Veritas Center Marker

Veritas developed the center marker because such a tool didn't exist. Most center-finding devices require three hands, since you have to hold the wood, the finder and a pencil all at once.

Made from die-cast aluminum (predrilled for mounting near your lathe), it uses a knife-edged steel blade to score the end of a workpiece. You set a square or cylinder (up to 6" across) in the marker, tap it with a mallet, turn the wood approximately 90° and tap it again. The result is two score lines that intersect at the exact center. In softwoods the lines are deep enough to hold the drive center directly, so you won't need to make additional saw cuts in the drive end.

The marker even works with stock that is not square or cylindrical: score the end four times rather than twice, giving a small polygon whose center you can dot by eye. Guaranteed accurate within 5 arc minutes (1/12 of a degree). With any center finder that does not mark the wood itself, you are always out by at least half the width of your pencil line, plus the tool's own error. The marker particularly shines when work has to be replaced on the lathe after waste ends have been removed, since you can re-establish the exact center.

Facts:
Stock up to 6" across
Accurate within 5 arc minutes
Die-cast aluminum, predrilled for mounting