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Sorby Steb Centre or PSI Crown drive

Buckeye

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I wanted to buy the Sorby steb centre and a fellow turner in the club I am a member of told me that he had bought a similar one from Warco for about £10 while the Sorby one was about £42. I phoned Warco and the guy said that yes they imported a shed load of them from China, but that they were forced to stop selling them.

I found that PSI also sell a similar product and it looks like the only difference between the Sorby one and the PSI one is the sizes they both do slightly different sizes.

However the Sorby ones are approx. £42 and I found one on Amazon.com from PSI at £21.79 inc postage and handling and import fees deposit.

I don't believe there will be any import fees, but I will let you know when it arrives.

Amazon.com: PSI Woodworking LCENTSS22 No. 2 MT with 1-Inch Crown Super Wood Lathe Drive Center

Peter
 

Doug

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I'll be interested to hear what you think of the PSI, Peter

Whilst Sorby do tend to be at the higher end of the market price wise, of the things I've bought from them I`ve never had a problem with any.
 

Grump

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The most useless piece of junk I have ever purchased.
What taper do you have?
If it's mt1 I can send it with the thread chasers.
 

Jim

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I'll be interested to hear what you think of the PSI, Peter

Whilst Sorby do tend to be at the higher end of the market price wise, of the things I've bought from them I`ve never had a problem with any.

That is my reflections too Doug, and it seems that Sorby are the only ones here in the UK that sell these items ... :thinks:
 

Buckeye

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I'll be interested to hear what you think of the PSI, Peter

Whilst Sorby do tend to be at the higher end of the market price wise, of the things I've bought from them I`ve never had a problem with any.

Neither have I. I have quite a bit of Sorby stuff, I will let you know when it arrives.
 

Buckeye

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No I have 2 MT and 3MT. They have these in the club and they are brilliant for off-centre turning, they grip really well.

Peter
 

Buckeye

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That is my reflections too Doug, and it seems that Sorby are the only ones here in the UK that sell these items ... :thinks:

Yes Sorby have some kind of hold on this, that's why it is so expensive from them.

Mind you if I end up not liking it I should still be able to sell it for more than I paid, which is always good:banana:

Peter
 

Grump

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Originally made by Stebcraft but they were such a flop it needed a name behind to sell.
Sorby bought the licence to manufacture and promoted them to get their money back.
They don't actually do anything that a spigot or prong won't do, except stop any time you want to put some grunt on the work.
Total utter waste of funds, yet again a "must have product" that one cannot do without.
 

Buckeye

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I don't know about a must have product, but I have seen and used it in context of off centre turning and light cuts are the order of the day, the stuff I have seen done with these is not the sort of stuff I would need to have any kind of grunt on the work, but I appreciate they wouldn't be the tool to use for everything, but then neither is a 4 prong drive.

Can I ask why did you buy it?

Peter
 

Buckeye

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I'll be interested to hear what you think of the PSI, Peter

Whilst Sorby do tend to be at the higher end of the market price wise, of the things I've bought from them I`ve never had a problem with any.

The drive came last week, but I haven't had time to use it, but on inspection it seems to differ from the Sorby drive in that the teeth are angled and it looks like it will grip more positively. I will take a photo later so that you can see what I mean.

Peter
 

Woody

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I will be getting one of those or the cone centre I tried to do tri centre vase a few days ago but I only have a 4 prong drive and they don't work on that type of turning so I will be investing in one or the other I have used the cone centre for this type of turning some time ago but never the steb so I may give them a go people who have used them always recommend them and I'm not talking about the so called experts who want to promote them I for one will be very interested in seeing how you get on with it
 

Buckeye

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Yes, I have used the sorby ones at the club for the off-centre turning and they do the job perfectly well, looking at this one I think it will have more grip that Brian complained about, although when you have got an off-centre piece of wood spinning around I still would want to apply to much tool force.

Here are a couple of photos to show the angle on the teeth as opposed to the sorby stebs which have straight teeth. If you want to borrow mine, I doubt I will get to christen it this side of Xmas, PM me if you would like to borrow it. I have a cone live centre for the tailstock, which is fine as you don't need the drive at that end.

Here is a picture of the Sorby Steb centre

Peter
 

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Woody

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Not sure about that one I think the steb looks to be a better bit of engineering I'm not sure if it is the angle of the photo but the prongs don't seem to be consistent and some have flats on the ends were it looks as if it hasnt been machined on one side of the prongs on some of them but a file would soon fix that I think I will hold fire till you have given it a trial run thank you for taking the time to show it to us
 

Doug

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Thanks for the photos Peter.

The only down side I can see of what looks like a directional saw tooth pattern is there could be slippage if you were running the lathe in reverse.
That said when turning between centers it`s not often that you would want to run the lathe in reverse & I imagine it would work fine when sanding.
 

Jim

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I bought the Sorby one a couple of years ago Peter, (the top right one in your link) but not used it yet so can't comment on it, but i am surprised of the the difference in cost, especially as the one you show does look well made ... :winking:
 

Buckeye

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Not sure about that one I think the steb looks to be a better bit of engineering I'm not sure if it is the angle of the photo but the prongs don't seem to be consistent and some have flats on the ends were it looks as if it hasnt been machined on one side of the prongs on some of them but a file would soon fix that I think I will hold fire till you have given it a trial run thank you for taking the time to show it to us

I took a close look at it under a magnifying glass and there are a couple of inconsistencies in finish, I ran a small brass brush on the teeth and I saw that it was the black finish was in places that it shouldn't be, thereby making it look poorer engineering than it really is. But the difference in price more than makes up for any poor finishing that I can brush away.

Peter
 

Buckeye

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Thanks for the photos Peter.

The only down side I can see of what looks like a directional saw tooth pattern is there could be slippage if you were running the lathe in reverse.
That said when turning between centers it`s not often that you would want to run the lathe in reverse & I imagine it would work fine when sanding.

I did think about reverse, but I would only use reverse in this instance for sanding and I don't see that as a problem. I really do think it will have more grip than the sorby steb, but that has never been a problem for me anyway.

The sorby steb is also promoted as a safety measure for complete beginners, where, if they get a serious dig in the spindle will stop spinning.

Peter
 

Woody

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You would be able to see the quality better than us having it in the flesh so to speak photos dont always tell the truth do they so if santa dont bring me one I will be getting one in the new year thank you for showing and explaining
 

Doug

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The sorby steb is also promoted as a safety measure for complete beginners, where, if they get a serious dig in the spindle will stop spinning.

I`ve had the Sorby steb for 8 years & find in very useful, Brian has pointed out some of its short comings most of which can be easily overcome. It certainly does have its advantages the one you mention being a very good one & if I`m honest it`s the only headstock center I use these days for turning any timber other than green wood.
 

Grump

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Here's my one I have owned it for gods knows how long dunno what make don't care it's crap.
I really mean that it is real crap, a total utter waste of money, really the worst single tool I have ever purchased.
It needs a clutch, the moment it's touched it stops turning, In fact I will weld the bloody thing up so I can use it.
I couldn't even give it away it's that bad.
It really does spin so freely its like trying to turn between two live centres a real pile absolute POOH if you buy one don't get one of these.
 

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