Originally Posted by
Stan Calow
Edward, yes I was mounting rough blanks to a faceplate (on a flat end-grain face) with a live center in the tailstock. Just to get the outside rounded. With a tenon, I would go to put a four-jaw chuck if I get that far. I've done many small cross-grain turnings with no issue. Roger, I was under the impression that with a center like the one you show (a single point) you were likely to split a end grain mount since you're pushing into the grain. So I tried using a spur center or a cup center in the tailstock as well.
Next time I'll be trying this, I'll take some photos, but I got a good idea of how to proceed. And yes it never hurts to check the sharpness. Thanks everyone.