Live centre and extension stuck together

[Trevor Mills]

Was coring some maple blanks yesterday and using an extension on my live centre for the first time.
Now they are stuck together pretty tight and I don't know how to separate them.
What's the simple solution I'm not seeing?
Trevor

[Jim Colombo]

I've had the same problem. Post a picture so I can see which live center you're talking about. I was able to hold the extension and hit the live center with a wooden mallet. That knocked the live center out.

Jim

[Bob Bouis]

Should have a slot for a drift key.

https://www.woodturnerscatalog.com/p/113/5485/Turners-Select-Morse-Taper-Drift-Key

[Geoff Whaling]

Should have a slot for a drift key.

https://www.woodturnerscatalog.com/p/113/5485/Turners-Select-Morse-Taper-Drift-Key

I agree ideally MT style extensions should have a slot for a drift but many don't!

I had a similar issue recently helping a mate remove a Jacob's chuck from the tailstock quill on a lathe he purchased second hand. Seems it had been left in there for a few years after the original owner took ill. The normal tapping with a knock out bar wouldn't budge the MT however it did make the Jacobs chuck body seperate from the Jacobs taper leaving the MT tang still in the tail stock quill. We had to disassemble the quill assy to remove the quill to drive out the MT tang! Time consuming but less risk of damage to the quill thread & castings. Took some effort to budge.

[Brice Rogers]

If there is no slot, how about using a torch to quickly heat up the outside?

Another way is to use a "pickle fork" as was used to replace ball joints. Place it between the adapter and the live center. They kind of look like a tuning fork but the tines are tapered and are flat. I'm not sure if the standard auto size would fit. I suppose that a make shift one could be made out of hardwood.

[robert baccus]

I asume you have tried liquid wrench, time and heat?

[Kyle Iwamoto]

MT extension? Try an open end wrench that fits barely around the taper and pry it off. Kinda like a pickle fork, but you may have an open end wrench in your tool box. I suppose an adjustable will work too. If the wrench is too thin, put a big flat blade screwdriver behind and pry.

[David Delo]

Did you ever get them apart Trevor? Not sure if any of the other mfg's out there do it or not but my PM and Sorby live centers don't......put a 1/4 20 thread on the inside of the taper. At least then you could thread a bolt into the taper and align it to the slot so you could use a drift key and make it easier to get them apart. Had the same problem with some other shorter than normal MT2 shafts that didn't line up with the slot in the extension.