Shopsmith Forums

I tried turning a soft piece of wood for my first try. It went well. Now I'm trying a different piece that is harder. My problem is I've been pounding that drive center with a rubber mallet until the blades are in the wood a decent amount but as soon as I start to use the gouge, the wood just starts spinning and the blades just cut a nice little area around the drive center. How do I get that sucker in further? I'm stumped. What do you experts do?

Thanks

Cut across the center of the piece with a hand saw making two cuts 90 degrees from each other. Then, drill a small hole in the center of the cross. Put the drive in the hole you made.

Thank you!

BTW a RUBBER hammer is not the best tool for that job.

JPG wrote:BTW a RUBBER hammer is not the best tool for that job.

Yeah, but it’s better than a STEEL one! I assume you’re thinking plastic dead blow hammer? Or maybe a wooden mallet? Or brass ...

BuckeyeDennis wrote:

JPG wrote:BTW a RUBBER hammer is not the best tool for that job.

Yeah, but it’s better than a STEEL one! I assume you’re thinking plastic dead blow hammer? Or maybe a wooden mallet? Or brass ...

Anything that places wood between the spur center bore end and the provider of the inertial force. A 'utility'(not one used for finesse work) wooden mallet would do.






Orrrr strike the tailstock end of the workpiece with the spur center secured so as to remain motionless.

Who says that 'old guys' can't learn new tricks. I have been using a plastic hammer for this task for nearer thirty years now. It's been done that way ever since I learned that pressure from the quill was most times inadequate.

I haven't used the traditional drive centers in a long while now. Stebs centers came along and while shopsmiths were not something that they worked with at first (MT issues) times changed. While you need a chuck to use them nova now has and has for a while a set of them.

At first I went with the ones Penn St sells I found like most of the things I've gotten from them I grew to dislike them, not the idea just the junk product. At luck would have it Nova came along and my problem was solved. Expensive, yes but so are most good tools. See an example here:

https://www.woodcraft.com/products/nova ... oC-2fw_wcB

Better prices can be found if you are interested.

BTW HS shop class we used rawhide mallets/hammers to set centers....... I think at one time shopsmith sold those too but I haven't seen them listed in a lot of years.

It also takes some practice to turn square wood into round and a very light touch is needed to get started so a lot of people stop the work piece because they haven't got that down right. Other solutions are to start the process with sawing off the corners, 4 sides to 8 sides make a lot of difference.

Ed

How are you making the initial cut? Are using a cutting method or are you using a scraping method? Scraping can cause more pressure on the stock than cutting. You can also take the square edges off the stock with the bandsaw or a hand plane and take a light cut at first. It is very easy to try to take a bigger bite than you can chew.
The grain in some wood can draw the tool into the wood and result in a jam or taking a big chunk out of the stock.
Remember the A B C's of turning; they are "Anchor the tool on the tool rest"; "B rub the bevel on the work piece" until the cutting edge just starts to cut then "Complete the cut" Most important thing is to TAKE SMALL CUTS. Don't try to lake large cuts or move too fast. Try varying the speed. You may be running too slow for the work.
Is your cutting tool sharp. A dull tool will have more of a tendency to catch.

Thanks for all the input! I will get a rawhide mallet. I tried the two cuts and it worked beautifully! I am brand-spanking new. Turned a box using the two cuts tip. Turned out decent in spite of a lot of mistakes. Currently turning another box. I USUALLY use a light touch although it has been a learning experience. I use spindle gouges to round the wood. I havent had problems with catches while rounding nor shaping the outside.

Thanks again.