Homemade shop made live center for a lathe

I bought the lathe already relieved for cutting bigger diameters, the machine shop from where i bought my lathe used it to make some machinery parts like this, it's over 500 mm in diameters and weight is around 60 kg, tailstock never comes that close even the study rest has no problems clearing it.
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T Bredehoft said:
Re: that great live center. I think I'd have tried to put more of a thrust bearing in it. Or are the 6201 bearings radial and thrust?
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I've installed an single ball at the end to act against the thrust the two bearings are for vertical support.
 
Here's what I had in mind
Thrust bearing.png
This distributes the load against two hardened washers.
 
I do know what an thrust bearing is, but because of being so small morse taper 2 i use only one ball bearing at the very back, i may make one more live center identical just to show in more detail, when i was finishing this one i was in a hurry.
 
Now i have MT1, MT3, MT4 and my tail stock is MT5, so i'm using taper sleeves to use them, i may make one more MT2 and a big MT5, to have a full set, i've been talking to my tools supplier for a MT5 live centre but he hasn't come thru and i know if i start making i'll get a call that he has one in stock, and the bearings and material will probably be the same price as buying one.
 
Little update, the live center i made its been i use almost a month every day and is still working great, only the very sharp tip is not so sharp anymore otherwise servs great.
 
It's been couple of months since i've built this live center, and its been in use everyday since, last night i visited my friend how has been using it and is still holding up, the point has become blant, my friend said is probably from misuse, he has not been drilling the ends deep enough, other wise even with only one ball bearing at the end is holding well.
 
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Well the live centre is still holding up and has moved to a new owner, my friend did little tool trading and trade it for a drill chuck for his lathe, the new owner is also satisfied and thinks its factory made.
 
Well this live centre vent to a new owner in another city, but surprise surprise, a different friend decided to buy a lathe and with the lathe got a box of tooling in which we found this live centre that i build. After talking to them both it turns out one friend trade it for a drill chuck and the other bought the lathe and tooling from the same person and is still in good shape fully functional.
 
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