Reverse chucking

[Kerrowman]

Hi there,

I’m new to wood turning and have been working on my very first bit of turning and have come up with an issue in connection with my Chuck.

I have a Clarke International 40inch lathe that does not come with a Chuck but only a piece that bits into the wood that screws onto a thread. So I purchased the only chuck I could get for the lathe from Machine Mart which is a 4 independent jaw chuck.

When I started my turning I began with the normal headstock end piece and similarly with the tail stock (see attached Pic 1). Later I decided to part it off and turn it round so I could polish up the stub where it had been connected. For that I fitted the chuck but could not get the piece centred on its axis without a considerable wobble (see Pic 2) especially as each jaw has to be tightened separately.

So my query is how can I setup, and reverse chuck as I think it’s called, the piece to continue working on it?

Thinking ahead I imagine I will meet the same situation when I turn a bowl spigot and then reverse chuck it to work on the inside.

Thanks

Julian

 

[flh801978]

Really machine mart ought to be shot for selling that chuck as suitable fro a woodworking lathe
It’s only use is as an eccentric chuck on a wood lathe
You can get your work to run true with it but its a time consuming effort
You need a self centrering chuck designed for woodturning

 

[Kerrowman]

That chuck was referred to me by Clarke themselves! Any tips on how to get the stock centred?

 

[minilathe22]

This lathe is one of the cheapest ones available, great for trying it out but if you want to get into woodturning properly you should consider upgrading.

You want a scroll chuck which is self centering as mentioned above, turning the key moves all the jaws in or out at the same time. See this for example: Axminster Clubman SK80 Woodturning Chuck

If you want to keep the lathe, you should find a scroll chuck with the correct thread can be found, measure the diameter and spacing of the threads and we can suggest.

 

[minilathe22]

If you want to get the wood running centrally, its just trial and error, moving each jaw in and out a bit at a time until its close to running true I am afraid.

 

[paulm]

Forget the chuck, unless you have endless patience to fiddle around with it, do as much work between centres as you can and then finish the ends off the lathe would be my suggestion

 

[Kerrowman]

This lathe is one of the cheapest ones available, great for trying it out but if you want to get into woodturning properly you should consider upgrading.

You want a scroll chuck which is self centering as mentioned above, turning the key moves all the jaws in or out at the same time. See this for example: Axminster Clubman SK80 Woodturning Chuck

If you want to keep the lathe, you should find a scroll chuck with the correct thread can be found, measure the diameter and spacing of the threads and we can suggest.

The thread details are:
Diameter: 18.85mm
Length: 15.80mm
Threads: 8 over 12.15mm
So think it’s a 3/4 inch 16tpi thread?
see pic

Yes it’s a cheap lathe by many standards but I can’t afford to upgrade for a good while so I need to make the best of this for the tome being. The SK80 chuck looks good but will it fit on my thread?
I assume that chuck comes with pieces that screw onto the front.

 

[minilathe22]

Look out for a secondhand chuck which is 3/4" 16tpi, plenty cheaper than a brand new SK80. And yes, normally the chuck would come with multiple types of jaws, to fit different shapes. They are normally shaped as a circle, to clamp into a drilled hole, or onto the outside diameter of a workpiece. If the workpiece is not too long, you can work without the tailstock support, which can be handy.

 

[Kerrowman]

Ok thanks. Are there recommended online places where people sell such kit?

 

[minilathe22]

there is a for sale section on this forum, but ebay should have a wide choice.

 

[gregmcateer]

Kerrowman,
If there is a wood turning club local to you, get in touch. With covid-19, meetings won't be happening, but a good number are holding online meetings. Soon we should be able to meet a bit, so an experienced member should be happy to give you some guidance.
Also, if like me, you are impatient to improve, and want to learn the basic techniques, get onto a professional tutor - a day of hand holding will make A HUGE difference to you.
Plus, the earlier post about finishing the end nubs off the lathe is spot on - leaving a small but of waste on each end is standard practice - it confused me to start with, but finishing the end off the lathe with a sharp skew or carving tool then a quick bit of abrasive really is easy. Give it a try.

 

[Wood&StuffLtd]

Forget the chuck, unless you have endless patience to fiddle around with it, do as much work between centres as you can and then finish the ends off the lathe would be my suggestion

Ok thanks. Are there recommended online places where people sell such kit?

Some good advice has all ready been given by previous posts. You can also get good advice on turning by using YouTube. Just seeing how others do things. I consider it as tutorials from basic techniques to advanced stuff. Keep at though, turning has been my saviour during lockdown.

 

[Happy amateur]

Cornwall Association of Woodturners
https://cornwallassociationofwoodturners.co.uk
Have a chat with them

 

[Kerrowman]

Some good advice has all ready been given by previous posts. You can also get good advice on turning by using YouTube. Just seeing how others do things. I consider it as tutorials from basic techniques to advanced stuff. Keep at though, turning has been my saviour during lockdown.

Yes thank you to all the replies for their wide perspective. I’ve spent the last 6 months doing hand carving (see pic) so pleased to be trying another type of wood work that produces results a lot quicker!