These multi-tooth drive centres feature a ring of teeth around the circumference of the tip, with a central drive point to give accurate positioning. This design gives an extremely strong grip, thanks to the many points of contact in the timber, which also minimises the risk of splitting the timber.
As the grip is spread across many small teeth rather than 4 or 6 prongs, it is possible to grip the timber sufficiently just by using the clamping pressure of the lathe tailstock - no need to drive the tips into the wood with a mallet.
Another benefit of this design is that your work can be removed from the lathe and accurately repositioned, using the centre point and ting of teeth as an accurate guide.
These drives also give a fantastic grip to paper-joint wood blanks, as the ring of teeth grip on many points across the drive’s circumference across both sections of wood on either side of the joint.
The 32 mm diameter drive centre is ideal for holding side-grain bowl blanks. It is also suitable for holding natural-edged bowls between centres, particularly if seated inside a 32 mm diameter recess, for extra support from the recess walls.