Thread: Jammed face plate

Would putting it in the fridge help as it would ld make the metal contract? (Just a thought, but I'm not that smart)


Scratch that, it still on the lathe *slaps forehead* .
Told you I wasn't smart

Damn!, he said. Does your lathe have a headstock locking pin (or indexing pin) to stop the spindle moving?
Also, check where the face plate screws onto the spindle, as many have two flats on the face plate for a
large shifting spanner or even a pair of multi-grips . Failing all that, hold the spindle the best way you can
and grab the end of the face plate with multigrips. And make sure you are turning in the right direction !
Or if you are in the southern area of Sydney, contact me.

Gary H

AND, when you finally get it off, make a washer (plastic, thin ply, fabric etc) to put on the spindle before you put the face plate on.
Then you won't have this problem again.

Love it Gabriel,
Now I can say what I was thinking

This is lathe abuse but .... if you have a spindle lock you could try jambing it on as the lathe is coing to a stop (says the man with a dozen lathes to restore)



Dave TTC
Turning Wood Into Art

If you have a spindle lock you could try uscrewing the bowl and screwing a longer piece of timber on the face plate. Then with the spindle locked give the timber a blow with a hammer

Dave TTC
Turning Wood Into Art

Originally Posted by DaveTTC

If you have a spindle lock you could try uscrewing the bowl and screwing a longer piece of timber on the face plate. Then with the spindle locked give the timber a blow with a hammer

I'm pretty sure he said the prob was compounded; he couldn't unscrew it while on the lathe. (Too big a headstock to allow access with a screwdriver perhaps?)

Lithro, how attached are you to that particular half-turned blank?

One option is to use a long spade/drill bit to drill a hole right through the side of the blank and slide a rod through to use as a lever. A spindle lock would be the best solution to lock the headstock side of things, but if not there should be provision for a plate spanner (which I always seem to bend beyond further use the first time they're needed) or (cringe, wince) room for a pair of vice-grips between the headstock & faceplate.

Don't forget that you must turn the faceplate in the right direction! I know that you already know this, but on a hot, day when all seems to be going wrong and are getting worse the harder you try, it's surprisingly easy to make a silly mistake like this. DAMHIKT.

Ooops. I did remember reading that

Dave TTC
Turning Wood Into Art

When you solve your problem i found that by putting a fibre washer on the spindle shaft you can avoid this issue.

Good luck


Router

Hi Lithro. This is a problem that just should not even be on the radar. Does your driving spindle have a nut behind the thread?

OK just done some low tech detective work. It seems you might have the carbatec mini economy lathe? I notice these have a couple of holes behind the driving thread for holding the shaft whilst trying to undo stubborn faceplates. It is a really pooh-house design, something that even Vicmarc use on their chucks but a bad design none the less. Something you can get a spanner on is way preferable in my opinion.
Don't fear, I reckon you will get it off....you have to.
Maybe for future similar problems you could grind 2 parrallel flats where those holes are so you can get a decent purchase on the spindle with a big shifting spanner etc..
Not sure what I am ranting about?
Just say so and I am happy to post a more detailed description with a few pictures.
Cheers

can you lock the spindle? screwdriver in the belt maybe?

how is the faceplate designed to the undone, spanner, rod, whatever?

a photo may help

I have gotten mine undone by using a ratchet strap on bowl and using the belt to on the drive pulley to help lock spindle

My solution is to lock the spindle with the provided hole and pin. If that is not available and the lathe is belt driven, put the belt on the biggest spindle pulley, with some clothes line or equivalent tie the belt together and wind line around the hand wheel end a bunch of times to hold the spindle.

Apply lot of penetrating oil between the spindle nose and the face plate. Heat up the hub of the face plate with a hair dryer, heat gun, or propane torch. Grab the bowl, putting a strain on it towards unwinding, give the hub of the face plate a sharp rap with a small hammer at right angle to the spindle. This will usually pop it loose. If it doesn't come with one or two raps, more juice and more heat, and try again.

The above also works to get Morse Taper fittings out of head or tail stock.

You want a sharp shock rather than a heavy hammer blow.

I am not a fan of the plastic rings between chuck or faceplate and the spindle register. If they are too thick and squishy the chuck or face plate might be a little cattywampus and not run true.

I am a believer of removing the chuck or face plate a couple times a year, liberally oiling threads and register, run the chuck or faceplate on snug and off 5 - 10 times then wiping any rust or crud off the threads and register, lightly oiling and put back on.

When I bought my 20 some year old Woodfast some years ago, the hand wheel, faceplate, drive center, and tail center were all rusted firmly in place. It took a week end of oiling, heating, tapping, and occasional bitter cursing, but it all came apart without hurting anything.

My shed is in an unheated dirt floored basement. I keep everything oiled up and take every thing apart and oil once or twice a year. I rarely get anything stuck.

Wonderful Woodfast below, short bed 20 inch swing.

Following on from the previous post.

We had a chuck stuck on a metal work lathe at the mens shed.

As men sheds go there was very soon a group of about 6 blokes standing around telling everyone else how to do it but no manner of lever + weight (including my 120kg) would shift it. Someone even suggested it must be integral to the spindle.

In walks 85 year old Ron, our resident guru with 70 (YES 70~) years of metal turning experience. He used a short lever and a medium sized hammer and gave the end of the lever a series of rapid taps and he had it loose in about 30 seconds.

This is the difference between "force", and "impact", the latter being force per unit time, which is the principle behind an impact driver.

Ron also does not recommend the leather/plastic ring behind between the chuck and the spindle for the same reason as Paul.

Yeah, be careful using the spindle lock to hold the shaft while you are undoing a jammed chuck/faceplate.

If you lathe has a hand wheel, use that to hold the shaft while you attach the jammed item.

I use a rubber mallet to jar jammed thing loose.