MACH 118: Turning Between Centers

OBJECTIVES
After completing this unit, you should be able to…
 Describe the correct setup procedure for turning between
centers.
 Select correct feeds and speeds for a turning operation.
 Detail the steps necessary for turning to size predictably.
 Check for taper with a test bar, and restore alignment by
adjusting the tailstock.
 Check for taper by taking a cut with a tool and measuring
the workpiece, and restore alignment
by adjusting the tailstock.
TURNING BETWEEN CENTERS

 To turn a workpiece between centers, support it

between the dead center (tailstock center) & the
live center in the spindle nose.
◦ A lathe dog clamped to the workpiece is driven by a drive,
or dog, plate mounted on the spindle nose.

Fig. I-178 Lathe dog (Micro-Mark).

TURNING BETWEEN CENTERS

 A workpiece cannot be cut off with a parting tool

while being supported between centers
◦ This will bind & break the parting tool and ruin the
workpiece.

 For drilling, boring, or machining the end of a long

shaft, a steady rest normally supports the work.
◦ These operations cannot be done when the shaft is
supported only by centers.
TURNING BETWEEN CENTERS

 A shaft between centers can be turned end for end to

continue machining without eccentricity if the live
center runs true.
◦ Shafts to be subsequently finish ground between
centers must be machined between centers on a lathe.

Fig. I-180 Eccentricity in the center of the part because the live center is off center.
TURNING BETWEEN CENTERS

 The center for the headstock spindle is

sometimes referred to as a live center because it
rotates.
◦ In contrast with a nonrotating dead center in the
tailstock spindle.
◦ The live center rotates, the dead center does not.
 Innovations such as ball bearing tailstock centers
that do rotate make this terminology confusing.
◦ Such ball bearing centers are commonly called live
centers even though they are used in a tailstock
spindle and not the headstock.
TURNING BETWEEN CENTERS

 A solid “dead” center can be mounted directly in the

lathe spindle.
◦ Seat the bushing firmly in the taper & install the center.

Fig. I-181 Fig. I-182

Make sure the bushing is firmly seated in the taper. Installing the center.
TURNING BETWEEN CENTERS

 A chuck center is often machined from a short

piece of soft steel mounted in a chuck, then left in
place.
◦ The work is mounted between it & the tailstock center.
◦ A lathe dog with the bent tail against a chuck jaw is used to
drive the workpiece.

Fig. I-184 Live center being machined in a four-jaw

chuck. The lathe dog on the workpiece is driven by
one of the chuck jaws.
TURNING BETWEEN CENTERS

 The nonrotating tailstock

(dead) center is hardened
to withstand machining
pressures and friction.

Fig. I-185 The dead center is hardened to resist wear.

It is made of high-speed steel with a carbide insert.

• Dead centers are virtually obsolete but have the

advantage of greater rigidity.
– Needle bearing & ball bearing centers are used extensively in machine
shops & manufacturing.
TURNING BETWEEN CENTERS

 Ball bearing centers are

shown here.

Fig. I-187 Antifriction ball bearing center.

Fig. I-188 Cutaway view of a ball bearing tailstock
center. (DoALL Company)
TURNING BETWEEN CENTERS

 Rolling pipe centers are

used for turning tubular
material.

Fig. I-186
(a) The pipe center is useful for supporting a tubular workpiece.
(b) Pipe center.
(Courtesy of Monarch Machine Tool Company).
TURNING BETWEEN CENTERS

 Set the dog in place & tighten, adjust the

tailstock so the bent tail of the dog moves freely
in its slot, then tighten the tailstock binding
lever.
◦ The heat of machining
will expand the work-
piece & cause the dead
center to heat from friction.
◦ If overheated, the center
may be ruined and may
even be welded into your
workpiece.

Fig. I-190 Lathe dog in

position.
TURNING BETWEEN CENTERS

 The formula to determine time for turning, boring, & facing

is:

Light cuts & small feeds

can waste time in
roughing operations, even
when higher cutting
speeds are used.
TURNING BETWEEN CENTERS tab

 After roughing cuts are taken, .020” to .030”

should be left for finishing.
◦ If insufficient material is left for machining, the tool
will rub and will not cut.
TURNING BETWEEN CENTERS

 The tool is advanced into the work, and the first of the
two finish cuts is made.
◦ Diameter is checked with a micrometer & the remaining amount
to be cut is dialed on the crossfeed micrometer.

