Safe Driver

Especially helpful for novice woodturners, this drive center greatly reduces the damage and dangers resulting from a tool digging in. The smooth center point and surrounding ring drive the workpiece solely with friction, not teeth, so the sudden resistance of a tool catching in the wood instantly stops its rotation, sparing your tools and the workpiece from further harm.

Tightening or loosening the tailstock lets you vary the degree of holding power, adjusting the contact area from just the tip of the center point to full engagement with the 1/2" diameter ring around it for a better grip on large, heavy spindle parts. Using a set screw in the shank, you can adjust the force of the spring to handle hard or soft woods, and a second set screw lets you lock the center point at a specific projection.

As well as allowing turners of any experience level to work more safely and confidently, it also helps with production work by speeding up the process of mounting and dismounting blanks. Made of hardened carbon steel, with a #2 Morse taper shank.