spindle thread for chuck

[RedRush]

Hi All,

i'm a newbie at turning and got myself a cheap Bell and Carroll lathe to practice on. This is all well and good, but i now want to practice with a chuck which was not supplied with the lathe. I've found a couple of chucks for sales but they have different thread mounts. I don't have any paper work for my lathe and searching the net doesn't come up with anything. My question is: How do i find out what thread mount my lathe is so i can buy a chuck?

Thanks for looking, and thanks in advance for any help you could give.

Regards,

Paul.

[Paul39]

If it is not threaded measure the end of the spindle.

If it is threaded, measure the end of the spindle thread tips to thread tips with both a metric rule and an inch rule. If you have a dial or vernier caliper that will be more accurate.

Then using the inch rule, count how many thread tips are in an inch.

Metric is measured by how many mm thread to thread.

1" X 8 threads per inch is common

3/4" X 16 tpi

5/8" no thread

My German Hegner lathe is 33mm X 3.5mm thread to thread. My old Delta has a 1" X 8 tpi.

I think AU uses 30mm X 3.5

Below is a company that sells adapters, this will give you an idea of sizes.

http://woodenpost.com/products/change_spindle_size_on_lathe.htm

Once you have determined the spindle size and thread, you can ask the chuck manufacturer if they have the adapter to fit your lathe. Most chucks are made with a large back bore and adapters to fit various lathes fit in the back of the chuck.

Good luck on finding a chuck, and welcome to what may become an addiction.

[Paul39]

Found this:

http://www.bellcarroll.com.au/main/page_contact_us.html

[terry arnold]

Paul
I had a similar problem a while back but I was lucky enough that a nut from the tool rest was the same size and thread as the spindle so I took to a local engineering firm and they were able to measure it for the correct size. I hope you have the same luck.


Cheers Terry