Wood Turners Glossary
A center which has a Morse taper, has no bearings, does not have moving parts and fits in the head stock or tail stock. Typically, the dead center is used in the headstock as a spur drive. When used in a tailstock, it causes friction, which is not typically desired in lathes working wood.
Desiccant beads are small silica gel beads that absorb moisture from air. In wood turning, these beads may be used to help dry green wood, and minimize cracking of the wood.
For more information, see https://www.scienceworld.ca/stories/ever-wonder-about-silica-gel/
Diamond surfaced tool used to smooth/even/flatten/clean Aluminum Oxide and other grinding wheels. Diamond dresser is not required with the CBN Grinding Wheel, which will remain clean and even.
If you use a downhill cut, you are using your skew, bowl gouge or general tool in a manner that the lower fibers of the wood support the upper layers of the wood during the cut. In the following animation, you see that the lower layers support the cut as the gouge moves down the slope.
A draw bar is a method of keeping a morse taper seated by clamping it in place. The draw bar screws into a female thread that’s often present on the small end of the morse taper, and presses on the revolving hand wheel or bearing that’s at the opposite end of the headstock spindle to the lathe bed. Since lathes differ, the draw bar isn’t something you can generally buy. But, you can make one, making the use of your lathe safer. See the video by Mike Peace for a more complete description of the drawbar and a description on how you can make a draw bar.
A drive center, also known as a grip center, is used in the driving end of a machine (headstock). It is often used in woodworking or where softer materials are machined.
It consists of a dead center surrounded by hardened teeth, which bite into a softer workpiece allowing the workpiece to be driven directly by the center.