Hello,
First, I’ve looked at all your lathe books and found them very helpful. I have a Jet mini lathe. Every time I use my drive center (two-spur type), it gets stuck — every time. The knockout bar won’t budge it, and following the advice in your book, I have taken to using a metal rod and a sledge hammer so as not to damage the bearings. Each time I insert the drive center, I clean the Morse taper on the drive center and wipe the inside of the spindle, so I don’t think dirt or grit is the problem. I don’t hammer the piece to be turned onto the spur center, as I have seen in turning videos, but rather let the tailstock spindle push the piece onto the spur center as the tailstock is advanced. I don’t hear any squealing when the lathe is running, and there is a fair amount of resistance when I turn the headstock handwheel. When the lathe is off and the shop is quiet, however, I do hear a faint high-pitched noise when I turn the handwheel. It’s not a squeal, exactly, but it is discernable. Do you have any suggestions? About the bearings: How will I know when bearings are really bad or are about to go? Thanks for taking the time to respond.
Robert