Thread: cone centres

The good one on the left is around $80 or thereabouts, the other one (probably made in China or Taiwan) is less than $50. The larger centre is useful after you have bored a grinder and want to turn between centres. I haven't worn my big ones out yet, you'd need to talk with Brendan as to how long they really last.

I suspect the Vicmarc would be a removeable cone so you can make different attachments for it while the other is WYSIWIG!

Originally Posted by TTIT

I suspect the Vicmarc would be a removeable cone so you can make different attachments for it while the other is WYSIWIG!

I'm not sure if you can change the tip on this one, although they do make a live centre with changabletips.

Originally Posted by jefferson

The good one on the left is around $80 or thereabouts, the other one (probably made in China or Taiwan) is less than $50. The larger centre is useful after you have bored a grinder and want to turn between centres. I haven't worn my big ones out yet, you'd need to talk with Brendan as to how long they really last.

Jeff, I am not doing grinders so my question was just ageneral one. Would the larger cone drive allow you to bore larger holes? Isthat the reason why they are available?

Originally I purchased the one on the right. Because that was the only one they had left.


Then after getting a new lathe I acquired one similar to the one on the left. I tend to use the original as that is the one that I started with.

Originally Posted by george mavridis

Jeff, I am not doing grinders so my question was just ageneral one. Would the larger cone drive allow you to bore larger holes? Isthat the reason why they are available?

Sorry George if I misled you - the larger centre is indeed useful for the 25mm holes that I bore first before roughing with the grinders. Tail stock not drive end. I suspect that is the marketing side of things for the large live centres.

I thought it would be for larger holes, and yes I meant tail stock end not a drive centre.

There are two main types of live centres. The bit that spins is mounted on the inside like the Vicmarc or on the outside like the other one.

I prefer the first type because theres less metal moving to catch things on.

Steve.

Hi All,
Wood not use either of those Dangerous to me Cones.
For the work I do, they wood split my wood every time, & most likely come out of my Lathe if I was working between centres.

I use a Ring & Cone No.2 MT, which has 2 bearings in them.
Far better still, if you have a Mate that can make them for you.
Cost, most likely a beer or two.

Originally Posted by issatree

Hi All,
Wood not use either of those Dangerous to me Cones.
For the work I do, they wood split my wood every time, & most likely come out of my Lathe if I was working between centres.

I use a Ring & Cone No.2 MT, which has 2 bearings in them.
Far better still, if you have a Mate that can make them for you.
Cost, most likely a beer or two.

Lewis,

I unfortunately do not agree with you on this one. If you apply appropriate tailstock support with either live centre, you will not split the wood. In the usual course - box making for example - you might turn between a steb and live cone centres, putting tapered tenons either end for chucking. I don't know how you could split say Dead Finish or Mulga, even with too much tailstock pressure.

Originally Posted by stuffy

There are two main types of live centres. The bit that spins is mounted on the inside like the Vicmarc or on the outside like the other one.

I prefer the first type because theres less metal moving to catch things on.

Steve.

The design of live centers is a bit like un-sprung weight in vehicle design. The less weight moving about the better but again depends upon the application/s.

For heavy blanks/pieces both would be suitable. For light weight or thin spindle work the Vicmarc would be my #1 choice. I have a very small custom live center for my spindle work. The mass of the spinning section of the live center has to be "driven" to up to speed by the blank. If the blank is long & thin then it may actually torque the timber while trying to drive the extra mass. Also important to ensure live center bearings are in top condition for thin work.

It took me a little while to work out why some slender shafts on my spin tops would shatter for no apparent reason. No catches, but they would fly apart as they became thinner. After examining a few I noticed the shafts were twisted off rather than broken - hence the custom small live center.

I have and use both. The big one is perfect for doing pepper grinders.

Why would a dedicated cone center be better than a live center with removable points?
I have the Nova live center (abt $70) and it is quick and easy to make different centers/points. I even use custom points in the head stock as friction drives for small items with the treaded insert.

Starting with the original question the difference between the 2 cones is the application.

Small cone small work large cone larger work

The main difference between the 2 is the quality
The Vicmarc has better quality bearings than the large cone

The large cone as everyone has eluded to is mainly used where a 25mm hole is used for alingment ie peppermills or other things like this.


THe 2 most popular live centres are the pin & ring style or the steb centres, the main reasons for this is that there is only a very small pin which stops splitting timber and also allows better centre alignment, then you have the ring part giving a better grip on the peice. This is especially noticable on timber with wide growth rings where the cone type will wander of the hard growth ring into the softer wood between the rings. With the pin and ring style because it allows you to only have a very short pin it will not wander of centre, where the larger cone with a wider angle will slip of centre easily.

The cone ring has it advantages on small work where you want to get in close to the end as most pin and ring centres have about 1/2" or more.

THe pin and ring has another advantage of re alingment when you have the ring to locate on as sometimes the cone drifts a bit and you finish up with the peice running of centre.