Making an Inverted Live Centre for the Lathe

[@BruhMan-o8s]

“Notice how there’s a tool for this but it’s 450 paychecks” I love how normal machinists like artisan give actual reasons to make tools.

[@skwerlz]

I've solved this problem in the past with a puck. Deep center hole on one side for the live center, shallow one on the other to hold the work. I don't get to have nice things though, and this is nice.

[@dack42]

This was my first thought as well. Maybe not as nice, but quick and cheap to make.

[@howder1951]

Nice innovation and great work. I remember seeing somewhere that the rigidity is increased by stacking 3 or 4 bearings instead of spacing them. I can remember many times one of these would have saved my bacon, or at least some time. Enjoyed very much, cheers!

[@OhHeyTrevorFlowers]

A static center and a dab of grease is surprisingly functional as well as dead simple to make with high precision as no bearings are necessary.

[@TalRohan]

I used to make cone drives and tailstock centres for woodturning out of iroko and Beech, Beech was a bit grippier for tailstock cones and spun better on a bearing but Iroko does a great job as a drive cone, for small work you can even turn a one morse taper so its all one piece and it will work fantastically. I used them for making lace bobbins and some weird art pieces I did a while back.

[@robertwalker7457]

Well done. I put the same type of bearings in a center for a wood lathe thirty years ago and they are still fine.

[@infoanorexic]

As for finding used "hard stuff," if you have any truck shops in the area (or truck salvage yards) try to get some steer axle king pins. I found one in a trailer that was gifted to me by a retired tow truck owner. That stuff happily flattened the point of my center drill bit. Then it laughed at my HSS tool bit, and ruined the tip on a TPG-C6 carbide insert before breaking the tool holder. 24 hours in a fire that I allowed to burn out and cool under cover finally got it where I could turn it. I don't know what material it is, specifically. I do know it is tuff stuff, even in an 'annealed' state. I'm hoping this material will work for a machine that I can't keep one certain gear in. Old brake cam rods might also be good, they have to withstand repeated torsion loads.

[@mattylarkspur9858]

that's a great tip!!!

[@md4luckycharms]

anything off the railroad is also pretty damn hard. Tie plates sneer at half decent drill bits and files skitter pretty good.

[@infoanorexic]

@@md4luckycharms It is, but don't assume that random items laying near tracks are free for the taking. Railroads had to crack down on material thieves, and their pet detectives could be lying in ambush. You could find out why the railroad rank and file call them "Dicks."

[@EmyrDerfel]

Rails seem to be made from steels similar to 1084 which you might use for knives, but decarburisation from excess oxygen during manufacture can make the surface layer soft, while a "White Etched Layer" on the running surface can be 3x harder.

[@joecolanjr.8149]

Was wondering if you were gonna post this week...missed ya last week!

[@KBLIZZ333]

Same.

[@chichcnc]

Hi mate. Great video. I noticed your compound slide needs adjusting. I see it dragging and cutting on the retract stroke plus i see the once per hand wheel rev ridged finish on your machined surface. I have 2 hafco's and have resolved the same issues with adjustment. Note: This can also be the cross slide and saddle adjustment adding up as well. Love your videos mate. Please keep up the great content.

[@RustyInventions-wz6ir]

Very nice work. I was thinking of making one myself, as I needed it a few times now

[@homemadetools]

Nice work as usual. We shared this video on our homemade tool forum last week 😎

[@bostedtap8399]

Nicely done, great addition to the shop. Thanks for sharing

[@ComradeJehannum]

Glad to see you back.

[@MCsCreations]

Beautiful work, dude! Nicely done! 😃 Stay safe there with your family! 🖖😊

[@mike9500]

awesome work bud as always!!!

[@can5projects563]

awesome job mate looks great

[@aerialrescuesolutions3277]

Excellent work, thank you.

[@kosir1234]

you could assemble the live center and machine the tip later, you just need to make some sorf of a contraption to lock the live center. You get less runout

[@artisanmakes]

You could but all up the run out is less than 0.015mm. That’s far better than what I was aiming for

[@kosir1234]

@@artisanmakes yeah, that is better than what you can buy for normal price :D

[@DaleDix]

The whole point of having a workshop is that you make stuff using your machines because it's fun.

[@evren.builds]

Always look forwards to your vids ^^ Could an adapter be also used? A piece with both ends inverted, one side matching the live center? Could be semi-permenantly attached to the live center with some cyanoacrylate.

[@Pushyhog]

nice build.

[@stevengunter3457]

Well looks good a tool only needs to as tolerances your working in.

[@wmweekendwarrior1166]

Good stuff

[@dinosauralan.9486]

To save turning the morse taper why not consider employing a taper from a redundant drill?? I employ one, well two fitted with center drills to save swapping about in the chuck. An old drill taper can be employed for many useful tools. Also why harden the cone as there should be no wear as the cone is running at the same speed of the job, so why not use brass or bronze?? But do believe there is a need for a small thrust bearing and does it need to be such a force fit?

[@artisanmakes]

I don’t have a spare taper from a drill. So I have to turn it myself. The co puns was already set up to cut it a way

[@rickpalechuk4411]

Nice

[@michaelcalabro2376]

As best I recall the axial load rating for a typical deep groove ball bearing is 30% of the radial load, maybe, question mark.

[@65cj55]

Hey dude, if you're using the RYOBI 18v system, get yourself the Die Grinder RDG18C, it's awesome, i use mine tons with RO.LOC Discs and Burs etc..

[@HKAbsolutus]

You could have made a double fee adaptor one angle for the live centre and one for the component , easier and cheaper for small projects, and a wide and make another adaptor one end for your live centre one end 90 deg with a 50mm mouth for holding stock that does not have a centre drill

[@nickd3375]

“That’s a pretty good fit” - have you ever made a _bad_ morse taper?

