*&^%*%$%^$ B & S Taper center

Mostly just venting...............

OK, I have a dividing head, a small L&W, which has been cleaned up etc.

I do have a chuck for it, but I do not have a center for it. The taper seems to be a B&S #9, type 2 (1.077 at thick end).

As luck would have it, I have some stuff to do that really should be done on centers.

Looking around, I see that ALL the imported dividing heads have either a #9 or sometomes a #7 taper, B&S of course.
They all come with a center to fit the taper.

Now, I am short a center. A B&S center is apparently just about unobtanium.

I looked around in the usual suspects, and found that MSC has them. But, they are made in USA, and have a matching price tag.

I am a good American, and I buy American. But, the concept of paying over $70 for a center is not in my vocabulary. The %$#% head only cost me $100, plus a bit over to get the other two plates, and my time to clean up, which is "fun time" (sort of) for me..

Why, if every stinking low quality chinese DH has a suitable center, are they so hard to get separately at a sensible price?

I'd make it, only I don't have the equipment I would need to finish it to good enough tolerances to make it worth anything. Holding the taper means a sleeve, and a #9 is too big to sleeve into a MT3.

I can get there with a kludge, but at lower accuracy.

Why are the &^%$ things so hard to get if they are so common on DHs?

Rant over.

Gimme your address, I'll send you one, free.

It won't be perfect, but the price is right.

John

Don't guess anybody is going to try to underbid that one...
David from jax

J:
Just turn up a straight one from steel on the lathe. (straight shank and 60 degree taper at the end. Part off and chuck up in your chuck. (hopefully it is a 4 jaw) dial up true and wham you are done.
I don't think that most current dividing heads use the B&S taper. Might not be so common on the newer import stuff .
Cheers Ross

Johnoder...thank you very much, email will be coming to you.

AlfaGT:
That is pretty much the kludge I referred to. And no, its a 3 jaw that cam on it, or I wouldn't even be worried about a center. None of my 4 jaws are small enough to fit on it, the cute little head has about a 6" swing, if that, just right for the small mill.

I can probably true the point of a center that isn't too bad, by grinding it in place as I wind the crank on the head. I'll have to kludge the setup, but it's do-able.

Turning up one would require grinding off too much after hardening, (or after just turning a pre-hardened piece) even if I had the stock on hand, which I don't. My grinding equipment is still a bit primitive, not good for major amounts.

As for what they have, All the import stuff I checked had B&S. Not that others don't, but.... Probably tradition, maybe so as to use legacy tooling.

Weird thing is, I can get any B&S collet I would want (if I wanted) out of stock at the same places that have the DHs but not the centers.....go figure.

Think B&S are bad, try finding Jarno #10 thats not carbide tipped.