It's Alive - It's A Live Tailstock Center with a Tach attack omiter

Ahh crap, I think it's actually a pressure indicator. Looking more closely at the picture, I think the gauge face reads "lbs x 10".

This is one that reads pressure, although the dial isn't visible

ROHM LIVE CENTER W/PRESSURE INDICATOR 5 #5MT eBay Item 33009763354

Pounds force. Useful for turning very thin long parts for repeatability of accuracy.

Fred

Thanks for describing the purpose, Fred, since I didn't have a clue.

My guess was that the pressure reading might've been useful in precision grinding.

WB ......... metalworking projects

Because the forces in precision grinding are low, and the operation is almost always carried out with coolant, spring loaded tailstocks generally use dead centers, carbide preferred. They don't introduce error, unlike a live center.

Harold

Great to see you comment on grinding again, Harold. It makes sense that temperatures are negligible in high precision grinding, and that dead centers would be a logical choice.

WB ......... metalworking projects