Help Needed

[Jack Putnam]

I Have a Craftsman Wood Lathe which I used for the first time last week. When I was using it I noticed that I was getting some smoke from the tailstock end.

It was actually burning the end of the wood. So I put a couple of pieces of bar soap in the end where the point goes into the wood. It stopped the smoking and the burning.

Is there some kind of ball bearing device I can insert into the front part of the tailstock so it will turn with the wood that is being turned? The wood lathe is a model 113.228160 12 inch. I don't have any other information on it there was no manual with it when I bought it from a private party.

I appreciate any help you can give me. Thanks.

[RollaJohn]

A drop of oil at the point of contact in the wood with the dead center usually takes care of it. Or spend some money and get a live center to fit your tailstock. :) :)

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

Jack

You snuck in here on us and first let me say welcome aboard. I hope you stop by and give us a little background on yourself. Just a heads up we have many different forums here and one is turning so this question would probably been better asked there but since it is here the answer John gave you is right on and your best bet is to get yourself a livecenter that can be in various shapes and lengths. If you need more info please ask. You will get answers here that will be very helpful for sure.

[Gunny]

I spent $30 on eBay for a Live Center set that came with 6-8 different tips and I've found ways to use all of them.
However, the one live center I use about 70+% of the time is the 60 degree live center. I found it on the Grizzly website (page 122) for only about $12.
Another way to stop the burning is to use a drop of automatic transmission fluid. It seems to last longer before you have to use more.

[PaulD]

Jack, I started turning on what appears to be the same lathe you have and had exactly the same problem. I tried the oil approach too, but that was only a short-term fix as the center of the tail end does not rotate at all and does eventually burn due to friction. The solution? A $14.99 replacement live center kit from Woodcraft #141060 . You can spend more, but the live centers in this kit do have bearings and should serve you well until the day comes when you decide to upgrade to another lathe.