

A month or so ago, I was at Bill's warehouse/showroom/office and he showed me this drive.

Two points,

You don't have to use all four blades, as the name implies it is convertible so that you can just use two blades.

the blades can also be resharpened

I think it costs $100 plus s&h

[ROY DICK]

Like Paul, I'll pass on this one.

Roy

[Mike Minto]

you guys that choose to, go ahead and pass on this one; thanks for posting. i'll go ahead and use it, and give my opinion of it here. mike

[Joe Mioux]

Like Paul, I'll pass on this one.

Roy

just out of curiosity..... :)

what is the difference between this and a chuck?

[Paul Atkins]

Apples, oranges, walnuts, almonds. The chuck has grips, the spur center has tangs. OK I'm just partial to the so called 'safety' center. I just knew it as something Del Stubbs and Alan Dorr had come up with here in Chico. I'm sure they were in some form before that, but never saw them. The drive center and the live center are the same size and profile and therefore you can flip your turning and have it dead on centered without fuss. Even without turning the lathe off. Also it slips if there is a 'catch' without throwing it in your face. I have them from 1/4" to 1 1/4" and drive 3/8" spindles to porch posts 9' long without problems. I just had problems re-centering and fiddling with spur centers and quit using them 20 years ago.

[Alan Trout]

It is my understanding that the point of the Stubby center is not really for spindle work but for turning rough bowl blanks between centers without screwing up the taper on your lathe. I use this jumbo 2 prong center from best wood tools. http://bestwoodtools.stores.yahoo.net/2flutquiccha.html in my chuck for starting rough bowl blanks. This is basically the same Idea and very effective for its intended purpose.

It is my understanding that the Stubby centers are very effective for this as well. Everyone that I have talked to with the Stubby center has really liked them. Mike go make some shavings and have a good time.

Alan

[Peter Dougenik]

Looks like something ready to take off skin and flesh. No thanks.

every piece of equipment in my shop looks like something ready to take off skin and flesh; unless it looks like something ready to poke holes in skin and flesh. I'm not sure what you're trying to say :confused:

[Steve Speiser]

Very impressive center. I really like that you can remove 2 points and can sharpen them. Is it machined from aluminum or steel?

[Richard Bell CA]

Looks like the body is aluminum. More info here:


http://stubbylatheusa.com/Convertible_Drive_Center.100.pdf

[ROY DICK]

just out of curiosity..... :)

what is the difference between this and a chuck?
Joe,
I prefer chucks. I do have a drive center only untill I get a tenon, then I use the chuck. I just have no need for one of that mass. However, I can understand other turners needing one or wanting one.
I guess I could have said that before huh?:confused:

Roy

[sascha gast]

the whole point of this drive center is not just it's size. Yes of course it does help if you put a 50-100 pound hunk of a bowl blank on the lathe, I need it to stay in place without slipping, but more so I don't want to screw up the taper in my spindle by using a regular center and the ones in the chucks just are too flimsy for large blanks. it's so nice to just screw the center right onto the spindle, again, don't knock it until you try it, I use it more than I thought and yeah, once I have a tenon, I use my chuck......

[Mike Minto]

quick update, now that i've used it a few times, i have to say that i really like this drive center. i get alot of green logs, and for initial turning to remove their bark, this works great. doesn't bore in, holds very well. bill, you guys have an accessory i think lots of turners will want! mike

[Dan Chiango]

I don't own one of these yet, but I used one this past weekend to rough a large bowl at a friends shop.

It is a really nice piece of gear!

I learned the hard way about the downside of a MT drive center on large bowls, so I "upgraded" to the oneway insert for their chucks. That works, - but not nearly this well.

The large drive center from Stubby just makes the whole process of mounting a large blank much easier. With a smaller drive center you have to work a lot harder to get it to penetrate enough to do the job. That makes fine adjustments on a heavy blank pretty difficult.

This one - no fussing necessary, like Mike says, it holds very well, and doesn't bore in. Just position your blank, tighten the tailstock and you're off and running.

(Same is generally true of smaller drive centers on smaller blanks, so this is more of a nice-to-have for the big stuff)

-Dan

[Steve Schlumpf]

Thanks for the update Mike! Sounds like something worth considering. I have the Oneway version that fits in the Talon chuck. It works - but works better as a forstner bit cause it can sure dig in fast!

[Ryan Baker]

I'd love to have one of those, but at $100 for a drive center it ain't gonna happen any time soon. At $40, the "Texas center" for my chuck is not as nice but a lot easier to swallow.

[Ern Reeders]

If you do big natural edge bowls these puppies are the way to go.

Once you've roughed out the outside you can see if your tips are going to line up and reposition the piece at the tailstock end if necessary.

Here's a source of steel ones with separate spindle inserts: click (http://www.vermec.com/id1.html)

[alex carey]

Still can't justify the 100$ but I did read the Q & A link Richard gave and it seems like they certainly know what they are doing and that it is probably a very good tool.