# Chuck advice sought



## Alf (5 Aug 2006)

Roundy Spinny Folks, 

May I pick your brains a mo'? I'm currently deep in handle making, and it's something I find I use the lathe for rather a lot, but boring the tang holes in line is a pain. Now ideally I'd like to bore the tang hole on the lathe, but my only chuck is a screw chuck and my handle blanks are seldom long enough to accomodate the wastage that entails, and just holding it "in line" has proved to be a disaster. So obviously I'd like a super douper scrolly jawy chuck, but I simple can't justify the expense just to hold the occasional piece of 25-30mm diameter handle blank. I'm really not a turner _per se_; it's usually spindle work for furniture if it isn't handles, so I wouldn't get much use out of a proper chuck. Is there something out there that might reletively inexpensively solve my problem instead? Am I failing to think outside the box? Any brilliant ideas warmly received; ta muchly.

Cheers, Alf


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## paulm (5 Aug 2006)

Hi Alf,

Assuming your blanks are rectangular, and not pre-turned before you try to drill them ?

If so, mount the required drill bit in a Jacobs chuck (normal drill type chuck) with a morse taper suitable for your lathe, and mount the chuck in the headstock taper.

Centre the end of the blank on the end of the drill bit, and bring up the tailstock and align the centre of the tailstock drive with the centre of the other end of the blank, such that the blank is held between the drill bit and the tailstock centre.

Now position and fasten the toolrest so that it aligns with the blank and can be used as a steady/reference point.

Withdraw the tailstock slightly and insert a piece of scrap wood before retightening the tailstock if you are worried about damaging the end of the blank.

Using a firm hand grip on the blank and toolrest, switch on the lathe (having ensured it is on a slow speed first!) and wind in the tailstock quill slowly such that it exerts forwards pressure onto the blank and the drill bit starts to drill the opposite end of the blank.

As long as the blank is centred at both ends to start with and you keep some pressure against the toolrest to guide the blank straight and level then you can't help but get a parallel/straight hole.

Be prepared to have to withdraw the blank from the drill bit a couple of times though if the hole will be quite deep, so that the swarf can clear otherwise it will heat up pretty quickly and/or jam on the drill bit.

Took a long time to type but quite quick to do in practice !

As always, if you are in any doubt then don't try it as in theory you could hurt yourself in a number of ways such as getting your fingers jammed, the blank flying off etc etc, but I have always found it works for me.

When turning the blank afterwards mount it on the hole and on the mark on the tailstock end and the handle will then be turned beautifully centred around the hole.

Cheers, Paul.


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## Alf (5 Aug 2006)

Hey up, Paul, I've tried that and I must be ham fisted or something 'cos it ends in disaster.  Possibly 'cos it usually works out at three lots of drilling to make the stepped hole, so error creeps in. And then how do I mount the thing on the hole? I've got one of those stepped light pull drives which I've used in the past, but nine times out of ten it doesn't equate to the necessary size of stepped hole so it's worse than useless. I know, it almost is 'cos of my own ineptness, but I think I need something really foolproof... 

Cheers, Alf


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## paulm (5 Aug 2006)

Hi Alf,

To mount the blank using the hole, attach a spare piece of wood to your screw chuck and just turn the right size diameter peg on the end and use that with the screw chuck still attached. Should friction drive the blank without any problem with a little bit of tailstock pressure.

Could even turn the peg with a slight taper so that the sizing didn't have to be critical.

Don't know what else to suggest on the drilling though..... :-k 

Cheers, Paul.


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## Alf (5 Aug 2006)

Yeah, it's pipper.  I've got an awful lot of them to do, too. Oh well, by the end I _should_ have got good at it at any rate :roll: :lol: Thanks for expending valuable woodworking thinking time on it, Paul 

Cheers, Alf


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## Tony Spear (6 Aug 2006)

Alf, assuming you've already turned the handle end by using your screw chuck at the tang end, why not try turning up a jamb chuck to hold the rounded part of the handle whilst drilling the tang end?


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## paulm (6 Aug 2006)

Had another thought :idea: 

Not sure if it is overly complicated but might be worth it if as you say you have a few handles to turn.

