Drive Centers for Your Wood Lathe 

Thanks for the explanation on the spring drive centers, completely answered all my questions 😀

Hi Mike, Thanks for the informative video. I am new to woodturning and was looking for a drive centre to use instead of the 4 prong one that came with my lathe. After seeing your video I bought the Sorby 5/8" Steb Centre. Works like a charm. I find your videos very helpful. :)

Hello Mike, I agree, the Sorby Steb centres are worth the expense and use them with the corresponding live centres makes spindle turning more efficient and safer.

Loving all these old tips you have up Mike. I think about something i want to try in turning and you always have a video up for me to check out. I sure appreciate you video catalog - thank you.

Hey Mike. Thanks for the tips. I agree on the four prong center. I use the steb center most of the time. A tip from “The Arkansas Wood Whirler” channel is to counter sink the center about 1/8 inch. Make it almost impossible for the work to leave the lathe.

Nice explanation. Allow me to add two comments: First, many pen turners are now using the very old fashioned 60 degree cone dead center (which used to be used in the tailstock with a bit of grease on the tip to allow the wood to spin) as a drive center. This allows them to mount pen blanks onto the lathe without the use of a pen mandrel. Second, for spindle work, I use the 'safe center' from Oneway. It's like the cup center shown in the video, but the cup is smaller in diameter. Like Mike, I put some small grooves in the cup to help it get a better bite. (I used a small round file. With the drive mounted in the headstock and the headstock locked, it took only a couple of minutes to make the grooves.) I might prefer a steb center, but I don't have one. However, I find the safe center, as modified, to be more than adequate for virtually all my spindle turning tasks. If the wood spins, I just tighten the tailstock a little more and/or take lighter cuts.

I got a drive center with the four blades when I got my first lathe. Here's what I did: find the center with an X, indent the center with a large nail to recess the point into the wood, next I tap the drive center with a plastic mallet to light mark the blades. A large screwdriver makes the marks deeper so there is no need to insert the drive center in the head stock and mess up the bearings.

Hi Mike, The only live center I have is like the one you showed with the 4 "ga-zin-tas",,,which came with my used Delta Midi lathe. Somewhere down the road I'll buy a better one but for now I'll struggle with the one I have. Thanks for explaining about each one cuz it will help me to decide which one to buy. Keep the tips coming,,,,I can use allllll you got! LOL Tom

I find the 4 prong just great, simply using a forstner bit with slightly larger diameter and drilling into the wood maybe 3mm.

Good information! Thx-

Hi Mike. Thanks for the video. I have the Sorby Stebcenters in both 1/2' and 7/8" as well as the revolving one for the tail. For the most part they work well however I recently attempted to use the 7/8" w/ the revolving one on the tail on a piece of year old pin or live oak, approximately 3" diam x 5" long. I found no matter how tight I cranked the tail stock those centers barely made a dent in that oak. Basically useless. In fact the tailstock was actually starting to slide back on the lathe bed. That's when I stopped. Didn't want to damage lathe bearings, etc. Long story short LOL what live centers do you recommend for the more harder woods when the project is best done w/o use of a screw chuck or face plate?

I have the Sorby, or is it a Nova?, can't recall. I like it and recommend it but it is the chuck insertion type which goes into my Nova chucks. I prefer this design since I will rough out a spindle piece, but a tenon, take out the step center easily then insert the spindle piece, now round into the chuck and away I go with it.

thanks for the tips Mike, can you tell me if there is a reason the drive is in the left on all lathes?

Mike, new to turning. My drive center has become stuck. Will not tap out of head stock. Looking for solutions?

I need to get one of those chuck mounted steb centers since I turn on a shopsmith.

I have that very same center finder! Smack the wood with a hammer. Do 4 times and center marked.

I searched youtube for a video on sharpening drive centres. Still can't find one. :(

those are some nice centers but i can only use one that fits on my shaft 3/4-16 i dont have a morse taper on my lathe

mike which drive center do you recommend,,the one I had was the stebcenter type and needless to say I lost the center point as well,,lol

Hi Mike, I enjoy your videos and am a subscriber. I was looking at buying a Sorby steb center based on it being a better quality...they always say you only need to buy quality "once". I prefer to buy only one size if possible and wonder which size you would suggest...1/2" or 7/8"? I don't do a lot of spindle work but mostly boxes, vases and some bowls. I currently have a 12" lathe but will upgrade in the near future I suspect as I'm a fairly new turner and finding my way yet. I noticed the picture of the Sorby 1/2" steb center shown at Craft Supply has a "stepped" shape and the one at Amazon is straight...not sure why that is...are there 2 kinds of the 1/2" size? I was leaning towards the 1/2" and then perhaps also getting a 2" Elio Drive. Please share your thoughts. Thanks, Myles

Hi Mike my Lathe came with a 4 prong centre would you recommend grinding two off ?

A drive centre I like for bigger things is an elio drive.

See this, I don't like it. Don't use this. Don't like this. Yada yada. Which one do you use?