Fig. I-202 A trial cut is made to establish a setting of a

Fig. I-203 Measuring the workpiece
micrometer dial in relation to the diameter of the workpiece.
with a micrometer.
TURNING BETWEEN CENTERS

 A short trial cut is taken (about 1/8” long) and a

final check with a micrometer is made to validate
the tool setting, and then the cut is completed.
 Finishing of machined parts with a file and abrasive
cloth should not be necessary.
TURNING BETWEEN CENTERS

 Worn lathes are not dependable for close tolerances,

so allowance must be made for filing.
◦ Surface material left for filing ranges from .0005 to
.003 in., depending on the final finish and diameter.
◦ The more material removed by filing, the more likely it
is that the finish size will not be cylindrical.
TURNING BETWEEN CENTERS

 When filing on a lathe, use a low speed and long

strokes, and file left-handed.
◦ For polishing with abrasive cloth, set the lathe for a
high speed and move the cloth back and forth across
the work.

Fig. I-204 Filing in the lathe, left-

handed.
TURNING BETWEEN CENTERS

 Because of the damaging effect of abrasive grains

on the sliding surfaces of machinery, some shops
do not allow abrasive cloth to be used at all.
◦ Abrasive cloth leaves grit on the ways of the lathe, so
thoroughly clean the ways after polishing.

Fig. I-206 Using a file for backing

Fig. I-205 Using abrasive cloth for abrasive cloth for more uniform
polishing. polishing.
ALIGNMENT OF THE LATHE CENTERS

 The tailstock will normally stay in good alignment on a

lathe not badly worn.
◦ If used for taper turning
with the tailstock offset,
the tailstock may not
have been realigned
properly.

 It is a good practice occasionally to check the center

alignment of the lathe you generally use & always check
the alignment before using a different lathe.
◦ A check for taper while it is still in the roughing stage.
ALIGNMENT OF THE LATHE CENTERS

 Methods for aligning centers on a lathe.

◦ In one method, the center points are brought
together and visually checked for alignment.
◦ This is not a precision
method for checking
alignment.

Fig. I-220
Checking alignment by matching center points.
ALIGNMENT OF THE LATHE CENTERS

 Another method of aligning centers is to use the

tailstock witness marks.
◦ Adjusting to the witness marks is only an approximate
means of eliminating taper.
◦ The tailstock is moved
by means of a screw
or screws.

Fig. I-221
Adjusting the tailstock to the
witness marks for alignment.
  A typical arrangement is shown below, where one
setscrew is released and the opposite one
tightened to move the tailstock on its slide
Fig. I-222 Hexagonal socket setscrew which, when
turned, moves the tailstock provided that the opposite
one is loosened.

Fig. I-223 The opposite setscrew being adjusted.

ALIGNMENT OF THE LATHE CENTERS

 More accurate means of aligning centers are to use a test bar

and to machine and measure.
◦ A test bar is a shaft that has true centers & no taper.

◦ No dog is necessary, as the test bar is not rotated.

◦ A dial indicator is mounted

in the tool post so it will
travel with the carriage.

◦ Contact point should be

the center of the test bar.

Fig. I-224 Test bar setup between centers

with
a dial indicator mounted in the tool post.
ALIGNMENT OF THE LATHE CENTERS

 Begin with the indicator at

the headstock end & set
the indicator bezel to zero.
Fig. I-225 Indicator is moved to measuring surface at headstock
end, and the bezel is set on zero.

• Move the setup to the tailstock end of

the test bar & check the dial indicator
reading.

Fig. I-226 Carriage with dial indicator is moved to the measuring surface near the
tailstock. In this case the dial indicator did not move, so the tailstock is on center.
ALIGNMENT OF THE LATHE CENTERS

 If no movement of the needle has occurred, the

centers are in line.
◦ If the needle has moved clockwise, the tailstock is misaligned
toward the operator & will cause the workpiece to taper with the
smaller end at the tailstock.
◦ If the needle has moved counterclockwise, the work-
piece will taper with the smaller end at the headstock.
ALIGNMENT OF THE LATHE CENTERS

 As only a minor adjustment is usually needed while

a job is in progress, the most common method of
aligning lathe centers is by cutting and measuring.
 This method usually
uses the workpiece
in the roughing stage.

Fig. I-227
Checking for taper by taking a cut on a workpiece. After the
cut is made for the length of the workpiece, a micrometer
reading is taken at each end to determine
any difference in diameter.
ALIGNMENT OF THE LATHE CENTERS

 A light cut is taken along the length of the test

piece, and both ends are measured with a
micrometer.
◦ Set up a dial indicator & move the tailstock half the
difference of the two readings.
◦ Make another light
cut & check for taper.

Fig. I-228
Using a dial indicator to check the amount
of movement of the tailstock when it is
being realigned
 Read and answer self test questions for the
following chapters.
 Section I, Units 6,7, and 8