metal lathe live center.

Signed-In Members Don't See This Ad
H

hanau

Member
Joined
Jan 5, 2007
Messages
1,394
Location
thomasville, nc, USA.
i have the smaller HF metal lathe.
i was out playing with it today and realized that my live center is a little large.



anyone have any recommendation on a live center that wont hit the tooling?

I was laying with speed and different cutting depths today.
 
Signed-In Members Don't See This Ad
First thing...get rid of that carbide and grind your own HSS tool bits or get the HSS insert set from R.A.Warner....
Turning Tools, 3/8" Indexable TPMW HSS Inserts - LittleMachineShop.com=


I have this set but you can get them individually at LMS.

You shouldn't be "pushing" metal around like you see in the photo. HSS has another benefit of giving you a much smoother surface.

The little lathes just aren't made to handle carbide tool bits....IMO!:biggrin:

In the meantime, try turning your tool holder, that will get you closer.
 
Last edited:
i have the same lathe and a very similar center. i solved the problem by actually maching the center to look like one of the very expensive CNC centers. just chuck on the large part in your three jaw with the shank inside the lathe and turn down to your desired size. do not recut the point as you may not be running true enough for that. works great and still able to use an inexpensive center. here is a link to a quick picture that i took when i saw this thread. PM me if needed for more info. Slimmed down live center
 
Grind off the metal behind the carbide, and you can actually remove a bit of carbide with a regular coarse wheel on the bench grinder. Wouldn't do it often. Those carbide tools will work well if you know how to grind them. You need a 'green' wheel. Right out of the box they pretty much suck. HSS is usually the best for these and they give you something to learn tool grinds with.
 
Thanks all for the suggestions,

cwolfs69 do you have a suggestion on where to get C-6 carbide tooling at?
looks like the inserts cost more than the above linked live centers.

i will also look into grinding some HSS into tooling.
 
actually what i used was the cheap carbide from harbor freight. go to ebay and look. if you have any carbide tooling i would try it. they don't always say C-6 even though they will work. High Speed Steel wont cut it. HSS and the center will be about the same hardness so that wont work.
 
If that little tool you have pictured came in a set, use the left handed one (the one that would turn towards the tail stock), and use the set up just like you have pictured. Jam the center into the part, and feed by hand. Put a line on the center where you need the clearance to be, and work slowly.
 
Paul in OKC said:
If that little tool you have pictured came in a set, use the left handed one (the one that would turn towards the tail stock), and use the set up just like you have pictured. Jam the center into the part, and feed by hand. Put a line on the center where you need the clearance to be, and work slowly.
Click to expand...

absolutely right. just use left hand tool and cut right there. little cuts, keep center tight and go slowly. then you can polish with emery cloth if you wish to make it look pretty.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom