Quote Originally Posted by John M. Smith View Post
My 3520b is also 10.25 inches from bed to center. So I set the tip at center. Did not measure, but just set it to match the live center.
Glad you are more on the ball than I am! The first time I put the captured unit on the lathe to give it a try was when I had a 14 inch dry cherry burl vase hollowed as far as I could with hand tools. There was no way to see where the center was so I assumed that on a lathe with an advertized 20" swing, 10" would be right on center.

I must have had that unit off a half dozen times readjusting and tighening up every set screw after things would catch and get twisted. I was tempted to weld every joint that was supposed to be kept kept from moving by set screws. I was having trouble seeing how people could rave about how smooth it was to operate when it seemed like I was bending something every other pass. If you think thats funny, I put it on the lathe in the same situation for the next two or three things I did and got the same results.

Finally put it on the lathe once without anything in a chuck and and already partially hollowed and found out the true measurements of the lathe. My old 12 inch delta's center is exactly 6.0 above the ways but my 20.5" powermatic is obviously not 10.
Never claimed to be too bright!

Quote Originally Posted by John Keeton View Post
Baxter, I will let John respond as well, but I have found that cutting just above center to remove the catchiness you speak of - as much as 1/4" high depending on my entry hole clearance. I drill my forms, so I have very little of a nub in the center, and I drop the cutter to dead center to clean up the bottom of the form only.
Thanks John. Had a cookie jar on the lathe this afternoon and set the cutter to 10 3/8. 1/8 above center sure works better than a quarter inch below! I do drill out the center but usually try and err on the side of not going quite deep enough.