In article ,
Dudley Henriques wrote:

skym wrote:
While making a turn to base and final recently, I was aware that I was
going to be wide with my normal turn from downwind through base to
final, so I banked more to keep as close to the runway centerline as
possible. I kept thinking about the infamous and usually fatal stall/
spin by some pilots in this situation, I kept thinking that if I keep
the ball centered, even with a very steep bank, that I would be ok and
not auger in. Some of you instructors and old pros...is this correct?
(Not that I intend to make it a practice.)

Ask your instructor to explain to you what happens to the stall speed in
a LEVEL turn as opposed to the stall speed in an unloaded gliding turn
from base to final.
This is a distinction you should definitely be aware of.

Dudley,

I'm not sure what you mean by "unloaded gliding turn". As long as your
descent rate is constant, the loading in a turn is exactly the same as it
is during level flight. A turn is only unloaded if your descent rate is
increasing, as it is during the second quadrant of a lazy eight. But, most
people don't fly their base-to-final turns like that; they fly them at a
(more or less) constant descent rate.

Either that, or I'm mis-understanding what you're trying to say.