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Montenegro, Podgorica
1 Level
682 Review
48 Karma

Review on πŸ› οΈ PSI Woodworking LCENTSS22: Versatile No. 2 MT Crown Super Wood Lathe Drive Center – A Must-Have Tool for Precision Turning by Patrick Lets

Revainrating 5 out of 5

Excellent drive. It fits me very well

First of all you need to understand what this type of drive is for and how it works. If you don't already know this, this might not be the best drive for you. These drives are designed for production operation. The spring under the center pin is very strong. It should be! Production lathes back off the tailstock until the center of the spring clears the teeth and the spindle stops or slows. Then they pull out the spindle and assemble another part... while the lathe stays on. The new spindle is pulled up by the tailstock until the teeth mesh and then starts turning again. It's amazing to see a pro use this drive for production work. The teeth don't engage as well or as deep as two or four tooth drives. This is also intended for production use. I don't use mine for production work. I like to use these drives with small spindles because the risk of spindle splitting is reduced. They also leave less damage to the end of the spindle. I like to cut the spindles to the exact size before installing them so the pressure created by these drivers will look slightly better on the finished job than the pressure created by a two or four tooth driver. These drives are not designed for particularly heavy objects such as very thick columns, blocks or shells. If you catch or make an overly aggressive cut, the drive can spin on its butt. For my use, it helps to be careful how I use the drive. When I put the tailstock on, I drive the drive into the end of the material. I am very careful that the disc does not move due to the marks of the teeth. When I remove the material from the lathe, when I reassemble it, I carefully insert the disc exactly into the original mold. Does it hurt a little? Yes, but I prefer a little extra effort to make a good impression at the end of the finished spindle. I started (2008) with a 5/8 drive for a workpiece that was less than ΒΎ inch. It works great for a small spindle job I'm spinning. I bought 1” a year later. It works great on very thin table legs. I had to tighten the set screw on the 5/8 drive a couple of times. It's okay if you don't check it often. Then you can lose the center pin or spring. You have to control the screw, no matter who makes this type of drive. If that bothers you, you can use an actuator without a spring behind the center pin. I borrowed some red nail polish, painted the threads and put the set screw back in place. That was some years ago. I still check the screw, but it won't loosen anymore. You are better off just painting the set screw threads once you get the drivetrain. The teeth are fine. Didn't need sharpening when new (2008) and doesn't need sharpening now (2015) but I try not to overuse discs. The teeth are a bit worn but I may have dropped the disc or cut it with a chisel. I highly recommend these discs. You can't touch a drive with similar specs at this price point. Buy it and if it turns out that you don't like this driving style, you won't lose big money.

Pros
  • Lathe parts and accessories
Cons
  • Some disadvantages