Steb style centre in chuck

[scooter]

Gday

Bought one of these doovahs (http://cws-store.yahoostore.com.au/cgi/index.cgi/shopfront/view_product_details?category_id=&product_id=1107369947) at CWS last week, the one I bought is a 2MT to fit my lathe spindle but also has a groove machined in it that I hoped would fit in my SN2 chuck (in the std 50mm jaws)

It does, & is handy not having to spin the chuck on & off to rough a blank or cut a chuck recess or something.

Hope this is of help to someone else.


Cheers................Sean

[TTIT]

I've been using one of the suckers for a couple of years now Scooter but mainly because it's just convenient not to have to remove the chuck. If you work out a way to stop the wood slipping and cutting a groove in the end of the work, let me know PLEASE!!!!!!:~ I find that anything that even resembles a heavy cut will cause it to let go - damned frustrating. I've always been 'gonna' cut a similar groove in my standard drive centre ......... but just haven't got around to it :B.
On the same note, my mate just discovered his standard MC900 drive fits quite nicely in his new GPW bowl jaws. :shrug:

[Richard Findley]

Hi Guys,

I stopped using my steb partly because of that "drilling" problem you mention and because I find the spring rather over powerful on the point. If you turn anything too thin or want to part work off, the power in the point will snap the wood before I'm ready. Can get quite frustrating.:~

I've recently started using a ring centre drive which is very much like a steb but has a solid ring instead of teeth and no spring, so a fixed point. I find it has all the advantages of a steb but without the draw backs!:U

They are also a damn site cheaper, in fact about half price:2tsup:!!

I have given mine a really good road test and found I can turn 5" diameter finials between centres with it no problem!!

I can highly recommend giving it a try... unfortunatly they only fit into a MT headstock and not chuck jaws although I'm sure that there's someone out there who's handy with engineering tools, they can't be that difficult to make after all.....

Cheers,

Richard

[slopech4]

I have been looking for the ring center drive.. Anyone know where to get one in Australia?

[Tornatus]

I think Vicmarc make one, and CarbaTec used to stock a cheap Chinoise version - probably doesn't matter which, as there are no moving parts to go wrong ....

[Sawdust Maker]

Carbatec don't have one in their cattle dog (either vicmarc or their own)

I thought I saw one on the Vermec website but not there when I just looked. Maybe it's something vermec would consider doing?

cheers

[RETIRED]

I love my Steb centres The real ones not copies. Great for production work. However as Vern says on some softer work they can spin.

I also use the ring centres and they are good too.

Look for a "dead centre" in the catalogues. They were originally for tail stocks not drives.

[Tornatus]

Carbatec don't have one in their cattle dog (either vicmarc or their own)

Sorry about the bum steer - I thought I had picked mine up from CarbaTec, but now I'm not sure where it came from.

I've just had a quick troll around and the only local supplier who has a ring/cup dead centre with spike (see piccy) is Timbecon. It's a bit exxy, though, for such a simple device.

[Sawdust Maker]

Vermec do have one, it was just not obvious to me
link below
http://vermec.tripod.com/PDFs/safetydrive.pdf

[rsser]

They've also been recommended for practice with skews: supposedly no catch, just a workpiece spin.

[Calm]

They've also been recommended for practice with skews: supposedly no catch, just a workpiece spin.

Where's the fun in that!!:D

No way to increase the pulse rate in that Ern and get the heart pumping.:D

[rsser]

True. And with a bit of practice you could get even 'catch spirals' to decorate your work.

[ticklingmedusa]

I remember hearing somewhere that another advantage of mounting a stebcentre in a chuck instead of your receiving morse taper inside the headstock is that the chuck's inner jaws NOT the inside mt gets galled if
the stebcentre (or anything else) comes loose while turning.
Like others have mentioned I find a stebcentre useful for certain applications such as skew work.
tm

[Skew ChiDAMN!!]

True. And with a bit of practice you could get even 'catch spirals' to decorate your work.

That takes practice? :rolleyes:

I've often mounted MT drives in my chuck jaws, grooved shaft or otherwise, steb centre or std spur drive. Especially if I'm just roughing down a piece that'll be mounted in the existing jaws.

A couple of times I've had severe slippage (operator error :B) that have seen the jaws marking the MT (galling, as TM said) instead of t'other way around, which meant the MT needed to be cleaned up before it could be seated properly in the headstock again. 'Tis the price of negligence, but I still do it 'cos it's just so convenient... :shrug:

[rsser]

That takes practice?

To get them even, hell yes. Consistent error is the grail of ham-fisted skew-ers.

[Skew ChiDAMN!!]

I've found that the hardest part in getting consistent spirals is overcoming the involuntary reflex of yanking back the skew once it has started to spiral off... :~

[rsser]

Zaccly.

It's like scraping the tip of your boot as you lean into a corner on the bike. Instant reaction: sphincter clench.

[ticklingmedusa]

Zaccly.

It's like scraping the tip of your boot as you lean into a corner on the bike. Instant reaction: sphincter clench.


yep...:D