1940's LeBlond Lathe, chuck thread type?

[philbanjo]

Hi there,
First time posting to the site, but have been lurking for some time.
My question is, i have an old LeBlond lathe, i believe 1940's, See attached pic.
I want to replace the 4 jaw chuck with a 3 jaw chuck, however i do not know what to ask for, specifically the thread connections etc.
What additional information do i need to provide to find the answer, Or who I could talk to that maybe able to help.
Does anyone know where i could find a 3 jaw chuck for this beast. I am in the Houston area if that makes a difference.
Thanks in advance.

 

[redlee]

https://www.smalltools.com/lathe-spindle-nose-identification-chart/

 

[morsetaper2]

Without the chuck removed it is difficult (impossible maybe?) to give you an idea of what spindle your lathe has from a picture. Will almost certainly be either Long taper (L Type), threaded spindle, or camlock D-Type. All described in redlee's link above. However the link above only shows threaded spindles in metric. Yours, if w/ threaded spindle, will have an American thread designation.

You'll have to provide photos w/ chuck removed to narrow things down.

 

[philbanjo]

Thanks for the information, i will work to get the chuck off and send another picture.

 

[richard newman]

Hey philbanjo, welcome to PM. If this is all new to you, might want to post a photo of the chuck/spindle area before you try to disassemble it.

Are you going to use the lathe for banjo making?

 

[johnoder]

Thanks for the information, i will work to get the chuck off and send another picture.

Your LeBlond is a HEAVY DUTY

"L" type will have a big "notched" ring nut behind chuck - to get it loose you turn the TOP of the nut AWAY from yourself (be careful now, having the nut completely loose may cause the chuck to fall on the ways )

Thumbnail shows drawing of the ring nuts (L00 thru L3) with dimensions. For instance, if you have a L1 set up, the ring nut will be 7 1/2" O.D.

If the lathe is 18" or larger it will have L2 - and the monsters have L3

Here is some useful info from those days

http://vintagemachinery.org/pubs/2102/15188.pdf

 

[philbanjo]

Hey philbanjo, welcome to PM. If this is all new to you, might want to post a photo of the chuck/spindle area before you try to disassemble it.

Are you going to use the lathe for banjo making?

Thanks for the information, yes i make banjos with this old beast. I would like the convenience of a 3 jaw chuck, I believe it will help speed up the process a little. See below picture of the chuck /spindle.

 

[philbanjo]

Thanks for the information and the manual, this will really help.

 

[johnoder]

Walter sells very nice hook spanners for the ring nut if you need one

https://www.practicalmachinist.com/...r-sale-or-wanted/fs-l-series-spanners-318677/

 

[L Vanice]

Walter sells very nice hook spanners for the ring nut if you need one

https://www.practicalmachinist.com/...r-sale-or-wanted/fs-l-series-spanners-318677/

If you don't have one, you really do need one. That nut still looks good, so keep it that way. Seeing slotted or drilled nuts like that with ugly punch marks is disgusting.

Larry

 

[DualValve]

Hello Philbanjo.
Your lathe will have either an L0, or L00 tapered spindle.
You are lucky, my 17" LeBlond roundhead lathe has the earlier threaded mounting setup.

These guys have 'good' 3-jaw chucks with either backing plate for very reasonable money:
CME: 1-800-254-0007 You can visit their website at cme-tools.com
CME is an importer of less-expensive machine parts and tools. Take that as you will. If
you are going to use your lathe to do heavy cutting, or large production runs of parts,
the chucks from this seller might not be for you. But if you turn the occasional odd part
like I do, then with care, the imported chuck or tools will do the job.

CME is just 20 miles from my home, I've bought quite a few things from them. I've never
had a problem with anything I've purchased. Your mileage may vary.

