More chuck jaws

[BobL]

Following the successful construction of this set of jaws in Feb;
http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com.au/attachment.php?attachmentid=68294&stc=1&d=1204289320
Details of the construction are at the end of this (http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com.au/showthread.php?p=692549#post692549) thread

I decided to make me a set of these jaws.
http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com.au/attachment.php?attachmentid=72012&stc=1&d=1209194788
They are a touch beefier than the standard jaws and open from 76 to 96 mm.

Here they are from the front open.
http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com.au/attachment.php?attachmentid=72013&stc=1&d=1209194788

And closed;
http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com.au/attachment.php?attachmentid=72014&stc=1&d=1209194788
I'm not worried about the gaps between the jaws but they differ by about 1/2 mm across the diagonal dameters so I need to put the whole chuck and jaws into the big metal work lathe at work and skim the outside so that they are evenly round when closed.

Lotsa brass metal dust with this one, like making a bowl really.
Could be a year bowls and I don't mean lawn.

[dai sensei]

You are certainly a craftsman Bob, they look great.

[TTIT]

Somehow missed the first set you made Bob - gutsy effort mate!:2tsup: Very impressed with this set also - often think about having a go at some myself for those 'tricky' situations but how much does a chunk of brass that size cost ???

Just a thought, but if you close up the gap and then true the dovetail, you'll never be able to close up on the perfect sized circle - nowhere to go so to speak :shrug:

[Pat]

I'm not worried about the gaps between the jaws but they differ by about 1/2 mm across the diagonal dameters so I need to put the whole chuck and jaws into the big metal work lathe at work and skim the outside so that they are evenly round when closed.


Bob, I wouldn't worry about the gaps, my Teknatool jaw sets have them and it doesn't worry me:U

Good job on the jaws, both sets. Now for the rude question, how much did it cost for the brass?

[BobL]

Cheers guys.

I agree about trying to close the gaps, it's not worth the trouble. What's important is the cross diagonals are the same, otherwise when two opposite side are gripping the other two won't - I can sort that on the big lathe at work.

The cost of the brass, well I agree, I wouldn't start out to do this unless I had ready access. It's hard to believe but the piece I used was a 55 mm long piece of scrap from a 3" cylindrical bar. We have a real treasure trove set of scrap boxes at work (steel, ally, SS, brass, copper, plastic etc) built up over 40 years of building small items of lab equipment and breaking down old bits of lab gear etc and the techos that have run the place have been real hoarders. There is always some major bit of gear being tossed out. I spent half of yesterday taking apart another old X-ray machine. There were SS hose clamps, brass plate and nuts and bolts, Lots of 6 mm hex and torx screws and some beaut pieces of 3 mm steel plate, all due for the skip. The deal with the workshop is (set by me as I am the boss); use scraps or pay, log use and materials, use proper OHS, keep the workshop clean, machines in good order, and supplies up to the mark, always replace broken bits etc. (there are security cameras so no one can fiddle things too much) Every now and then I buy a can of cutting lube, a pack of wet&dry, or, if I buy a full sheet of something, I cut it up take what I want and leave the rest behind - there are big sheet good storage racks which suits me cos I can't store these sheets at home. I also chip in on general servicing like last month I cleaned out the cooling oil sump and pump on the big lathe - no one likes that job so I scored brownie points with that one. The techo that runs the place keeps an eye on me even though I am his boss, nothing I do is ever up to his standard and he is amused that I like working in the shop.

[scooter]

Yer making me sick, Bob.

Great work, mate. :)

[hughie]

Bob,

Nice bit of machining. :2tsup: um um just one query.

The wall thickness on the larger dia jaws looks a little thin or is just the way the light plays on it?

[BobL]

Bob,

Nice bit of machining. :2tsup: um um just one query.

The wall thickness on the larger dia jaws looks a little thin or is just the way the light plays on it?

Thanks Hughie. The wall thickness is about 0.5 mm thicker all round than the steel 50 mm diam standard jaws. I would have liked them thicker but for holding a bowl (max 12" diam on my Woodfast Midi) under compression (which is how I plan to used them) they should be OK. There's also quite a bit of strength in the fact that the walls are curved - ie compression is on the curve.

[Harry72]

Nice work Bob, they look pretty smicko

[OGYT]

I'm the color of golf course grass!
Look well done to me! Good machining!

[littlebuddha]

I hope you saved all that brass dust, or is it gold dust these days, may as well be at the price of dust:D Nice going on the chuck jaws another pricey thing. Looks as though you made a real nice job on them, makes good sence as well if access to metal lathe, wish i were back at school loved metal work:2tsup: whats next????..LB

[rsser]

I'm the color of golf course grass!


That'd be brown Downunder Al ;-}

[OGYT]

That'd be brown Downunder Al ;-}

Well, to clarify things then... just color me green with envy. :D

[wheelinround]

:)(:brava Bob way to much time on your hands, time spent scrounging in the scrap pile I am jealous :B envious and in awe magnificent the gaps as the others have aid wouldn't matter as long as they run true in all positions.

You did number them I hope :rolleyes:

Ray

[BobL]

Cheers guys,

The guys at work are mildly amused at seeing the boss from time to time in the skip outside our building. I rarely know ahead of time what is being tossed out so I take my chances like everyone else. My advantages are my parking bay is only about 5 bays away from the skip and my vehicle, a commercial van, can hold a lot of stuff!


