Live centers

ford 460 · Feb 17, 2012

Im in need of a live center for my cincinnati i just pick up.Its a 4mt iv looked in the catolages. Enco has USA for about 80$ KBC has tmx, bision in the 120 $ range dont have any experince with any of them. and woundnt you know they dont list the same spec to compare them one shows TIR one shows max weight so i cant realy compare apples to apples. this being the first and last live center i buy Im hoping to get somthing good with out braking the bank. what have you guys been happy with.

rustytool · Feb 17, 2012

Ready tool. Expensive new but you can usually find them on e-bay for less than $150. Greg.

ford 460 · Feb 17, 2012

I know ther are good deals out there and iv spent thousands on ebay but when it comes to buying a used precision tool if i cant touch it fill it and play with it it makes me nerves

SND · Feb 17, 2012

Nakane, I've got it in mt2 and mt4, great centers.

Timw · Feb 17, 2012

Buy a M-4 to M-2 adapter and then buy a M-2 Center. Should be cheaper.

Limy Sami · Feb 17, 2012

Can you get Skoda live centres over there? best bang for buck IMO.

beckley23 · Feb 17, 2012

Item #10, 2nd picture.
http://www.practicalmachinist.com/vb/tooling-parts-accessories-sale-wanted/fs-live-centers-240400/
Harry

Kingston1100 · Feb 17, 2012

Good luck with Skoda here as well.

SND · Feb 17, 2012

Skoda is ok but a bit more $ gets a lot more refinement, much smoother bearings, less chatter on longer parts, better sealed, and so on. I have 1 skoda center here which I use for the crap I don't want to use the nakane's on.

oldbikerdude37 · Feb 17, 2012

Limy Sami said:
Can you get Skoda live centres over there? best bang for buck IMO.

Skoda is a good center.

Here is a short video clip of the use they get at work, after 10 seconds or so you will see that shaft is a good 14 feet long and heavy several hundreds of pounds, will is turning down his welds. Its a part for a saw mill. No steady Just a center working its butt off.

lathe work that is big and long - YouTube

SND said:
Skoda is ok but a bit more $ gets a lot more refinement, much smoother bearings, less chatter on longer parts, better sealed, and so on. I have 1 skoda center here which I use for the crap I don't want to use the nakane's on.

well there are centers we use for high speeds that are sweet and others that we work hard so a cheaper one is just fine in that aplication.

johnoder · Feb 17, 2012

I've had Skodas for the last thirty years. Would buy another tomorrow if I needed one

Dan from Oakland · Feb 17, 2012

I've had an Enco like beckley23's for 20 years- has held up well and I'm not very nice to it.
that's a deal for $35.

Dan

DeanQ · Feb 19, 2012

What do you use to lube the bearings on your Skoda live centers?

Forestgnome · Feb 19, 2012

oldbikerdude37 said:
Skoda is a good center.

Here is a short video clip of the use they get at work, after 10 seconds or so you will see that shaft is a good 14 feet long and heavy several hundreds of pounds, will is turning down his welds. Its a part for a saw mill. No steady Just a center working its butt off.

lathe work that is big and long - YouTube

well there are centers we use for high speeds that are sweet and others that we work hard so a cheaper one is just fine in that aplication.

Wow! A little bit of force on that one.

duckman · Feb 19, 2012

The biggest question that has not been asked is how much weight are you going to be putting on the center, I've seen a very large MT centers holding a 42,000# piece, yes it was turning slow but there was a lot of weight. So are you going to be turning heavy stuff or you just want a live center to turn work with.

Limy Sami · Feb 19, 2012

DeanQ said:
What do you use to lube the bearings on your Skoda live centers?

Ordianry ISO32 hydraulic / machine oil, from a pump oil can, via the little screw in the body for that purpose.

Whether it's right or, wrong I keep pushing oil in till it comes out past the seal clean and not laced with coolant.

LKeithR · Feb 19, 2012

Timw said:
Buy a M-4 to M-2 adapter and then buy a M-2 Center. Should be cheaper.

Can't see the point of using a #2 MT centre on a machine that has a #4 taper in the tailstock. Buy the right one the first time and it will last a lifetime. We've had good luck with Bison but if I were to pick one I'd also go with Skoda. Very well made. KBC has a very good selection of centres...

jtg · Feb 19, 2012

johnoder said:
I've had Skodas for the last thirty years. Would buy another tomorrow if I needed one

No one has mentioned Royal live centers. I have not used Skoda but have used Royal for the last 30 years on small machines 12x36 etc and had great results.

Mydrrin · Feb 19, 2012

I prefer swiss made ROTOR, they are great at a reasonable cost. Last near a lifetime. I've gone through probably 15 skodas and 3-4 royals and 2-3 rohms, Skodas are in my experience wear after 1000 hours of use, so if your tasks are pretty light on live centre work - they are a cheap option. ROTORS are very well made, we have a couple with the changeable cones for heavy work that last day in and day out, I have peace of mind that they will just work. The opposite from Skoda when you would have to check and see how they would sound before running anything that wasn't light work.

Mydrrin · Feb 19, 2012

jtg said:
No one has mentioned Royal live centers. I have not used Skoda but have used Royal for the last 30 years on small machines 12x36 etc and had great results.

I found Royal to be second best, they are solid centres. I use a Royal-Versa bull nose centre that has a 3.15 outside and goes to a 1.12 extension that is great for small diameters. It is a great option for doing many versatile parts for medium cutting. My one has lasted me through thick and thin. Hehe, had zero problems in the 5 years I have had it.

Live centers

Aluminum

Stainless

Aluminum

Diamond

Stainless

Diamond

Titanium

Aluminum

Diamond

Titanium

Diamond

Titanium

Aluminum

Stainless

Hot Rolled

Diamond

Stainless

Plastic

Hot Rolled

Hot Rolled

Similar threads