My 17" LeBlond came to me with a very, very worn Cushman 3-jaw chuck. I found a good 3-jaw
12" chuck without a backing plate. I used a friend's lathe to single-point the 2-7/8-5 thread inside a 'semi-finished' backing plate that I bored to the appropriate diameter.
I then cut and centered the 'new' 3-jaw chuck on my 17" lathe. I'm very pleased with the
results: The 'new' 3-jaw chuck holds .002" on 1/2" up through 3" diameter stock. The old
worn-out Cushman would not hold .006" on any diameter stock, the scroll plate in the Cushman
chuck was in awful condition.

DV.

 

[iwananew10K]

i don't care who you are if that didn't just crack you up you are not human.

LMAO!

 

[johnoder]

Your lathe will have either an L0, or L00 tapered spindle

And bum info. See post # 6 above

 

[CarlBoyd]

I have one just like it. Mine is 16" and has an L-1 mount.

CarlBoyd

 

[philbanjo]

It has taken some time to get back to this.
I have tried many times to get the chuck loose. I do have the spanner and a big hammer, but no success.
I held the chuck with a timber in the jaws against the rail and hit the spanner, then tried a lever on the spanner.
I have been using the 4 jaw chuck, the more i setup a piece in it the quicker it gets. I am turning a Banjo rim which in my case is about 1/2" thick and 11" in diameter, Hard Maple. I am seeing some flexing in the rim as i setup the pieces. It got me thinking that a 3 Jaw chuck will make this worse. So if i can get this chuck off, what do folks suggest to hold an 11" Maple Rim to turn it. I am starting to think a 14-16" wood lathe maybe a better way to go from a financial perspective??

 

[Jim Christie]

I don’t know anything about making banjos but maybe you could adapt one of the chucks or face plates designed for wood turning with various jaws that are available for them to hold your work or by making some wooden or aluminum jaws to attach to your existing chuck .
There must be several of these types chucks available that could hold your parts with out distorting them excessively as might happen using chucks mainly designed for heavy duty metal working.
There are some shown here but you can access their U.S.A. website for a more accurate cost.
They sell or you could make an adapter like this one to hold and indicate true in your chuck .
Veritas® Lathe Chuck/Face-Plate Adapters - Lee Valley Tools
Then thread on a chuck like one of these
Oneway Scroll Chucks - Lee Valley Tools
and add some of the larger jaws
Jumbo Jaw Sets - Lee Valley Tools

Chucks & Accessories - Lee Valley Tools

I have no experience with any of these but they are some I had seen in the catalogue and am posting them to illustrate the type of setup I was thinking of.
They may not work for you and there may be other similar ones that will suit you better.
Regards,
Jim

 

[johnoder]

You ARE working to LOOSEN by turning the TOP of the DRAW BACK NUT towards the REAR of the lathe - like in POST #6???

It has taken some time to get back to this.
I have tried many times to get the chuck loose. I do have the spanner and a big hammer, but no success.
I held the chuck with a timber in the jaws against the rail and hit the spanner, then tried a lever on the spanner.
I have been using the 4 jaw chuck, the more i setup a piece in it the quicker it gets. I am turning a Banjo rim which in my case is about 1/2" thick and 11" in diameter, Hard Maple. I am seeing some flexing in the rim as i setup the pieces. It got me thinking that a 3 Jaw chuck will make this worse. So if i can get this chuck off, what do folks suggest to hold an 11" Maple Rim to turn it. I am starting to think a 14-16" wood lathe maybe a better way to go from a financial perspective??

 

[philbanjo]

Thanks for the links on the chucks, this looks promising.

 

[philbanjo]

Yes, as you indicated. The spanner is moving towards the rear of the lathe.

 

[john.k]

The ring has a very coarse thread,and any kind of thin oil should run into the joint easily.........so I suggest you give it a soak in acetone/auto trans fluid for a few days,then give the ring spanner a whack............I would use a hard hammer too ,for the shock effect..........it that doesnt work,try some heat on the ring ,as in oxy torch .....strong heat for a minute of so,the hit the spanner.