You did number them I hope :rolleyes:

http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com.au/attachment.php?attachmentid=72067&stc=1&d=1209253425

[wheelinround]

:doh: no wonder I couldn't see it Bob he glare off that golden brass :2tsup:

do you take orders:U

[Calm]

The deal with the workshop is (set by me as I am the boss); use scraps or pay, log use and materials, use proper OHS, keep the workshop clean, machines in good order, and supplies up to the mark, always replace broken bits etc. (there are security cameras so no one can fiddle things too much) .........I also chip in on general servicing like last month I cleaned out the cooling oil sump and pump on the big lathe - no one likes that job so I scored brownie points with that one. The techo that runs the place keeps an eye on me even though I am his boss, nothing I do is ever up to his standard and he is amused that I like working in the shop.

Great job Bob,:2tsup: it is good to see a boss that realises example is still the best way to get true respect from others.:2tsup::2tsup:

Cant wait to see what the next "project" is.

[artme]

:brava:
Wonderful stuff Bob!!

Now, About a set of shark jaws for................:D:D

[BobL]

:brava:
Wonderful stuff Bob!!

Now, About a set of shark jaws for................:D:D

OK - how about these (http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com.au/showthread.php?p=604967#post604967)!

http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com.au/attachment.php?attachmentid=57914&stc=1&d=1192324367

[Sawdust Maker]

I could use a set of those for (I'm not telling)

Given what you have got out of that skip, I for one would be interested in guided tours:D

[BobL]

I could use a set of those for (I'm not telling)

Given what you have got out of that skip, I for one would be interested in guided tours:D

Now I actually paid money (~$2) for that handle from a forum member - its WA karri! The 1/2" high tensile steel bolt cost about $2 and the spray paint cost about $1.

The steel hook was cut from a piece of 1/2" thick steel plate from the base of an old x-ray machine while the rest is fashioned from some 2" galv water pipe I picked up during council clean up. Twas a hoot using the oxy to cut out the hook.

[joe greiner]

Yer making me sick, Bob.

Great work, mate. :)

So please tell us, Bob: How much do they charge you for letting you work there? :D

Joe

[BobL]

So please tell us, Bob: How much do they charge you for letting you work there? :D

Joe

Well, without sounding too melodramatic, what I can tell you is the the folks in my university unit work their butts off on shoestring budgets, and it's one of my continual jobs as a unit head to convince my bosses of that. Some of the staff have to regularly take time out of their regular duties to raise funds just to buy their own computers or other equipment, and any small perks that we have are more than well deserved and I wish I could offer them much more than we do.

[wheelinround]

Well, without sounding too melodramatic, what I can tell you is the the folks in my university unit work their butts off on shoestring budgets, and it's one of my continual jobs as a unit head to convince my bosses of that. Some of the staff have to regularly take time out of their regular duties to raise funds just to buy their own computers or other equipment, and any small perks that we have are more than well deserved and I wish I could offer them much more than we do.

Warning Rant

Bob maybe if they cut funding to interstae & OS trips and all these dinners and functions to pat themselves on the backs giving out awards their would be more money for the staff and real needs.:D Not any different to corporate.

[BobL]

Warning Rant

Bob maybe if they cut funding to interstae & OS trips and all these dinners and functions to pat themselves on the backs giving out awards their would be more money for the staff and real needs.:D Not any different to corporate.

Yeah - some of it is external with the feds wanting this monitored and that logged etc needing an army of minions but a lot is internal. Here's a figure you may find interesting, in our area, of the fees and charges that the students bring in, less than one third is spent in teaching the students. The rest goes on central admin and IT, maintenance, gardens, library (of course we need that), marketing, planning, audits, etc. I don't know of any other outfit where it takes 2/3rd of the income to administer the operation!

BTW I travel interstate and OS about a half dozen times a year but the university rarely pays for these, the vast majority comes from external research grants or other sources.

[BobL]

I've started making a new dust handling system for my new shed using 150 mm PVC pipe. I cut up a few segments of pipe and took them to work to square off and tidy up the cut ends using the big metal work lathe. This lathe grips the pipe well, (If anything - too well) but if the cutting tool grabs it pulls the pipe out of line and even can tear the pipe apart and make you jump a bit. To minimize this problem I had to tighten the chuck less so that if the cutting tool grabbed the pipe, the pipe would turned on the chuck but because the chuck is made of steel it then scratched the inside of the PVC pipe.

To help with this problem, and so I could trim and tidy pipe ends at home on my WW lathe, I made some 150 - 166 mm soft jaws using some HDPE. I looked at the Nova soft jaws but they only open out to ~135 mm on a Nova G3 chuck so they were too small. Mine start at 150 at the outer lip and expand to 166 mm to cope with trimming the 150 mm pipe couplings which are around 160 mm ID.
http://www.woodworkforums.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=163168&stc=1&d=1299160916
http://www.woodworkforums.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=163169&stc=1&d=1299160916
I used the same method as the chucks shown earlier in this post.
The two steps hold 150 and 100 mm pipe. Even though it is slippery stuff HDPE grips the pipe enough to apply a decent cutting pressure, but if the cutting tool grabs the pipe turns on the soft jaws and does not damage the pipe..

To steady the pipe at the other end I made up an internal steady from 3 discs of PVC left over from making some blast gates (http://www.woodworkforums.com/f200/150-mm-blast-gates-132018/). The discs ride on a pair of bearings inset into each end of the set of discs.
http://www.woodworkforums.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=163170&stc=1&d=1299160916

Here's how the stead sits away from the end of the pipe so that I can square and bevel the ends of the pipe.
http://www.woodworkforums.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=163171&stc=1&d=1299160916

Here's a shot from the other end.
http://www.woodworkforums.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=163172&stc=1&d=1299160916

So far it works OK but my steady is a tad sloppier than I would like and I think I will turn up an new one.

[RETIRED]

Pics Bob?