Clemson
Aluminum
- Joined
- Feb 15, 2006
- Location
- Upstate SC
This comes up often enough that I would like to show how I remove stuck chucks. This method did not originate with me. I learned it from the fellow who sold me my lathe. The photos are of my 13 x 40 South Bend. There may be issues with using this method with other machines, but I am sure that folks will chime in with nuances that may be required.
If I have a stuck chuck, first I spray the spindle around the chuck threads with Kroil. The stuff is magic, plain and simple. Then I go to work on the chuck.
This shows a 3-jaw chuck mounted on my lathe:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v187/Clemson/Lathe/LatheChuckRemoval002.jpg
I made a block from plywood and a 2x4 to fit the lathe bed under the chuck. This is important to protect the ways. I always use it when changing chucks, stuck or not:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v187/Clemson/Lathe/LatheChuckRemoval013.jpg
I use a block under a chuck jaw. This one fits great and is made from a piece of square steel tubing. I keep it under my workbench.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v187/Clemson/Lathe/LatheChuckRemoval003.jpg
The covers over the gears have to be opened and removed as necessary to allow access to the rear end of the spindle:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v187/Clemson/Lathe/LatheChuckRemoval006.jpg
This wrench is made from a 3/4" piece of aluminum that I bored and split. I then attached it to a piece of 1 1/4" square steel tubing for a handle. Construction details are unimportant. I use a dusting of pine rosin from a Little League pitchers rosin bag (Walmart sporting goods) on the wrench faces where it grips the spindle. It helps to keep the spindle from slipping:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v187/Clemson/Lathe/LatheChuckRemoval007.jpg
The wrench is clamped to the spindle outboard of the threads on the smooth portion:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v187/Clemson/Lathe/LatheChuckRemoval008.jpg
I sometimes use a 1" bar inside the handle as a cheater, but this is normally enough torque to get the chuck started off:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v187/Clemson/Lathe/LatheChuckRemoval010.jpg
Next time you install a chuck, remember to oil the threads first. Never spin it on to install it. Just screw it up snug by hand.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v187/Clemson/Lathe/LatheChuckRemoval012.jpg
Clemson
If I have a stuck chuck, first I spray the spindle around the chuck threads with Kroil. The stuff is magic, plain and simple. Then I go to work on the chuck.
This shows a 3-jaw chuck mounted on my lathe:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v187/Clemson/Lathe/LatheChuckRemoval002.jpg
I made a block from plywood and a 2x4 to fit the lathe bed under the chuck. This is important to protect the ways. I always use it when changing chucks, stuck or not:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v187/Clemson/Lathe/LatheChuckRemoval013.jpg
I use a block under a chuck jaw. This one fits great and is made from a piece of square steel tubing. I keep it under my workbench.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v187/Clemson/Lathe/LatheChuckRemoval003.jpg
The covers over the gears have to be opened and removed as necessary to allow access to the rear end of the spindle:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v187/Clemson/Lathe/LatheChuckRemoval006.jpg
This wrench is made from a 3/4" piece of aluminum that I bored and split. I then attached it to a piece of 1 1/4" square steel tubing for a handle. Construction details are unimportant. I use a dusting of pine rosin from a Little League pitchers rosin bag (Walmart sporting goods) on the wrench faces where it grips the spindle. It helps to keep the spindle from slipping:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v187/Clemson/Lathe/LatheChuckRemoval007.jpg
The wrench is clamped to the spindle outboard of the threads on the smooth portion:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v187/Clemson/Lathe/LatheChuckRemoval008.jpg
I sometimes use a 1" bar inside the handle as a cheater, but this is normally enough torque to get the chuck started off:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v187/Clemson/Lathe/LatheChuckRemoval010.jpg
Next time you install a chuck, remember to oil the threads first. Never spin it on to install it. Just screw it up snug by hand.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v187/Clemson/Lathe/LatheChuckRemoval012.jpg
Clemson
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