Lathe Chuck

[johno_84]

Hey Everyone, I recently got a lathe but I don't have a chuck for it or any tools. As I am on a pension I cannot afford much and I was wondering if anyone had or knew of someone who may have some old chisels that they don't need anymore?

I have checked out the prices for a chuck and it is way out what I can afford. Does anyone know of a way that I could turn bowls or pens without a chuck? Or is there anyway of making a chuck like system that could do the job for me?

Thanks for taking the time to read this and I look forward to your response.

Kind regards

[Ozkaban]

Hey Everyone, I recently got a lathe but I don't have a chuck for it or any tools. As I am on a pension I cannot afford much and I was wondering if anyone had or knew of someone who may have some old chisels that they don't need anymore?

yupo, they're expensive alright. Worth it though. Gary Pye have a good quality chuck that, whicle still a bunch of money, isn't as bad as some. Worth checking out, if only to dream :rolleyes:


Does anyone know of a way that I could turn bowls or pens without a chuck?


Does your lathe have a morse taper? It's a tapering hole in the headstock spindle that will take objects like a drive centre, pen mandrel, etc. If so, then a pen mandrel is about $15 and is what you need to get going on pens. A drive centre or even a steb centre is also very useful for spindle turning. For bowls, you pretty much need a chuck.

The only lathe i know that doesn't have the morse taper is the 4 speed ones that are on ebay, commonly sold by GMC or other similar brands. A photo, or a description of the lathe would help.

Cheers,
Dave

[sjm]

I bought a chuck when I started out. Frankly, unless you buy a range of jaws, it's quite limiting in terms of the sizes of things you can make. They generally come with 50mm jaws. If you want to turn anything smaller than this, you'll need smaller jaws, ie, more dollars. Or you could do what I do, and make up a range of sacrificial face plates then glue the blank onto that. Sure, it takes longer, and it's not as convenient, but it's cheaper, and you're not restricted by chuck/jaw limitations.

[kcam]

I have checked out the prices for a chuck and it is way out what I can afford. Does anyone know of a way that I could turn bowls or pens without a chuck? Or is there anyway of making a chuck like system that could do the job for me?


There are plenty of ways to mount wood for turning without going to the expense of a scroll chuck e.g. hot glue suggest that you check out this site for suggestions http://www.woodturns.com/articles/tools/mounting_wood.htm and good luck with your turning....cheers Kerry

[pommyphil]

Scroll chucks haven't been around forever. if you check old turning books (library?) you'll find endless ingenious methods of holding work. But start saving cos chucks are soooo nice :wink:. enjoy it. Phil

[Sawdust Maker]

I agree

check out your local library - bound to have books on turning

[Randir]

For bowls, you pretty much need a chuck.You sure don't. There's an endless supply of information on the net (and in books, I'm sure, but I mostly use the net) on faceplate turning. Screw the faceplate to a bit of sacrificial timber, hotglue the blank to that, and off you go. Obviously not as nice as a chuck, but as you say, the price is pretty painful.

Check out this (http://aroundthewoods.com/) guy, and in particular this (http://aroundthewoods.com/tealights.shtml) beginners project, to get you started.

It might be hard with no 'traditional' chisels, but you can make your own tools to a certain extent. Search 'oland tools', the site above has a section on them too.

Brendan

[Skew ChiDAMN!!]

:whs:

Faceplates and jam chucks (mounted on faceplates :; ) were the mainstay of turning for a loooong time. Scroll chucks are only a relatively recent innovation.

FWIW, my recommendation is to save your pennies for a scroll chuck but don't be in a rush to buy one. Learn how to use jam chucks and faceplates first.

Jam-chucks in particular can be fiddly and frustrating, but their use is a skill well worth mastering as they can hold forms that a scroll chuck never will... or that you'd have to buy very exxy jaws for.

[Ozkaban]

You sure don't. There's an endless supply of information on the net (and in books, I'm sure, but I mostly use the net) on faceplate turning. Screw the faceplate to a bit of sacrificial timber, hotglue the blank to that, and off you go. Obviously not as nice as a chuck, but as you say, the price is pretty painful.

Check out this (http://aroundthewoods.com/) guy, and in particular this (http://aroundthewoods.com/tealights.shtml) beginners project, to get you started.

It might be hard with no 'traditional' chisels, but you can make your own tools to a certain extent. Search 'oland tools', the site above has a section on them too.

Brendan

:doh: yeah, forgot about faceplates and the like. brain fade :rolleyes:

you, and skew, et. al. are very right - you can go a long way before a chuck becomes necessary. They're a rather nice convenience but they aer expensive.

Still, back to a question I posed - what sort of lathe is it? Do you have the morse taper in it?

Cheers,
Dave

[johno_84]

Hey, Thank you very much for getting back to me about what I can do with regards to a chuck. I will certainly take a picture and get the info about the lathe very soon. I believe in working with what I got and I need to make mistake to learn, that is one reason why I didnt want to get a chuck straight up, well that and the money.

Thank you very much again for advise. I look forward to the day I could give some advise to a beginner like me. :2tsup:

[hughie]

johno, for tools have a look at oland type tools. These can be made very easily and are very effective. As for chucks have a look at screw chucks you can make and mount them off a face plate.

http://www.woodworkforums.com/f8/made-few-wheels-my-homemade-screw-chuck-99807/

Homemade Chucks - The Woodworkers Institute (http://www.woodworkersinstitute.com/page.asp?p=633)

How to Use Screw Chucks for Woodturning Lathe? | Woodworking Plans | Wooden Projects | Wood Workshop (http://www.woodworkingplans.tv/tools/how-to-use-screw-chucks-for-woodturning-lathe)


oland tools

1/4 (http://www.planethart.com/tools/?PN=78)

http://www.woodworkforums.com/f8/making-your-own-pseudo-oland-tool-79308/

heres a good video of one in action

YouTube - ‪Roughing with the Oland Tool‬‏

[Brisruss]

Johno,
What size is the thread on your lathe spindle? Someone might have a faceplate lying around but we need the thread size and number of threads per inch.

Does your lathe have a brand and model?

Cheers,
Russ