Changing the Live Center point?

[Brian Kent]

I am trying to change the point on my live center that came with the Delta 46-460. I know how to receive the live center from the tailstock, but not how to open the the live center. Any experience?

[allen thunem]

i just changed the one i got with my 3520b
might be a through bore in the morse taper of the live center ?? if so the point is pressed in just like a morse taper. punch it out like you would the live center from the tail stock. hope i made sense.

[Brian Kent]

Yes, this makes sense. I thought that could be the case but did not want to start by breaking the thing. I'll give it a try.

[Brian Kent]

That worked. Thank you very much. That gave me the nerve to give it a couple of wooden mallet whacks :D

[paul vechart]

Brian...how is the condition of the bearing...mine was loose and wobbled after only 3 months of use so I got a Nova live center...it has 2 or 3 bearings stacked inside and has held up well. The delta only has one bearing installed.

[mark ravensdale]

Paul I too have the nova live centre, it's a great piece of kit and should last many years, had mine around two years and use it on a daily basis and still no sign of any play in the bearings (it has 3 not 2) would recommend it to anyone along with the oneway live centre.

[Thomas Canfield]

It does take a smaller rod to knock out the points. The "point removal" was demonstrated at a club meeting several years ago when the demonstrator removed the point to use the live center without the point as a steady for a long spindle that he was turning . You can also make some wooden "points" or supports to fit the taper to support or have a blunt non marring support. Just a hint for those that have not seen the tricks.

[Brian Kent]

The bearing is still smooth and even, but I appreciate the recommendation on the Nova live center. If it does go, that advice saves me some research time in the future.

[Jamie Donaldson]

Brian- that original live center is a piece of junk, and always seems to be in the way due to the large diameter when working on bases. You will benefit by replacing it with a better unit at some point in time.

[Brian Kent]

Jamie which live center to you use?

[Aric Krueger]

I have had the exact same tail center for about 2 years. The bearing started getting wobbly so I bought a Nova to replace it because of the 3 bearing design, the versatility and the different centers are MT#2 (easy to change and no runout).

The original live center is a single bearing. Actually, the least expensive bearing available that I could find on the internet. It is a bearing size commonly used for bicycles and roller skates. There's probably a better way to do this but, I was able to insert a metal rod (slightly larger than 3/8" IIRC) and holding the MT with the rod sticking out, slam it sharply on a piece of wood which removed the outer piece. I pressed out the MT by drilling a hole in a piece of wood just big enough in dia. for the MT and a little longer. Using a small piece of copper pipe against the MT inside the bearing, I pushed it out in a bench vise. I bought a slightly better quality bearing on the net for about $7.50. A copper fitting, pipe nipple and a piece of wood sufficed along with a bench vice to press in the new bearing and reassemble. Why did I go to the trouble? Well, because I couldn't just throw it away when I knew it would only be $7.50 (or less) to repair it. I still use it for certain things from time to time. I believe the bearing is a 6002 and is abundantly available on ebay and other sources.

I think WoodCraft has the exact same tailcenter for about $18.00.

I'm no bearing expert, but I believe single bearing designs are bad for tailstocks because they cannot handle axial forces, only radial (and by tightening the tailstock against the wood, axial pressure is being applied.) . To handle forces both axial and radial, differently designed bearings are used in matched pairs and there is a "left" and "right". I think that's why this type of tailstock wore out so quickly. I only hope the bearings in my lathe are better quality and design.

P.S. I tried to get the center point out of mine with a 12 ton press and it wouldn't budge! I think when they assembled it, it got pushed in really hard and two years in my shop made it permanent. Oh well, I was just curious and always use it with the point anyway... Besides, I have the Nova tail center for operations where I use other options.

[Kyle Iwamoto]

Buy the Nova center. It comes with a bunch of different "points". I really like the flat point when I reverse turn the bottom of the bowls....

[Jamie Donaldson]

Brian- I really prefer the live centers that were original to both my Australian Woodfast and Stubby lathes, and haven't found exactly the same cup/pin center available aftermarket. They are similar in size to the Nova center, but over time I bought 2 replacement centers from the lathe suppliers, and also use a Oneway with the changeable tips. I have no real use for any cone center because they act as a wedge to split your work pieces!

[Thom Sturgill]

I like the versatility of the oneway/jet clone. I can drill and tap or attach a 3/4" nut and fashion custom centers to hold a bowl or goblet without damage.

[Jeff Fagen]

When I got my Delta I through that live center in the drawer and got a 60 degree live point from Wood Craft for 20.00 and made a rounded wooden cone to fit tightly over it and there isn't mush I can't do with that set up.