Center-Drilling the Blank (Prior to Turning)

[Eric Roach]

My boss asked me recently why I don't center-drill before turning, and one of the answers I gave is that the centers on the head and tail stock of my Jet Mini lathe are not wide enough for a 5/32" hole -- I would have to try to manually center the piece because of the play.

I know some builders pre-drill...but I wonder how they accurately center the piece. Are they just using larger lathes with bigger centers that will fill a 5/32" hole before pressing the piece, or is there a trick to it?

This is really just to satisfy a curiosity -- I'm fine with center-drilling after turning and rarely have any real problems when centering the holes on the ends.

Thanks for any insight,

Eric