Making a dead center

[Abody711]

Wanting to make a dead center for my heavy 10. I am thinking about getting a piece of steel or stainless steel 3/4" hex stock to make the center. Plan is to mount the hex stock in my 3 jaw chuck. The turn the point and mark the orientation in the chuck. Question is what grade of metal to use?

 

[T Bredehoft]

Are you going to harden it? Use Drill Rod. Not harden it, try some 4150 half hard. (thats' what it's called), just a suggestion, cut three flats on it for repeatability. Or, just one flat, the center will always be centered, once it's cut. Oh, you're using Hex Stock... nevermind the flats.

 

[mmcmdl]

The center will be turning with the chuck so no wear . You could use aluminum if you wanted . If accuracy is a must , just compound the angle everytime you use it . They do make straight shank centers if you want a hardened one .

 

[Abody711]

Thought about straight dead center. Question is will it run true in my chuck?

 

[benmychree]

Headstock centers that came with lathes were normally left soft so that they could be trued up easily by recutting, these centers had a shallow groove cut in the diameter near the 60 degree taper so they could be distingshed from the hard tailstock center.

 

[projectnut]

Over the years I've made several dead centers to use in a 3-jaw chuck. As previously mentioned, they can be made from almost any material. It's best not to harden them if you're going to hold them in a chuck. Each time you chuck them up take a skim to true them up.

Here's a picture of my old Seneca Falls lathe. Note that on the shelf below the machine there is a block with at least half a dozen different size homemade dead centers. None are hardened so they can be trued before each use. Mine are fairly long so they can be reused hundreds of times before they're too short to fit in the chuck

 

[Asm109]

Thought about straight dead center. Question is will it run true in my chuck?

It will until you remove it.
Just take a cleanup cut on a soft center every time you put it in the chuck.

 

[Jim F]

Headstock centers that came with lathes were normally left soft so that they could be trued up easily by recutting, these centers had a shallow groove cut in the diameter near the 60 degree taper so they could be distingshed from the hard tailstock center.

HTRAL states just the opposite.

Hardened and tempered centers have a ring. Use for tailstock, headstock centers have no ring and are not hardened.

 

[benmychree]

I once made a soft center for my large lathe that was made with a shoulder on the OD so that it would not be forced back in the chuck jaws, but I prefer to use a #4 MT soft center in a sleeve directly in the spindle #5 taper, I marked the center, sleeve and the spindle nose so that it can be replaced in the same relative position each time it is used, many times the tail on the lathe dogs are too short to engage the chuck jaws, So I prefer to use the dog plate to drive my work.

 

[benmychree]

HTRAL states just the opposite.

Hardened and tempered centers have a ring. Use for tailstock, headstock centers have no ring and are not hardened.

That has not been my observation in my over 60 years on the job.