Moving right along with another ridiculous shop dodge for you all to
shoot down.

Wanted to support a ~5" X ~9" hardwood open form with a tail
center/retained wood tenon for as long as possible. Didn't have long to
wait. Piece being narrow, the tenon took up too much space and the
revolving center soon got in the way. Thought to substitute a long
thin, but strong crs rod for the thicker wood tenon I wanted to leave
on.

Before you suggest I forget tail support and use glue blocks,
faceplates, steadies, etc. etc. the exterior wasn't round to be
supported by a steady and making up a turtle to conform seemed a bad
idea. Besides this is about long revolving tail centers so I'll try to
keep it that way.

Made up a long thin dead center using a pointed 10" X 3/8" rod held in a
Jacobs tail chuck. Adequate support and could be retained much longer
than the wood tenon, but lots of smoking and squealing. I don't own a
revolving Jacobs chuck.


Drilled a mating hole with a center bit in a long pointed rod to capture
it in the revolving tail center and jam it against the work. Captured it
ok, but it escaped with squeaks & groans! Second bad idea.

Now finally to the subject for the two still reading. I recalled a
'revolving' center I'd made up once. Nothing more than drilling a hole
in a short rod held in a Jacobs chuck Then dropping a bearing ball into
the greased hole followed with the flat end of a pointed rod to revolve
against the ball (thrust bearing). No smoke, no squeal. A little wobble,
but it's not dial indicator time.

Not my original sin for sure, but keep this dodge in mind when you need
an extended revolving tail center for deep tailstock support or
whatever. Maybe I'll turn a taper or cut some threads on a single
testicle revolving center to adapt to a Jacobs chuck. Sounds painful,
but Viola! a revolving Jacobs chuck. Not sure what for, but doesn't
function follow tinker?


Turn to Safety, Arch
Fortiter


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