Brand New Wood Turner - Question about Centers

[hollislocke]

At this very moment, I can't remember the model of my lathe. I just picked it up and it is in a different garage as I don't have room. I'll be able to post it tomorrow.

I bought it used and it turns out to not have any centers. Now, as I have been looking online, I've seen various numbers such as 5/8 and 1". What is this number referring to? For example, a 4 prong drive center that comes in two sizes. Is the 5/8 or 1 inch the width of the prongs? Does it refer to some other size?

If I'm looking for a tapered center, are they pretty much all the same?

I'm new enough that I might be asking the wrong questions, so please feel free to answer the correct questions for me. :)

[hollislocke]

I have a Rockwell/Delta 46-499 variable speed wood lathe.

Got it at auction from the local university.

[aametalmaster]

You should need #2MT centers. They are tapered. Sears has them if you have a local store. Here is a link to some other Delta lathes...Bob
http://www.lathes.co.uk/delta/index.html
http://www.lathes.co.uk/delta/page3.html

[hollislocke]

Bob, thank you very much! I've been searching online for that specific model to see what the various specs might be, but only found those with similar (Not exact) model numbers.

[aametalmaster]

Might want to poke around here too...Bob
http://www.owwm.com/home.aspx

[hollislocke]

SUCCESS!! The centers came in, I ripped a 2x4 down to 2x2, put it on and turned my first piece! It's completely non functional, but I turned a square piece of wood into a round piece of wood!

Now, I have questions about various tools for threading onto the lathe spindle. Let's say I wanted to tap a piece of waste stock to glue onto pieces to turn. Is there a standard size for the threaded end of my spindle? Again, I'm finding that I need to ask these questions after I've left the location of the tool, so I can't just run down and measure.

Once I know the spindle size/threads, what is the next piece of equipment I should be looking at? Scroll chucks?

Anything else I should be asking?

Thanks!

[aametalmaster]

You can get a chuck at Sears also. I don't know your spindle thread right off but maybe you will need a faceplate to bolt say a bowl blank onto...Bob

[hollislocke]

Bob - I found the spindle size. I have a 1x8. I've found a few items on both Amazon and Sears.com (our local Sears carries absolutely nothing that has to do with lathes. It's quite sad.) And after looking through the box of tools that I got with the lathe, I found two different small faceplates for my spindle that you can screw some stock too. I might try adding a piece of wood that I can use as a glue block and see how that goes.

I've seen some people mention using hot glue. Is that strong enough for turning? What other kind of glue should I use?

[aametalmaster]

http://www.woodturns.com/articles/tools/mounting_wood.htm