Thread: Newbie - Thick but keen and been away for 7 years

The spindle MTthingy is called a drive center. The rod that goes through the hollow spindle is called a knock out bar. A steel rod that can be purchased from your hardware store / engineer's shop or salvaged from a discarded copy machine or printer will work fine. As big as will fit through the hole is best. Thinner might bend.

Soak with your 50-50 solution from both ends, heat the spindle nose with torch, hair dryer, heat gun, and give the end of the knock out bar a sharp whack with a smallish hammer, 8 - 16 oz. You want a fast hit to shock it rather than a heavy push from a sledge hammer. Put a rag over the drive center so it does not fly across the shed when it comes out.

If it does not come out with one or two whacks, heat again, soak more and leave overnight. Beating on the spindle is not good for the bearings.

When you get it out, wet the MT of the drive center with your 50 - 50 and shine it with 400 grit paper. Wipe off all the crud and wet again and stick it loosely into the spindle and rotate around, add more juice and turn more, increasing pressure. Remove and wipe off crud. Twist a rag and rotate in the MT socket of the spindle. Again with the wet MT drive center in the MT socket, and again clean. When it seats nicely and no more rusty or dirty stuff comes out, oil the male & female MT parts and wipe off.

Remove and oil several times a year and you will have little trouble getting it out.

If you should run the lathe a long time turning a spindle with a lot of pressure on the tailstock, the spindle nose might get a bit larger and when cooling grip the MT of the drive center. Heat the spindle nose and drive out the drive center as above.

See here for wood turning terms:

https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q...ng+terminology

Starting out there are no dumb questions.