Operation "Woody" Part 1: Drive Center

I originally tried to make the teeth of the wood center out of some 3/4" stock, but I drilled the center hole too big and accidentally messed up the drive teeth by a combination of not hitting my dimensions or using a faulty indexing head.

I decided this time I would just make it out of a square shaped stock with bigger diameter.  I turned it down to 13/16" and drilled a smaller center hole.  This way, there would be more room for the teeth.  Next I went to the milling machine and put it in a vise and milled the teeth one at a time with an end stop on the other end.  Since the end was squared previously, I could mill the teeth perfectly timed 90 degrees apart.  Also this setup was much more rigid than a rickety indexing head.

I utilized a left handed endmill so I could cut the direction I wanted without climb-cutting.

Next, in the lathe I bored a 60 degree inside taper to fit over a dead center.  I had since sawed off the square part.

In the whole fiasco of getting my machine shipped, I ended up getting two boxes of tools and four #3 Morse dead centers that I had no idea what to do with.  So when life gives you centers, make more useful centers.
This is the drive tip slipped onto the dead center.  I had to find a way to secure it with a little pressure while welding it so it would remain on the 60 degree center .  I used a piece of aluminum with a hole in it for the point to go through and apply pressure to the drive teeth.  On the other side, I wedged a couple chuck removing wedges to make it fit perfectly within a cutout piece and be secure while welding.

To be sure I didn't accidentally get weld spatter on the taper, I protected it with aluminum foil.

Here is a picture after welding it with some welding peripherals.

After that, I had it flame hardened and quenched in oil.  Since the drive teeth were made of chromoly, it was hardenable. 

I insisted it was done, but my supervisor at work decided to grind it for me.  Now it looks like a legitimate professional wood center, minus the craters left from welding.

Oh yeah, no piece of wood would dare come undone under the clamping wrath of this drive center.

"Operation Woody"

Part 2: Tool Rest

Part 3: Chisels