Brad,

Steb is the name of the inventor of the center bearing the name.  Sorby licensed the patent and sells drive and live centers by that name.   There are similar knockoffs on the market.  Last I looked, the knock offs are not the same diameter as those sold by Sorby.

I have used the 1/2 inch Sorby Steb brand centers for many years for small to moderate sized spindles.  These are a form of "safety centers" that will spin with a serious catch.  In teaching kids to turn, they help reduce some risk and build skew confidence.  I like the small size for preparing spindles for small projects using irregular wood.

I have tried a couple of knockoff versions.  They are larger, but find I come back to the Sorby version.

These are not an essential tool.  But I find them handy for spindles up to 1 1/2 inch or so.  Really small stuff like knitting needles they apply too much compression.  Bigger than 2 inch is too much for the small sized one I have and I use a large drive center and live center

As usual, the answer depends on what you are doing.   

Safety centers are a good approach, and can come in several forms. 

Brad Barnhart wrote on May 17^th, 2017 at 7:41am:


Just my experiences.  They can/do slip with a catch.  What I use mine for is small dry spindles under 2" diameter and small dry face work under about 7".  For the face work I mean like a small platter, saucer, or other thin item where you may have a limited about of wood to be removed; this could also include small winged bowls (Clewes style).
I can't see where they would be any/much use with hollow forms that a 4 spur will not handle just as well or better.

For most spindles you can use your 4 prong but the steb really comes in handy where a spur would be hard to seat such as on a platter.

Mike Mills wrote on May 17^th, 2017 at 2:22pm:

That's the point, they are supposed to slip. No damage to the wood (splitting) or the turner.

Brad Barnhart wrote on May 17^th, 2017 at 7:49pm:

I understand putting the cash towards a chuck but I will mention that the Sorby brand centers cost 3 times as much as a comparable Woodcraft brand. (and that's on sale)


A little off topic
It may just be me but why would you use a drive center of any kind on faceplate work?

Brad, Nothing wrong with your posts at all. Just ask - and you will receive. Throw caution (about posting) to the wind. No such thing as a dumb question - the questioner is usually answered by a smart and experienced questionee (maybe the other way around  ).  I'm dumber than a blade of grass, but I still get answers to my stupid questions! I think some of the answers are dumber than I am though (!) Not.

ok. well, like i said, i'm new enough to this that I'm still makin' more firewood than presentable projects. Lately, family obligations & my health have kept me away from the shop. After nearly 4 months, I was finally released from pt this week, so hopefully shop time will pick up. And, like i said, i've got a few ideas for projects, but have several scroll projects to get caught up first. I appreciate your explanation, Ed. I've learned alot here & didn't want any enemies.

Brad

Like Ed, I've been confused by the various posts in this discussion.  And with several thousand hours on a lathe, I'm sometimes still feeling like a rookie when I try to go in a new direction.

A spindle could be a chair rung, a table leg, a rolling pin, a walking cane, . . .  Spindles usually are engaged at each end, and if the tailstock is backed off the spindle falls onto the lathe bed.

The spindle is turned by some sort of drive center in the headstock - a four spur drive center, a two spur drive center, or a cone or steb center.  The latter two are sometimes called safety centers, as the spindle can stop turning if there is a catch.  The drive centers almost always have a morse taper that slips into the spindle.

A faceplate is used for larger diameter "stuff."  They can be used for turning bowls and "face work" like the base of a table or floor lamp.  Screws secure the wood to the faceplate.  If the work is out of balance, many people will bring up the tailstock until the work is balanced, then the tailstock usually is not engaged.

Like a faceplate, a chuck secures the work at one end (although the tailstock may be used initially for additional safety) but does not leave screw holes in the end of the work.  Some attach a waste block to a faceplate, then adhere the work to the waste block and part off the work from the waste block when done.

With proper screws in proper number, a faceplate might be a more secure holding than a chuck.

Everyone has their own preferred leaning methods.  I started with book/video pairs by Richard Raffan, and still find them valuable reference material.   There are a number of quality videos on this forum.  A friend or neighbor can be helpful, but a turning group can be even more beneficial as one is exposed to different approaches and favored techniques.

Different types of projects - spindle,  bowl, faceplate, inside-out, . . . - involve different mounting approaches, different tools, different techniques, and so on.  It can be difficult to stay on one path initially, but you might find it helpful to focus on spindles for a while, even if just making fancy pieces of kindling, to develop confidence with some of the tools and terminology.

Brad,  the folks at Gwinnett Woodworkers on Youtube have a few scroll saw lathe combinations.