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Short, or spring, tip live center?

Ron Solfest

Ron Solfest

Joined
Jan 22, 2009
Messages
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Location
Crossville, TN
When making small bowls or dishes the ~1/8” protrusion of the center point from the ring on my Powermatic live center digs in further than I’d like (~3/16”) into where I turn off the tenon. The tip on my Nova live center similarly extends further than I’d like. I can remove the tip and just use the ring, but that can be inconvenient and sometimes I’d just prefer the center point for alignment.

Does anyone have, or know of a live center with a shorter center point or spring point (still with ring around it). Or should I just get a piece of aluminum or brass and turn my own short center point for my existing live center?
 
Does the point come out of the live center? If so, it probably inserts on a taper. If you can get an OEM replacement point, then you could shorten the tip/point itself a 1/16" or so.

Personally, I'd plan my final wood shape a bit more carefully, if possible, to work around it.
 
Steve Tiedman said:
Does the point come out of the live center? If so, it probably inserts on a taper. If you can get an OEM replacement point, then you could shorten the tip/point itself a 1/16" or so.

Personally, I'd plan my final wood shape a bit more carefully, if possible, to work around it.
Click to expand...
The point comes out of a taper and I might just end up turning a shorter one out of aluminum (concerned I wouldn’t keep dead center if I just ground down the steel one). Looking for a spring center if I can find one.

When making small bowls like the 4.5”x 1.25”, 1/8” wall/bottom I like to use up *all* of the blank and sometimes the center point on the bottom requires me to indent the bottom further than I’d like to image.jpg
 
Ron Solfest said:
Does anyone have, or know of a live center with a shorter center point or spring point (still with ring around it).
Click to expand...

I sometimes make non-pointed attachments I use with the Nova live center, a short #2 Morse Taper:

live_center_MT2_IMG_7914.jpg

I'll often make a pressure center with a flat end or a flat end with a bit of leather or something against the wood.
However, like you, unless I just want the pressure I usually want the point for alignment. I haven't thought about how to make an attachment with a spring-loaded point but it might not be too difficult if you have a metal cutting lathe. (Makes me want to try one!)

If you knock out the center point of the Oneway live center (and clones) you can turn things with a #0 MT to fit. It should be fairly easy to make a short brass point. (or just waste a Oneway/clone live center point and grind it down short.)

But for most spindles, especially thin spindles, I like the Sorby Steb centers the best. The point is spring-loaded for alignment, then retracts out of the way and doesn't force a hole into the wood. These springl-loaded points are also great when turning a thin spindle from a hard wood like ebony or lignum vitae, or for soft or brittle wood which may split if a thin spindle is held with a non-spring-loaded center.

With the Steb I do waste a small amount of wood at the end of the spindle, maybe 1/8" or so which I cut away the end support when the spindle is completed. This wouldn't be needed on a bowl with a short short tenon - just cut it away then clean up with a hand scraper.

Also, I recently bought an Axminster drive center to evaluate, cheaper than the Steb. It not only has a spring loaded point but the point has adjustable spring pressure by means of a screw in the back. If they also make a live center, I suspect it will also have the adjustable point.

JKJ
 
Ron Solfest said:
Is the center tip spring loaded, so it won’t penetrate into the wood much?
Click to expand...

Yes it is spring loaded. It makes it easy to center on a small dimple, but fully retracts under pressure. I was skeptical about these biting well, but the tiny teeth in a small circle really hold well. After seeing Cindy Drozda use these during an IRD on triangle boxes, I decided to buy both the drive and live centers.
 
I think part of the problem is that the spring centre can be a bit too sharp. A replacement with a less acute angle may stop it digging in so far?
You’ll probably have to make or modify the point?
 
Thanks all, especially @Jim Reynolds.

I have removed the tip on my PM sometimes, but then I lose the center registration, still I can register with the ring but there are other issues involved here as well.

The adjustable tip on the Robust is very attractive, but not sure I need a third $100 live center right now :)

I looked at Drozda’s website and ordered her micropoint. I think that will do what I need, and it’s nice supporting her. Thanks for the recommendation!

Of course, I will keep thinking about adding a Robust live center to my stable…
 
A Robust live center is what you need. The center point can be set to any desired protrusion, reversed for a flat surface, or completely removed. It has the same ¾ X 10 threads as the Oneway and Powermatic live centers.

Live-Center-Composite.jpg
 
John Whitley said:
Of note, Cindy Drozda makes a compatible specialty point which works with the Robust/Oneway live centers.
Click to expand...

The Drozda center point for the Robust live center is not interchangeable with the Oneway/Powermatic center points that she makes. The Robust live center has a straight socket while the Oneway design uses a tapered socket.
 
Thanks Bill. I had mistakenly thought the Oneway and Robust center points were compatible; I corrected that above. I do note that the Drozda centers work with the Easy Wood Tools live center, which is what I happened to get very early on when I started turning.
 
Ron Solfest said:
When making small bowls or dishes the ~1/8” protrusion of the center point from the ring on my Powermatic live center digs in further than I’d like (~3/16”) into where I turn off the tenon. The tip on my Nova live center similarly extends further than I’d like. I can remove the tip and just use the ring, but that can be inconvenient and sometimes I’d just prefer the center point for alignment.

Does anyone have, or know of a live center with a shorter center point or spring point (still with ring around it). Or should I just get a piece of aluminum or brass and turn my own short center point for my existing live center?
Click to expand...
I removed the tip from my live center (PM/Jet similar to Oneway), chucked it (probably in a Jacobs chuck), and used a file (while spinning) to make it smaller. Doesn't stick out as much but there's still enough there to center things.
 
Bill Boehme said:
A Robust live center is what you need. The center point can be set to any desired protrusion, reversed for a flat surface, or completely removed. It has the same ¾ X 10 threads as the Oneway and Powermatic live centers.

Live-Center-Composite.jpg
Click to expand...
The OneWay center that I have I bought when they first were available and about 12 years ago I replaced the bearing with what was referred to in the bearing catalogs as an angular contact bearing, which is identical to the bearing used in the Robust live center.
 
John K Jordan said:
I sometimes make non-pointed attachments I use with the Nova live center, a short #2 Morse Taper:

View attachment 71623

I'll often make a pressure center with a flat end or a flat end with a bit of leather or something against the wood.
However, like you, unless I just want the pressure I usually want the point for alignment. I haven't thought about how to make an attachment with a spring-loaded point but it might not be too difficult if you have a metal cutting lathe. (Makes me want to try one!)

If you knock out the center point of the Oneway live center (and clones) you can turn things with a #0 MT to fit. It should be fairly easy to make a short brass point. (or just waste a Oneway/clone live center point and grind it down short.)

But for most spindles, especially thin spindles, I like the Sorby Steb centers the best. The point is spring-loaded for alignment, then retracts out of the way and doesn't force a hole into the wood. These springl-loaded points are also great when turning a thin spindle from a hard wood like ebony or lignum vitae, or for soft or brittle wood which may split if a thin spindle is held with a non-spring-loaded center.

With the Steb I do waste a small amount of wood at the end of the spindle, maybe 1/8" or so which I cut away the end support when the spindle is completed. This wouldn't be needed on a bowl with a short short tenon - just cut it away then clean up with a hand scraper.

Also, I recently bought an Axminster drive center to evaluate, cheaper than the Steb. It not only has a spring loaded point but the point has adjustable spring pressure by means of a screw in the back. If they also make a live center, I suspect it will also have the adjustable point.

JKJ
Click to expand...
The 3rd from left interchangeable centers shown in JKJ's post has a 1/4" diameter on the point and then it is about 5/16" diameter back to the MT2 taper.
As you can see in the photo I have made a steel sleeve that fits over tha and turns it into a miniature cup center, so if you were to make one like that it would be easy to adjust the length of the sleeve for the desired protrusion of the point. I have counted at least 3 people besides myself who have responded to this thread that own a metal lathe and could very easily make the sleeve.
DSC00272.JPG
 
Dave Landers said:
I removed the tip from my live center (PM/Jet similar to Oneway), chucked it (probably in a Jacobs chuck), and used a file (while spinning) to make it smaller. Doesn't stick out as much but there's still enough there to center things.
Click to expand...
Another way to do this is to put the point in a drill and spin it in the opposite direction against a bench grinder.
 
I own a Robust, a couple Oneway, a couple Powermatic, about 5 or 6 no name and a couple of Nova Live centers. I will state that the Nova is the best with its triple bearings and wide diversity of use and among the least expensive. It stays cooler than all the others under heavy use and why if I know that heavy use will occur I always choose the Nova.
 
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