Live Centers for Tailstock

[Sonny Kemp]

What kind of centers do most of you use for the tailstock.Im using a 60 degree for everything and would like to get something different so as not leave the indention in everything.How about the sets with the spring centers that depress used with a cone?

[Bob Bouis]

If I want to avoid leaving marks, I'll sometimes use the pen mandrel live center I have lying around. It was only about $20. Not particularly heavy duty though.

[Leo Van Der Loo]

What kind of centers do most of you use for the tailstock.Im using a 60 degree for everything and would like to get something different so as not leave the indention in everything.How about the sets with the spring centers that depress used with a cone?

In order to have a hold on the work piece, there has to be some grab, either several small indentations or one larger one as with your pointy center.

The Oneway live center has a ring around the small center point and so there is less of a mark, then the Stebcenter has some 18 points and the center point, like in the picture, so they all have some way of grabbing the wood and holding it.

With the Oneway you are able to remove the center pin and then have the just the ring to push against and hold the wood, it is the center I use and have used for the last 20 years.

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Oneway has 11 different sizes to fit on their live center, so you are able to use all kinds of Chucks to the fit on the center plus other accessories as you find the use for them.
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[Aaron Craven]

My father-in-law created what he calls a "soft-touch center" by mounting a piece of wood on the end of a revolving center. It works well, but probably shouldn't be used for between-center turning. I think he generally uses it as extra security on a chuck-mounted piece.

[Tom Borener]

My PM3520 has a threaded piece on the tip of the live center to accept the cone that comes with it. I have made several other pieces to fit on these threads, including a flat wooden one that has a rubber O ring to meet the piece I am holding. I usually use this for spheres (with a cup on the headstock side) to allow me to put pressure on the piece without marring the sphere, but it works for many items, as long as I keep the rpms down and the item is not overly large.

[Mark Greenbaum]

Golf ball can be used to hold - resilient and does not leave a mark. Just needs a divot at center to keep in place.

[Marvin Hasenak]

If you have a 2MT tailstock, Penn State Industries sells a Live Tailstock Chuck Adapter, that is threaded 1-8TPI. I cut a blank to size, then drill and tap it to fit my headstock and turn to shape as needed. This screws on to the PSI live center chuck adapter. It was one of my better tool investments, at $35 I consider it a bargain. I have a "bunch" of special live center adapters that fit these threads. Some of those specials are even padded with EVA foam. If you do not have a 2MT or a headstock with 1-8 threads it will NOT work. But I believe some other company also makes them.

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/61OLMsJ74sL._SY355_.jpg

[John Keeton]

Perhaps I am just too simple minded, but I remove the cone and remove the small tapered pin, exposing the round end of the tailstock. Then, I just put a thick rubber washer between that and the wood. Stays put and leaves no mark.

[Roger Chandler]

If you have a 2MT tailstock, Penn State Industries sells a Live Tailstock Chuck Adapter, that is threaded 1-8TPI. I cut a blank to size, then drill and tap it to fit my headstock and turn to shape as needed. This screws on to the PSI live center chuck adapter. It was one of my better tool investments, at $35 I consider it a bargain. I have a "bunch" of special live center adapters that fit these threads. Some of those specials are even padded with EVA foam. If you do not have a 2MT or a headstock with 1-8 threads it will NOT work. But I believe some other company also makes them.

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/61OLMsJ74sL._SY355_.jpg I also use one of these a good bit....works like a charm. I also use the Oneway live center and have a rubber chucky silicone/rubber disk that will thread onto the Oneway live center, and it will prevent any marks.

[Larry Matchett]

Cindy Drozda makes a great set of inserts for the live center.

http://www.cindydrozda.com/html/CenterPoints.html

Rubber Chucky also makes some great stuff

[Leo Van Der Loo]

As brought up there are ways to press against a turning without damaging it, however I would NOT turn a piece between centers with those adaptations or turn a larger or longer piece with rubber or whatever soft material to hold the turning.

I’d feel as safe as turning without a chuck at all, and yes I do that to, no need for a chuck or any softies to make me feel safe :eek: ;)

[John K Jordan]

What kind of centers do most of you use for the tailstock.Im using a 60 degree for everything and would like to get something different so as not leave the indention in everything.How about the sets with the spring centers that depress used with a cone?

Sonny,

I use the Nova live center kit a lot - plenty of options for holding a variety of things. The little cup with or without the point is handy to minimize marks.
https://www.amazon.com/NOVA-5015-Center-System-Stepped/dp/B0064JIZGC
It's bigger than it looks in the pictures. Well worth the money. The tip knock-out rod on mine was to thick to work, but that wasn't a problem for me.

When I turn thin spindles the center I always reach for my favorite: the 1/2" Sorby live steb center. It has a spring-loaded pin plus the teeth around the outside. For between center work, I almost always use a steb drive center and a steb live center. The point can be pulled out if desired but I don't.
http://www.packardwoodworks.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=lathes-acc-cent-steb

I also use several of the Oneway (and clone) live centers with the 3/4" x 10 thread, cup with center point, and the screw-on cone. (I rarely use the cone) Note that if you acquire a 3/4"x10 bottom tap you can make any kind of attachment out of plastic or wood, drill and thread it, and fasten it securely to the live center. I have turned hollow hemispherical attachments to hold spheres. To turn a new attachment from wood, I use a piece of bailing wire to lock one of the live centers to keep it from turning, thread on a block of wood drilled and tapped, then insert it into the headstock MT#2 taper and use it as a drive center just to turn the shape perfectly concentric. I've made a variety of shapes. (Rubber Chucky sells both drive and threaded attachments and mandrels that can be turned to special shapes as needed.) You can also use a flat or shaped piece with a bit of padding on it to support something without leaving any mark.

One tip for thin spindles from hard woods - I use a little hand drill (a gimlet) to make a hole in the end for the point to seat into. This lets me center it when mounting without having to look too closely as I would with just crossed pencil lines on the end. The hole also helps avoid splitting brittle wood.

One live center kit I CAN'T recommend is the Sorby Deluxe Multi-tip kit. I bought one years ago and the one I got was not precision machined. The various tips did not fit well or run concentrically. This was money wasted, but maybe they are making them better now. Looks nice, though...
https://www.woodturnerscatalog.com/p/108/1402/Robert-Sorby-Deluxe-Multi-Tip-Revolving-Center-7-Piece-Set?term=live+center


JKJ

[Jay Mullins]

In the current Penn State Catalog on page 56 , they have a "Cup Center Converter" priced at $6.95 , # LCENLTC. I have a couple of them and they are designed for the 60 degree revolving tailstock center. They are held in place with magnets. I have used them and highly reccommend them.

Many times it's best to keep it simple, don't over engineer it.

www.pennstateind.com (http://www.pennstateind.com)

Jay