Mounting question

[Ben Richardson]

I have a turning that I need to remount on the lathe. It has a hole on both ends. A cone and a live center at the tail stock but what at the head stock? I tried a tennis ball and a spur drive at the head stock but couldn't get it centered well enough to turn. Anyone got a great ideas on how to drive this mess?

[Andrew Derhammer]

Depending on size, a dead center commonly used for metal lathes. Just be careful, there's a fine line between too much and too little pressure.

[Tom Wilson66]

Use a piece of wood on a faceplate to make a slightly tapered tenon to fit the hole at the headstock end. Make it fit tight, so it will center the piece and provide enough friction to drive the piece. This concept is known as a "jam chuck". Very useful in making bowls, don't know why it wouldn't work here.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Take a piece of scrap wood. Turn it to a cylinder between drive spur and tailstock. Then turn a tenon on one end that will fit in your chuck. Chuck it up and turn it to a slight cone shape that will fit into the hole on one end. Let you live center take care of the other end.

[Ben Richardson]

Thanks, I guess I had a brain freeze. The block and chuck should have occurred to me. Thanks for the thought.
Ben

[Jim Becker]

Turn a custom jam chuck out of wood for the piece that is sized so you can use a piece of soft paper towel as a cushion as you put your jam chuck into the hole on the headstock end. I use scrap mahogany for this as it's easy to turn to very fine dimensions.

[Larry Marley]

Now you be Jammin Mon...


Larry (Bob:cool:) Marley

[Jim Burr]

Can you post a pic of what your up againt Ben? May make it easier to offer a solution and a picture is worth a thousand pieces of advice