[@GeorgeAlex-j6k]

Does a lathe centre see much axial force when the workpiece is chucked? I would think a pair of ball bearings is fine for the job, preloaded to reduce radial play.

[@artisanmakes]

I am sure that it does to some extent. I know that my proper live centre has thrust bearings to take up some of the load.

[@Mark4star1]

Where do you buy your stock from? I'm in Melbourne (Aust) and I haven't been able to find a supplier who will sell and cut small orders. Thanks

[@MarkATrombley]

Question - The bearings support side-to-side load but what supports front-to-back load?

[@untamedhacker]

The flat end of the live center cone pressing against the blind whole where it's being press fit into I would pressume

[@debeeriz]

if the bearings dont last, how would you get the old ones out,

[@artisanmakes]

Bearing puller

[@artisanmakes]

I can weld the cone to a plug and pull it out

[@debeeriz]

@@artisanmakes l though you might have to hydraulic them out but i dont know if that works with roller bearings

[@infoanorexic]

@@debeeriz There are several tricks to try for removing a bearing/bushing from a blind hole. Most involve some form of hydraulics.

[@Halinspark]

I'm surprised you didn't just get a normal live center and modify it to have an inverted tip. I know us machinists like making things, but I also know we are incredibly lazy.

[@rjung_ch]

Cheers 👍💪✌

[@U.P_SCUBA]

Please be careful with intermittent coolant on your carbide tips. It can shorten their life due to thermal cracking

[@moth.monster]

"I'll be using coolant here to keep the part cool" 🤯🤯🤯

[@pawekowalski7469]

👍

[@chrishill6276]

What coolant are you useing?

[@artisanmakes]

XDP 1000. It’s a soluble cutting oil

[@Spoteddy]

I havent seen anybody else use air as a coolant.

[@mike9500]

for hard stuff, i have a friend that can get me pins used in construction equipment joints for free. they toss and repalce them when worn, bot would be perfect for our kinds of projects. we can work something out where i can ship ya a couple.

[@canjal8213]

Press-fitting both the inner and outer races of a ball bearing 😞

[@artisanmakes]

Just going off the spec sheet for those bearings

[@dikkybee4003]

If they aren't it will spin and damage the housing or the shaft.

[@ganjalfcreamcorn8438]

its home made, if it fails he can just make it again but better.

[@JSmith19858]

You wouldn't make the part in that order that would make this nessesary. You're also limited to it supporting a workpiece with that angle taper. It couldn't support a workpiece with a more acute taper as it would only be touching on the point, and a more obtuse taper would only be supported on the very outside edge. You would turn it to the diameter first and them hold it to turn the taper. It would have a better chance of being concentric compared to the rolled finsh you first held it by

[@artisanmakes]

I need 100 pieces made and this is the fastest way to make them. You did t see the full geometry here but this is the best compromise to make them. I made the centre specifically for this one off part. I wouldn’t have done this otherwise. Cheers

[@artisanmakes]

Also that’s that’s how I turned the first pin and it’s. It’s more work than it really needs to be. This part does not need to be hugely concentric, it’s not necessary

[@LindaJuffermans]

Thanks for explaining, I was wondering the same thing.

[@JSmith19858]

@@artisanmakes you would do roughly the same amount of work. Don't do one complete pin at a time. Do one OP to all 100 and then move on, it'll be quicker. With one set up for turning the taper with the compound, and a stop to set them in the same place each time, you'll get through them in no time

[@artisanmakes]

No. It is not quicker. You didn’t see the full geometry of what I’m turning here. You can’t turn the step down on the pin without supporting the end, so the cone needs to be turned first.

[@leestons]

I would have just bought a live centre, faced off the end and drilled a hole. *shrug*

[@NV..V]

YAFI

[@keithammleter3824]

You would have to make some sort of custom clamp to stop the live centre rotating. Just as easy to do what Artiisan Makes did.

[@dikkybee4003]

You do realise live centres are hardened so to drill the hole would require a carbide centre drill.

[@Halinspark]

​@@dikkybee4003Just anneal it and reapply the heat treat later.

[@maciekwarszawa3776]

Second

[@monkeyjustice]

first

[@purpleom9649]

Why does every hobby Machinist only make tools? especially when they don't need them at that time. When I work on a woodworking project I make something I need or something that's beautiful and when I don't have a tool for the project I'm working on I normally make it while I'm doing that project. There are so many projects I'd like to see these Machinists make but they never do like a beautiful copy of a Victorian orrery in brass ect.

[@artisanmakes]

At least for me, tooling is incredibly expensive and I started out with next to nothing. This is a hobby so Im not prepared to spend huge amounts for tools I may rarely use

[@_Agent_86]

Ummmm, he just made a tool for a project he was working on. Explained that at the beginning and showed it being used at the end. Did you see the title, get angry, post a comment, then forget to watch the video?

[@JFirn86Q]

​@@artisanmakes Don't listen to that guy's comment, it's utter nonsense. A hobby machinist needs immense amount of expensive tooling, and there's a lot of people in the same boat. It is very interesting seeing someone make expensive tooling themselves and how they did it or approached it. Besides, the "machining" this guy is talking about is some sort of fancy hand engraving... not really machining but an art instead.

[@Pushyhog]

trollin'

[@Paul-pl4vy]

This video was definitely not live!!

[@HKAbsolutus]

You could have made a double fee adaptor one angle for the live centre and one for the component , easier and cheaper for small projects, and make another adaptor one end for your live centre one end 90 deg with a 50mm mouth for holding stock that does not have a centre drill