Struggling

[Garno]

Hi,
Last week I purchased this from Ebay for £125 (best offer) paying cash for it axminster wood lathe | eBay It included 6 chisels and some other stuff.

I have turned the thing on the right hand side around to the correct way and noticed some very light surface rust, the plate covering the belts on the pully at the bottom was on back to front, well it looked back to front as the only way I could get the screw holes to line up was to turn it around, the more I look at it the less confident I feel that it is actually an Axminster lathe, I can't find a single axminster logo on it anywhere.

But that is not where I am struggling as it does seem to be a nice lathe to my untrained eye, my problem is that I just cannot seem to move the chuck, let alone take it off, that is on there. Do I need to get something like this? Axminster Woodturning Chuck Removal Spanner ? my problem is I feel that the chances are that it is a generic chuck and it may not fit it. my chuck looks similar to this one (although it only has 2 numbers on the top) 4" WOOD LATHE CHUCK 4 JAW SELF-CENTERING WOOD TURNING TOOLS 1'' 8TPI/ M33 THREAD | eBay I have spent the last 3 hours trying to right everything and have given up for today. Whit's end and all that

 

[marcros]

Can you take some pics of what you have changed and what you are struggling with.

 

[marcros]

Your tailstock in the eBay pic is on backwards. It is an Axminster lathe, even if not logo'd. The chuck looks ok to me. No idea what brand but it looks much better than the cheap rubbish. It may well be the one in your link. Are you saying that the headstock doesn't rotate with the chuck or that it does and you can't remove the chuck from the thread. If the whole lot doesn't rotate, is the belt on the correct pulley- is if it is on the far left on the top, it should be on the far left on the bottom. Sometimes there is something stopping it rotating- probably a locking pin into the chuck itself or into the headstock but looking at the instructions it doesn't appear so on yours.

If it all rotates and you are struggling to remove it might just be a bit tight. A gator grip to hold the silver wheel and a long piece of wood cross ways in the chuck may give you some leverage to jolt it. A bit of penetrating oil may help too.

 

[Deadeye]

Hi,
Last week I purchased this from Ebay for £125 (best offer) paying cash for it axminster wood lathe | eBay It included 6 chisels and some other stuff.

I have turned the thing on the right hand side around to the correct way and noticed some very light surface rust, the plate covering the belts on the pully at the bottom was on back to front, well it looked back to front as the only way I could get the screw holes to line up was to turn it around, the more I look at it the less confident I feel that it is actually an Axminster lathe, I can't find a single axminster logo on it anywhere.

But that is not where I am struggling as it does seem to be a nice lathe to my untrained eye, my problem is that I just cannot seem to move the chuck, let alone take it off, that is on there. Do I need to get something like this? Axminster Woodturning Chuck Removal Spanner ? my problem is I feel that the chances are that it is a generic chuck and it may not fit it. my chuck looks similar to this one (although it only has 2 numbers on the top) 4" WOOD LATHE CHUCK 4 JAW SELF-CENTERING WOOD TURNING TOOLS 1'' 8TPI/ M33 THREAD | eBay I have spent the last 3 hours trying to right everything and have given up for today. Whit's end and all that

Looks like a bargain.
Once you have loosened the chuck per instructions above, make a plastic washer from a milk carton. Stops it sticking again.

 

[Garno]

Your tailstock in the eBay pic is on backwards. It is an Axminster large, even if not logo'd. The chuck looks ok to me. No idea what brand but it looks much better than the cheap rubbish. There must be something stopping it rotating- probably a locking pin into the chuck itself or into the headstock.

I've turned the tailstock the right way round as I'd noticed it on wrong yesterday ** cough..... thanks Phil ** I'm in bed now so will take some photo's tomorrow and post them here, I am so relieved it is an axminster thanks for your posts.

 

[marcros]

Don't worry too much about it. We will help you sort it!

 

[Hornbeam]

Most axminster lathes are 1inch by 8 tpi thread so the chuck will fit
The chuck will be a standard RH thread so turn over the top towards you to loosen.
I dont know whether the lathe has a spindle locking pin or you need a tommy bar or spanner to hold teh headstock while you unscrew the chuck
Good luck and enjoy

 

[Robbo3]

You got a bargain if it works. The chuck & 3 chisels are worth that on their own.
The three chisels look to be HSS (High Speed Steel) & are a diamond parting tool, a round nose scraper & an oval skew.
If the chuck uses a hex key then it's either a Record SC4 or equivalent. I have one similar & it's my 'go to' chuck.

 

[Garno]

You got a bargain if it works. The chuck & 3 chisels are worth that on their own.
The three chisels look to be HSS (High Speed Steel) & are a diamond parting tool, a round nose scraper & an oval skew.
If the chuck uses a hex key then it's either a Record SC4 or equivalent. I have one similar & it's my 'go to' chuck.

