Woodturning Lathe Build Process
Return to main project pagePage 27 of 43
Posted 8th March 2024
The next job I decided to work on is one that is arguably a bit pointless, but I thought I'd do it anyway.
I started with a bit of 25 mm silver steel in the chuck. I faced it off and then drilled and tapped an M10 left-hand thread:
I then transferred it to a collet block in the mill vice for shaping:
The first job was to remove the stock to slightly under half-way, before removing all the way to the midway point on just one side. I then flipped it over and repeated - note that I'm using a slightly blunt carbide tip because I don't really care how rough the finish is on this part:
I then held the collet block at a rather arbitrary angle in the mill vice (the angle was mostly dictated by the length of the bar!) and used the same cutter to turn those prongs into pointy bits:
The part was then sawn off with the horizontal bandsaw and then I used the lathe again to clean the rear face up:
The other half of this part was made from an old MT2 blank end arbor, which had previously been used for a tailstock die holder for my mini-lathe. I never use the mini-lathe now that I've got the Harrison M250, so I figured this part was fair game. To hold it in the spindle, I used a stack of adaptors. The M250 has a rather unusual Morse Taper 4.5. A while ago I made myself an adaptor to go from MT4.5 to MT3 (the "proper" adaptors of the sort that would have come with the lathe seem to be like rocking horse droppings). This, in combination with an off-the shelf MT3 to MT2 adaptor allowed me to hold the part, with a bit of M10 threaded rod all the way through the spindle acting as a drawbar to stop the arbor from shifting.
It was then just a case of cutting the matching M10 left-hand thread...
... and then making the end pointy:
That's it done for now. I should probably harden and temper the silver steel part, but I don't think I'm going to bother. The two parts together go in the headstock spindle thus:
Any turning forces will tend to act in the direction that causes the thread to unscrew, which will drive the prongs further into the wooden workpiece.
It's probably a rather unconventional design for a drive centre, but it felt like it was the easiest way to make one given the bits I had to hand.
The reason that I'm not going to harden it and that I said at the start that it's a bit pointless is that I'm planning to buy a proper commercial drive centre fairly soon (recommendations are welcome). I only really made this one to prove to myself that I can get to the point of turning a chisel handle with minimal purchases involved. As soon as I've proved this works well enough to be functional, it'll probably go in the metal scrap bin!
Page 27 of 43
This website is free and ad-free, but costs me money to run. If you'd like to support this site, please consider making a small donation or sending me a message to let me know what you liked or found useful.