On Saturday morning I spent an enjoyable couple of hours watching Theo Haralampou's demo from Australia. For a while I have been experimenting, unsuccessfully, to find a way to mount an appropriately shaped block of wood in the tailstock to assist in, for example, holding a part turned sphere. I saw that Theo had solved that problem by using a live centre to insert into the piece of wood that he had shaped to cope with a particular task. Looking at various live centres on line I can't seem to see one that would do the job as well as Theo's. As we now seem to be 'confined to barracks' for the foreseeable future I would be grateful for any recommendations for a suitable live centre. Thank you.
Live Centres - Theo Haralampou
- Thread starter Bodger7
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RichardG
If at first you don’t succeed have a cup of tea.
I didn’t see the demo but I have used a threaded live centre when turning metal. That would allow you to turn a wooden cup and then mount onto the threaded centre to then friction hold the sphere?
Can you extract a snapshot from the video?
Can you extract a snapshot from the video?
SVB
Established Member
Look at the oneway live centre. Expensive but dogs do-dads.
not sure if APTC evolution range is similar?
s
not sure if APTC evolution range is similar?
s
Robbo3
Established Member
Perhaps poor terminology. Not sure how you mount a piece of wood in the tail centre & if you did it wouldn't revolve. 
Perhaps you mean a cup centre as used with spheres. Normally used as a pair the tailstock one has to be custom made to fit over the live (revolving) centre.
Perhaps you mean a cup centre as used with spheres. Normally used as a pair the tailstock one has to be custom made to fit over the live (revolving) centre.
possibly the last but 1 item on here Paul Howard Woodturner: Jigs and Things
dreadful website but good products
dreadful website but good products
gregmcateer
Established Member
Perhaps poor terminology. Not sure how you mount a piece of wood in the tail centre & if you did it wouldn't revolve.
Perhaps you mean a cup centre as used with spheres. Normally used as a pair the tailstock one has to be custom made to fit over the live (revolving) centre.
I think the OP is referring to mounting a suitably drilled piece of wood over the revolving tailstock, which will revolve with it, and be brought up to hold the workpiece, eg a cup chuck - certainly that is waht Theo was showing in his excellent demo on Saturday.
I would think this would do:
https://www.arceurotrade.co.uk/Cata...lpAPEwMEcsveH1Qg3drrhRbAglPbrp3xoCmUcQAvD_BwE
Or:
https://www.warco.co.uk/lathe-centres/175-live-centres.html
Theo's demo was indeed very good but surely a piece of wood with a hole on one side to suit a standard live centre point, shaped to hold the workpiece on the other side would do the job? It's really just a jam chuck or cup chuck - unless I've misunderstood the question!!
Duncan
Duncan
Lonsdale73
Established Member
I saw the demo. Theo had cut some discs with an equilateral triangle CNC'd out of the centre and used these to pack out cupped drives with the points removed.
Dalboy
Established Member
Not seeing the demo is there a link to it so that I can see exactly what you are talking about
Lazurus
Established Member
I have a Axminster revolving tail stock that has interchangeable heads including a face plate and the like, 1001 uses that has.
Lonsdale73
Established Member
No, it was a live demo, hosted on Zoom and not (as yet) available on youtube
Many thanks for the positive replies received. I had considered the Axminster and Oneway offerings but they seemed rather more ambitious (and expensive) for what I wanted. I have considered all the options suggested and have contacted Paul Howard as his revolving chuck cup arbour seemed to be just what I was looking for.
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What diameter sphere are you talking about?
I have also used the Axi multi head live tail stock thingy and used it to turn the 5/8" balls for a lazy Susan. I also used the same idea for my 'ball in cubes'. East to do and easy to make.
32 of the things
I have also used the Axi multi head live tail stock thingy and used it to turn the 5/8" balls for a lazy Susan. I also used the same idea for my 'ball in cubes'. East to do and easy to make.
32 of the things
Hi John. Thanks for the photo's. I was thinking of spheres about 6-8 cms in diameter but that was just for something I was doing recently and other sizes, both bigger and smaller, will be likely in the future. It looks from your photo's as if your jam chuck is just pushed into the Axi live tail centre so presumably that makes an adequate fixing? In the last photo is the screw chuck head used to hold the jam chuck?
Robbo3
Established Member
John should really answer your question but it looks to be a blank mounted on a faceplate with a cup centre mounted on the blank. The end nearest the camera has a home made cup centre mounted on the live (revolving) centre.
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That just about sums it up Robbo. There's a lump of pine as a sacrificial block screwed onto the face plate and the cup center hot glued onto it. The cup is turned after the block is hot glued in place so as to be dead center.
To turn the sphere I just turn a cube to a cylinder and roughly shape the sphere between centers. Once the radius is turned on to the cylinder it can be mounted in the cups and after each available surface is turned to round the piece is moved around in the cups to present a different surface until you have the sphere.
With the larger spheres the tail stock cup plugs over the live Axi multi head tail stock. With the small ones it fits in to the center for the multi heads. The chuck for the small is my Axi O'Donnald jaws with the small jaws in and it's held in the cylinder of the jaws and not by the dovetail part.
With the 5/8" balls for my lazy Susan I turned some ash into the 5/8" dowels and used the same method to finish the balls.
Sorry, not a really gos explination, but the best I can come up with. Much easier to do than describe,
To turn the sphere I just turn a cube to a cylinder and roughly shape the sphere between centers. Once the radius is turned on to the cylinder it can be mounted in the cups and after each available surface is turned to round the piece is moved around in the cups to present a different surface until you have the sphere.
With the larger spheres the tail stock cup plugs over the live Axi multi head tail stock. With the small ones it fits in to the center for the multi heads. The chuck for the small is my Axi O'Donnald jaws with the small jaws in and it's held in the cylinder of the jaws and not by the dovetail part.
With the 5/8" balls for my lazy Susan I turned some ash into the 5/8" dowels and used the same method to finish the balls.
Sorry, not a really gos explination, but the best I can come up with. Much easier to do than describe,
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Well, sooner than I thought I have been using those cup chucks. This time to sort out some, 5, skittles balls that got the worse for wear.
Just a couple of bits of pine turned to fit the tailstock and chuck
Mount and centralise and spin it to round again
2 of the 5 were in a bad way and this is a before and after example
The other 3 just need a bit of a trim. With the worst ones I took off as little as possible so that they don't funish up too small. So there are still some marks on them. It's a very dusty job and I have my JSP positive pressure mask to keep the dust out of me! Plus a big filter in the ceiling. I should get it all finished this aftrnoon?
Just a couple of bits of pine turned to fit the tailstock and chuck
Mount and centralise and spin it to round again
2 of the 5 were in a bad way and this is a before and after example
The other 3 just need a bit of a trim. With the worst ones I took off as little as possible so that they don't funish up too small. So there are still some marks on them. It's a very dusty job and I have my JSP positive pressure mask to keep the dust out of me! Plus a big filter in the ceiling. I should get it all finished this aftrnoon?
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All 5 done now and awaiting collection. I was surprised at the smell of the wood, lignum vitae I think. It's the first time I have touched any and it smells quite sweet and left the quite pleasant smell on my hands for ages.
The diameter is about 4 1/2" and the weight is dammed heavy If one had come out of the chuck I would still be chasing the thing!
The diameter is about 4 1/2" and the weight is dammed heavy
If one had come out of the chuck I would still be chasing the thing!gregmcateer
Established Member
I'm sure that's LV.
And very nicely done, sir
And very nicely done, sir