I got 6 chisels in total and they all have HSS on them and they are all different, I will post images tomorrow as it will save me having to make another post asking what they all are , when I was looking at the chuck earlier on it did all look like hex key attachments.

 

[Lons]

As already said you got yourself a bargain.
Don't worry too much the chuck will come off with a bit of effort. A word of warning though, if it's stuck and won't revolve then whatever you do don't switch it on or you risk damaging the belt or perhaps even the motor. As Marcros said, there may well be a locking pin, both my lathes have that and it locks the spindle solid, check on the end and front, it's usually sprung which you push in and then twist to lock.

 

[mindthatwhatouch]

Others have already answered your initial question.
This maybe of help going forwards?
https://cdn.axminstertools.com/media/downloads/105118_manual.pdf

If its not the right lathe I believe all their manuals are available online.

Bargain, enjoy and from one beginner to another, don't worry about the rather steep learning curve.

 

[Lazurus]

What a great package to start your journey into the dark art of shaving making - you need to get a sharpening system as a priority as the chisels will need to be kept sharp regularly to make leaning less problematic - consider a simple bench grinder with a sutable jig - it will save you hours learning to sharpen free hand. There are loads of options and opinions of how to and what to use, I favour a bench grinder with white or CBN wheels and a Sorby 447 jig - fairly cheap second hand and easy to set up and use. Best of luck going forward.

 

[Garno]

The Lathe itself does run and it is very quiet, with no vibration that I can see, the bug bear is the chuck seems to not want to let go. It has grabbed hold of the lathe and refuses to be taken off it I will post some close up pics of the chuck tomorrow.

Gary

 

[Garno]

Others have already answered your initial question.
This maybe of help going forwards?
https://cdn.axminstertools.com/media/downloads/105118_manual.pdf

If its not the right lathe I believe all their manuals are available online.

Bargain, enjoy and from one beginner to another, don't worry about the rather steep learning curve.

Other than the colouring that is the lathe, mine is missing the tailstock wheel handle, I don't think that is anything to worry about though.
Thank you for the link.
Gary

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Sorry, I didn't read that properly.

 

[Paul Hannaby]

To remove the chuck, open the jaws far enough to insert a large screwdriver or pry bar to act as a lever, lock the spindle and give the lever a clout in the anti-clockwise direction with a big hammer.

 

[Robbo3]

Nice manual even though it's for a newer model than yours. It should help you understand where things go & the correct terminology.
The manual doesn't mention a spindle lock but some pictures look as if there are flats for a spanner to stop the spindle rotating or if no flats there may be a hole for a tommy bar. Somehow you will need to prevent the spindle rotating so that you can put a batten across the face of the chuck & smack it with a mallet to break the grip & free the chuck.
It loosens anti-clockwise looking from the tailstock.
Once you have the chuck off, clean the threads & make a washer as posted earlier.
The morse taper in the headstock & tailstock as well as the morse taper fittings eg drive centre & rotating (live) centre should always be used clean & dry.

 

[HamsterJam]

To remove the chuck, open the jaws far enough to insert a large screwdriver or pry bar to act as a lever, lock the spindle and give the lever a clout in the anti-clockwise direction with a big hammer.

Just be careful....
If the chuck is really stuck you might shear the spindle lock when attempting to free the chuck, especially if you ‘shock’ it with a mallet or have a large lever in the chuck jaws.
If you are going to apply a lot of force, it might be better to hold the spindle still using another method like a spanner/C-spanner or a strap wrench.

 

[alex_heney]

Not sure why others are telling you it is an Axminster lathe.

It appears to be this one
https://burtgroup.en.made-in-china....China-10X18-Mini-Wood-Lathe-370W-MC1018-.html
Which may of course be the underlying model that Axminster buy and rebrand, but technically it isn't Axminster unless they have their branding on it.

 

[Sheptonphil]

Just be careful....
If the chuck is really stuck you might shear the spindle lock when attempting to free the chuck, especially if you ‘shock’ it with a mallet or have a large lever in the chuck jaws.
If you are going to apply a lot of force, it might be better to hold the spindle still using another method like a spanner/C-spanner or a strap wrench.

I believe this is the best advice for Chuck removal. Removing a snapped lock pin will be no fun. Where the pully is mounted to the shaft, there will probably be a pair of flats, use the biggest, lumpiest, spanner or adjustable you bad fit on it, then use the wood through the chuck jaws locked in place horizontally back to front. A smart whack with a decent hammer should break the grip. Worst case the wood should snap before damaging anything.
also agree, absolute bargain at that price, the chisel set is worth that money.