Aligning lathe centers

[tdubnik]

This morning I was planning to do some turning for the first time since I have upgraded to a 520. This gave me wider carriage and spacer than the 500.

In the past I was able to align the lathe centers by extending the quill and adjusting the dead center in the concentric until the points aligned. With the wider 520 carriage and spacer there is now a 1 1/2 to 2" gap between the lathe center points with the quill fully extended.

I aligned it as close as possible with the "eyeball" method but I wonder if there is a more precise way to accomplish this?

[wa2crk]

Hi
Put something with a point on it such as brad point drill bit in the drill chuck and extend the quill to bridge the gap across the carriage. Make you use a factory fresh bit to assure that you have a concentric point.

Bill V

[tdubnik]

Hi
Put something with a point on it such as brad point drill bit in the drill chuck and extend the quill to bridge the gap across the carriage. Make you use a factory fresh bit to assure that you have a concentric point.

Bill V

Thanks Bill.

Never thought of that but I believe it will work!!

[dusty]

Since I have not been a turner, I have not given this much thought. However, when I read this post it reminded me of this tool from Woodcraft. It is used for center collets in routers. It might work.

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[algale]

Hi
Put something with a point on it such as brad point drill bit in the drill chuck and extend the quill to bridge the gap across the carriage. Make you use a factory fresh bit to assure that you have a concentric point.

Bill V

For what it is worth, the method in my instructions say just to put an empty drill chuck on the spindle (with the chuck fully closed), the dead center in the tail stock and extend the quill until the point of the dead center should be in the small gap where the jaws of the drill chuck meet.

I think Bill's method of putting a fresh brad point bit in the drill may be an improvement because you can see the drill bit point and the dead center point aligning more exactly than seeing whether the point fits into the empty but closed drill chuck. But it may also introduce error even with a factory fresh bit unless the bit is very high quality and you are sure to chuck it up very precisely.

[tdubnik]

I think Bill's method of putting a fresh brad point bit in the drill may be an improvement because you can see the drill bit point and the dead center point aligning more exactly than seeing whether the point fits into the empty but closed drill chuck. But it may also introduce error even with a factory fresh bit unless the bit is very high quality and you are sure to chuck it up very precisely.

I used Bill's method with a Shopsmith brad point bit and it worked like a charm. I had it pretty close by the eyeball method but using the bradpoint I had to adjust maybe 1/32".

I turned a handle to make a "wiggler" for my Big Green Egg grill and everything worked fine.

In case you are wondering]here[/URL]. Instead of the metal T handle; I wanted to make a wood handle for mine.

[mrhart]

I used Bill's method with a Shopsmith brad point bit and it worked like a charm. I had it pretty close by the eyeball method but using the bradpoint I had to adjust maybe 1/32".

I turned a handle to make a "wiggler" for my Big Green Egg grill and everything worked fine.

In case you are wondering]here[/URL]. Instead of the metal T handle; I wanted to make a wood handle for mine.

I have the mini-green egg. They are definately cool

[tdubnik]

These are the wiggle rods I made and which sparked me to ask the question about aligning the lathe centers. The alignment process using a brad point bit worked great.

The handles are turned from maple, the ferule is a 3/4" copper coupling cut in half and the rods are 1/4" steel rods bought at HD. Finish is several coats of CA sanded and polished.

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[wannabewoodworker]

These are the wiggle rods I made and which sparked me to ask the question about aligning the lathe centers. The alignment process using a brad point bit worked great.

The handles are turned from maple, the ferule is a 3/4" copper coupling cut in half and the rods are 1/4" steel rods bought at HD. Finish is several coats of CA sanded and polished.

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Several coats of CA???? Is this the same thing as Cyanoacrylate Glue???

[tdubnik]

Several coats of CA???? Is this the same thing as Cyanoacrylate Glue???

The answer is yes. Same process that many pen turners use today.