"Arch" wrote in message
...

Over the years,I've read and heard repeated warnings by various experts
that driving a blank onto a morse tapered spur center while it's on the
lathe will damage the bearings. It would of course, damage an obsolete
outboard cup (---point thrust bearing, but I wonder about the ball
bearings used on woodturning lathes of the sizes and types that most of
us use.

Lots of experts out there, but most folks take convention as wisdom.

I'm guessing that if you drive enough on the inner race you might be able to
shorten the life of the bearing. I remember the way to get steelies, which
played against steelies in my neighborhood, was to put the outer race on two
blocks and drive the inner. The cold chisel method resulted in more damage
to the chisel than the hardened races.

Now with preloaded tapered roller bearings, you could screw up the preload
and get more damage faster. Or tapered sintered bronze. Maybe that's where
it comes from.