Follow the same process as my first post above, but could you fabricate a right angled platform that would hook over, or clamp to, your toolrest ?

Having aligned the blank initially using the drill bit and tailstock drive, locking off the toolrest complete with attached platform to support the blank in it's correct position should then enable you to repeat drill the blank in exactly the same position each time, with or without further use of the tailstock.

In fact, if you sized all your blanks to same dimensions to start with you could set up once initially and then drill them all in one batch ?

Probably depends on the shape of your toolrest, but if that's not conducive could be worth removing the toolrest and making the platform anyway with some hardwood dowel turned to fit in the banjo and the platform attached to the dowel (easier if you part turn the dowel on some square stock and leave the upper inch or two still square ?)

Let us know what you end up doing in the end !!!

Cheers, Paul.


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## como (6 Aug 2006)

Hi Alf,

You could try a 'hollow ring centre' in your tailstock, they are normally used for long hole boring in lamps etc. but I cant see why it wouldn't work for tool handles. Turners Retreat sell them pretty cheap,

http://www.turners-retreat.co.uk/acatalog/Revolving_Centres.html

Mark


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## Alf (7 Aug 2006)

Thanks, gents. I'm going to fall back on the screw chuck and a spacer to shorten the screw length for the time being. It's a bit ponderous when you've got 14 to do #-o but we'll see how it goes. 

Cheers, Alf


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## cd (7 Aug 2006)

Hi Alf,
There are a few self made chuck idea's that could probably hold your handles ok but I cant seem to find the links I'm looking for. 

This one is the nearest I can find but the sort of thing I was thinking of was a block mounted on you screw chuck about 4" long turned round, hollowed out to about 3" deep about the diameter of you handle stock. with walls about 3-4mm thick. Cut 6 slits in it evenly spaced around, down to the the bottom of the hollow part. A bit like a giant router collet. Use 2 jubilee clips the right size to squeeze it all together (with your handle inserted  ) . Its not as difficult to make as it is to explain honestly :lol: 

cd


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## Alf (7 Aug 2006)

CD, yeah, I know the ones you mean - not a bad idea. Wonder how it'd cope with octagonal handles :-k I'll see if I can hunt down a tuit and give it a shot.

Cheers, Alf


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## Taffy Turner (7 Aug 2006)

Alf, 

If I remember correctly, one of Keith Rowley's books (I belive it's in his Woodturning - A Foundation Course) gives details of how to make a wooden spring chuck for holding wooden eggs to enable the bottoms to be turned. 

It strikes me that you could amend his design to grip your chisel handles quite easily. From memory, it would cope with octagonal handles without any problems. You may have to make a couple in different sizes to accomodate the range of handle diameters required though

I'll have a look in my copy tonight, and if you don't have the book, I can copy the relevant bits for you if you would like? 

Regards 

Gary


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## Scott (7 Aug 2006)

Taffy Turner":3k3pe3q6 said:


> If I remember correctly, one of Keith Rowley's books (I belive it's in his Woodturning - A Foundation Course) gives details of how to make a wooden spring chuck for holding wooden eggs to enable the bottoms to be turned.



Don't think it's that one Gary (or maybe I just did my usual job of looking!). He uses a simple jam chuck to make apples & pears in that book.

P'raps he moved on to another shelf in the greengrocers for his next book?? :lol: 

Cheers


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## Alf (7 Aug 2006)

Thanks, Gary - if it's that book, I have it. If not, I think I have a few articles in my various mag back issues but if not I'll yell later if I may?  Not sure if I'll get to it with this batch of handles though 

Cheers, Alf


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## Taffy Turner (8 Aug 2006)

Scott":1if79w5g said:


> Taffy Turner":1if79w5g said:
> 
> 
> > If I remember correctly, one of Keith Rowley's books (I belive it's in his Woodturning - A Foundation Course) gives details of how to make a wooden spring chuck for holding wooden eggs to enable the bottoms to be turned.
> ...



Ah - if it isn't that one, then it maybe in his other book - Woodturning Projects.

I will have a rummage when I get chance and see if I can find it.

Gary


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## CHJ (13 Aug 2006)

*Alf*, Must you use the Lathe (did I actually say that !!) how about a Vertically mounted Wooden V Block on the Pillar Drill.


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