# ShopSmith Turning Question



## tomas (Aug 4, 2011)

Do any of you ShopSmith owners turn between centers?  If so, what type setup do you use?


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## MikeG (Aug 4, 2011)

I would like to, but have not come up with a way to get a 60 degree drive center to match up with a 5/8" shaft. If I could find a drive center with a 1/2" straight shaft instead of a #2 Morse taper I would use the router bit holder.

Any one else have an idea on how to make it work?


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## kovalcik (Aug 5, 2011)

That has me stumped also.  I have an idea that I have not tried yet to basically turn a 60 degree center from hard wood and see if that works.  So you would have the drive center, the wood center, then the blank.  If anyone finds a good solution please post it.


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## Robert Taylor (Aug 5, 2011)

i glued two pieces of corian together to make a one inch square block. then turned it round(size is not important), then turned about an inch of it to one half inch in diameter ( size is important here) as i hold it in a collet chuck or drill chuck and turned a taper on the other end kinda like sixty degrees, the angle is not important. works well when the taper looks bad a quick cleanup pass has it back in service asap.


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## KenV (Aug 5, 2011)

Hmm -- my shopsmith has a funky tailstock mount that fits a MT2 taper --  Pain using that little aluminum disk but it would hold a live center.   (I like the nova live center for all around general use  -- and it comes with a 60 degree point insert)

The drawer has a 4 blade drive center that came with the shop smith,


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## papNal (Aug 6, 2011)

I had planned to get one of the SS adapters that has the 1"x8tpi threaden end,(if anyone ever gets them back in stock)screw on my collet chuck and grind down a bolt to aprox 60 degree point and try that.Hopefully it will work. John


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## Jeff-in-Indiana (Aug 6, 2011)

I had a custom dead center made and then I held it in the drill chuck.
If you had it made to the exact specs of a 1/2" router bit, you could achieve even better alignment.
That part of the equation works perfectly.
The idiotic eccentric centered tailstock, was always a huge nightmare.
It would not stay aligned, and I finally gave up on the situation and bought a Nova DVR XP.  
(I saw where some overly ingenious fella adapted a (?)Delta(?) tailstock to a sliding platform, which rode the way-tubes, and had had very good results. I commend his creativity).


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## MikeG (Sep 12, 2011)

Here was my project for today. Make a dead center to use on my Shopsmith for turning between centers.

It uses the 1/2" router bit holder to hold my dead center made from a 1/2" by 2" socket head shoulder screw. I cut off the head and about a 1/4" for the threads. Then I put a flat on it to keep it centered and formed the 60˚ angle while it was held in the router bit holder and the Shopsmith was running at low speed. This allowed for the clearances between the the three parts, the Shopsmith, the router bit holder and the new center, to kept the center true. If you want more info, let me know and I'll post something under Jig and Fixtures.


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## 76winger (Sep 12, 2011)

I've got 1" x8 adapter that I purchased about a year ago for using a Barracuda chuck with my Shopsmith. Does someone make a 60 deg. center that will just screw onto it? 

It looks like the MT2 live center would work for the tailstock end, am I correct on this?


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## Chatham PenWorks (Sep 12, 2011)

76winger said:


> I've got 1" x8 adapter that I purchased about a year ago for using a Barracuda chuck with my Shopsmith. Does someone make a 60 deg. center that will just screw onto it?
> 
> It looks like the MT2 live center would work for the tailstock end, am I correct on this?



An mt2 live center will work in the tailstock, but I think you'll have to go custom to get a dead center into the headstock.


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## MikeG (Sep 12, 2011)

I don't know about a center for your chuck, but you're right about the MT2 live center working on the tailstock end.

Have you checked with PSI about a dead center? I think they handle the Barracuda chuck. I couldn't find any kind of dead center that was not a MT. I found MT-sockets, but did not want that much overhang or expense and I don't recall seeing one with a 5/8" bore.


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## soligen (Sep 12, 2011)

I made a 60% center from a peice of 1/2" seel rod (using 3/4 rod would be better).  I mounted it in my collet chuck, which I put on the SS using a 1x8 adapter.


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## Snowbeast (Sep 12, 2011)

I was wondering the same thing about a dead center. So, I put a .50 cal bullet in a 1/2" collet chuck and filed the tip to a point. When everything's tightened down, it works like a charm.:biggrin:

Improvise, Adapt and Overcome.


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## chrishicks82 (May 23, 2012)

Just thought of something the pen mandrel for SS has a rod that unscrews what if you got a bolt that fit it and ground the head to a point


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## TerryDowning (May 23, 2012)

1/2" 6061 aluminum turned to a 60 degree center.  I also made one from Maple. Mounted in my collet chuck.

RHerrel may be able to help out with a 3/4" steel one that can be mounted in a collet chuck as well.


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## Snowbeast (May 23, 2012)

After reading all this, I changed the way I did things to what Kovalcik suggested.

A piece of mesquite drilled to 5/8" and drilled/tapped for a set screw. Then a 60* point turned on it.

Works pretty good and very easy to redress the point as it wears.


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## mick (May 24, 2012)

oops...never mind


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## 76winger (May 24, 2012)

papNal said:


> I had planned to get one of the SS adapters that has the 1"x8tpi threaden end,(if anyone ever gets them back in stock)screw on my collet chuck and grind down a bolt to aprox 60 degree point and try that.Hopefully it will work. John



I got one of these from PSI a couple years ago and it works great holding a chuck. It looks like they still have them in stock:
1" x 8 tpi Shopsmith Spindle Adapter at Penn State Industries


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## jcm71 (May 24, 2012)

I've been using the same set up as MikeG for several months now with good results.  Went down to Ace and bought a HSS bolt that fit the router attachment, cut off the head and threads and started grinding to an approximate 60 degree point.  Took two days to sand/grind it down, but well worth the effort.  Bought my live center from PSI.   BTW, I feel a lot safer turning at high RPM with this setup than with a mandrel.  I do my turning at "R".


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## KenV (May 24, 2012)

Grinder is good for moving a lot of metal fast --  

But lathe filing is the old time way to shape metal to get better precision.

use a fine mill file, with the lathe turning slowly, and file away what you do not need.  

You can get a good approximation of a 60 degree angle, and you can get a flat smooth cone.   Use abrasives to polish out scratches -  and use a file cared frequently to clean the swarf out of the file teeth,


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