Shopsmith Forums

When using a Drive Center on my mini lathe I can crank the tail stock (it uses a screw drive like most normal lathes) with a live center tight into the wood so that the drive center on the head pierces the wood to make sure it doesn't slip during turning. Since we can't do it that way can you exert enough pressure via the handles on the head stock and get enough force to pierce the wood so that it can drive the wood like it should without slipping.

If not how do you handle this situation?

Move the quill.

You can also take the drive center off the quill and use a mallet to drive it into the work piece before mounting. And don't forget to score across the diagonals. Both help seat the drive center without having to crank down too much on the quill feed.

algale wrote:You can also take the drive center off the quill and use a mallet to drive it into the work piece before mounting. And don't forget to score across the diagonals. Both help seat the drive center without having to crank down too much on the quill feed.

This is the preferred method for regular lathes as well. Always better to tap the drive centers in place rather than stressing the screw in the tailstock.