60° live centers are for mandrels and speciality bushings - usually quality customized bushings.
60° is usually machining (metal to metal) and not wood related. The Live Center that fits into the little cup on the end of a mandrel is like this: The mandrel is metal, the live center is metal, 60° is a metal to metal mating standard. Some Specialty bushings are turned to 60° on the ends. This is where 60° live centers are important.
60° centers needed when:
1. using a mandrel (the mandrel has a small 60° up in the end.
2. using bushings that have been machined to 60°
There is so much mis-information out there.
Using a (made for) wood live center in a mandrel cup or 60° bushing will result in minute' wobble and off center turning.
As to THIS thread about not using bushings, the drive/dead center and live center (tail stock) does NOT have to be 60° for use directly in tubes when TBC (turning between Centers).
Frank, aka Rifleman and JohnnyCNC both put me onto TBC back around 2007. I made a dead/drive center which is NOT 60° and posted it back then. The TBC got traction and took off on IAP after that.
View in Gallery
It is easy to see that this is NOT 60°. 60° live centers and drive centers will work well, but they are NOT required in TBC except when custom 60° bushings or a mandrel are used on/with the blank.
If I can emphasize one more thing - a caution - it is that it takes a delicate touch to keep the turning blank from catching. There is less friction to keep it going, and with steel bushings while turning, the ends of the tube can and will flare out if one is not careful.
Clarification: Some people do nut understand this concept and even a year or two into turning do not realize that they DO need 60° live center for mandrels. Here is the problem: They buy a wood lathe for turning. The new wood lathe comes with a (made for wood) live center which is much more pointed than 60°. This very pointed live center is NOT MEANT for mandrels. When mated into the mandrel's cup, the very tip of the point of this wood live center will knurl over cause tiny wobble. The wood lathe live center is NOT 60° and NOT meant for mandrels. After learning this, everyone who just learned this will suddenly tell everyone else that they need 60° live centers. But that is only true for mandrel use and specialty bushings.