Why don’t you chuck up some steel rod and machine a dead center point on that instead of trying to use an MT dead center? That way you can get the point where required for the dogs to engage. Or you could by a cylindrical dead center and chuck that if you don’t want to make your own.
Today I sacrificed the MT2 dead center that came with my lathe and I turned it (pun intended!) into a straight shank dead center. There are two straight shank dead centers (DrillPro brand) for sale online, but I didn't want to wait.
I had to redo the 60 degree tip because the original tip was not concentric with my new straight shaft (I have always used a 3 jaw chuck at home). That was the first time that I cut a taper at home.
They showed us how to use the compound to cut a taper at school, but I didn't remember
exactly how to do it. I left my compound at 30 degrees and used a right hand turning tool working on the back side of the lathe. I ran the lathe in reverse because I was working on the back side; this is consistent with the geometry of the HSS insert.
I was happy to use my lathe dogs! At one point, I ran the right hand turning tool into the dog and the workpiece came out, so that was some excitement! This is why they put chuck guards on entry level machines; of course, the lathe was running in the forward position so the workpiece (dog and all) ended up under the backsplash.
I had hoped to turn a (practice) test bar which ran the entire lenghth of the bed, but I encountered terrible vibration, so tomorrow I will get the steady rest and/or follow rest on there. The material is 3/4" brass, so it will never be used as a test bar, although I am curious if I will get any taper on such a long bar.
I was happy to turn between centers, but I'm not sure that I will make a regular practice out of it. I can definitely see the advantages of a chuck.
