Dead Centers


Insert these in your headstock to support your workpiece when machining between centers. Unlike live centers, dead centers don’t spin freely, so they give you a fixed point to stabilize your material. You can also use them in the tailstock to support the end of the workpiece when friction isn’t a concern. Made of through-hardened 52100 alloy steel—a material originally developed for bearings—these centers have exceptional hardness, strength, and wear resistance. That means you'll have to replace them less often than centers made of low-quality steel. You can also apply high-pressure grease on the point to reduce friction and wear.
Pipe and tubing centers hold large-diameter, hollow workpieces. Also known as bull-nose centers.
Carbide-tipped hardened steel dead centers have better wear resistance than hardened steel dead centers. They’re ideal for high-volume work and holding highly abrasive and hard materials.
For technical drawings and 3-D models, click on a part number.
Hardened Steel | Carbide-Tipped Hardened Steel | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Morse Taper Number | Point Dia. | Point Tip Dia. | Point Lg. | Overall Lg. | TIR (Total Indicated Runout) Accuracy | Each | Each | ||
Dead Centers | |||||||||
1 | 0.475" | __ | 1 3/16" | 3 5/16" | 0.00005" | 000000 | 0000000 | 00000000 | 0000000 |
2 | 0.7" | __ | 1 5/8" | 4 3/16" | 0.00005" | 0000000 | 000000 | 0000000 | 000000 |
3 | 0.938" | __ | 2 1/16" | 5 1/4" | 0.00005" | 0000000 | 000000 | 0000000 | 000000 |
4 | 1.231" | __ | 2 11/16" | 6 3/4" | 0.00005" | 0000000 | 000000 | 0000000 | 000000 |
5 | 1.748" | __ | 3 5/16" | 8 1/2" | 0.00005" | 0000000 | 000000 | 0000000 | 000000 |
6 | 2.494" | __ | 4 1/4" | 11 1/2" | 0.00005" | 0000000 | 000000 | 0000000 | 000000 |
7 | 3.27" | __ | 5" | 15" | 0.00005" | 0000000 | 000000 | 0000000 | 00000000 |
Dead Centers for Pipe and Tubing | |||||||||
2 | 2.13" | 1/2" | 2 13/32" | 5" | 0.00005" | 0000000 | 000000 | 000000 | 00 |
3 | 2.75" | 1" | 2 33/64" | 5 3/4" | 0.00005" | 0000000 | 000000 | 0000000 | 000000 |
4 | 2.75" | 1" | 2 33/64" | 6 9/16" | 0.00005" | 0000000 | 000000 | 0000000 | 00000000 |
5 | 3.5" | 1" | 3 11/64" | 8 3/8" | 0.00005" | 0000000 | 000000 | 000000 | 00 |