Another safety tip that could be offered is this: If turning the OD on piece of pipe or tubing and clamping using ID jaws, pay attention to the heat developed in the part. If a part gets too hot, it can expand enough to come loose on your jaws and disengage. Don't ask me how I know this..........
Joe - I have to say, man.... THANK YOU. This video is no more brilliant than any of your others, really, but you just keep sharing quality stuff. Seriously... THANK YOU. I own a design/fab studio and we are self-taught machinists. I think we're clever folks, but we're definitely self-taught. You, Tom Lipton, John Saunders, Mr. Pete and Abom have shared an unbelievable number of hours and hard-knocks lessons. Please.... keep it up!
Great video! I am going to mark the face of my chucks with the visual safety mark. I have seen chucks with broken scrolls from guys over torquing chucks at the outer grip range.
We had a 1340 Clausing in our shop until it was lost in a fire. Great machine. I was taught to always tighten up all the pinions on a scroll chuck ... when available. Same thing with a drill chuck.
Great content. Love the focused topic format. I watched it stoned off my ... on meds in a hospital bed after a medical procedure. Tomorrow I’ll take another swing at it.
If I could only have one lathe chuck, it would be a four jaw. Likewise, if I could only watch one TH-camr channel, it would be your's. I learn more from your videos than I do from all the other producers combined. Thanks:)
Thanks Joe, the things we don't think of when doing mundane tasks, then you have that one critical part and wonder why it can't pass spec. Great video very informative
When you retire you should get your teaching degree. You could teach young people in trade schools to have the passion that you have. I love the way you teach the theory in class and then go out to the shop and give a demonstration. A true teacher! There was a time when you keep your secrets that was a way you keeping your job. Now with the internet you can learn just about anything you desire. Keep up with the videos.
Joe I am not a machinist but the chuck to me was the main tool. This video explained alot of techniques and methods and myths about Chuck's. I have found all videos very informative but this was the best for me. Christopher
As usual, Joe, you are an inspiration.... Trouble is, it's 11pm, and all I want to do is go out to the lathe. When bed would be the better option! Well done, Stan, UK.
Great timing as I’ve been going through the repeatability and reliability factors of my current 3 jaw chuck and potential replacement. I learn something from every one of your videos. Thank you!
I've watched this particular video a couple of times. I learned from it, bought the right stuff and applied everything I learned to great success. I still find myself coming back just to see how simply Joe explains everything. Guy is genius
Great job Joe!! I'm a 4 jaw guy...mainly because I do more repair work and things that have only one shot to be repaired. I have same 13 x 40 as you....I can agree it is the best lathe out there...and it was built in 1997...still tight and accurate. I was on sack lunches for years until I finally got one! My 4 jaw (Buck) has jaws that the top is removable ...thus I can use soft jaws and even weld to the jaws if needed. Keep up the great work....in the next month or so...I have a gift coming your way for your Colchester ... Hope it knocks your socks off....
I love how accurately you can index parts in a 3-jaw with bored jaws. However my work usually requires a 4-jaw to accurately dial in various diameter parts during repair work. What's my point? Listen to the amazing advice Joe delivers and master every technique to become the most valuable person in the shop.
Joe Pieczynski agreed! I’m surprised that the top end units don’t have something like that and considering adding a small line on the chuck face would cost next to nothing it would be a nice finishing touch to a quality chuck . I wouldn’t trust one on a cheap chuck , i think i would rather do it myself and at least then i know it’s in the right spot ! There is a lot of food for thought in that video Joe , i think i will have to watch it a couple of times to make sure it all sinks into this thick cranium of mine ! Thanks for the video and all the effort you put into them Joe - i always learn something from you !
As a newbie, I really appreciate the subjects that you do. Very well explained and the drawings help me a lot also. You are a great instructor. Thank you.
Wish I could have seen this when I first started piddling with this stuff. Great video Joe, for a new guy to this stuff you save me years of goofing up.
Very interesting for a soon to be hobby machinist, (me). I enjoy and have learned so much watching you, Adam Booth, Keith Fenner and others. This was very educational to me. I was so novice to the craft I was not sure exactly what a "soft jaw" really was. This will help me a lot going forward as all of your video's have or will when I getted started. Thanks again Joe. 👍👍👍
Glad you covered soft jaw bore diameter. In my shop we cut a lot of rings for bearings (CNC lathe work). Maximum out of round varied .002 to .006 depending on the part. Maximum flatness/parallel deviation .003 typ. We held the parts in pie jaws and bored them to the exact nominal outside diameter of part (which dep. on the customer had a +/- .001 or .002 tol.) And then held at very light chuck psi. You could always tell when guys rushed the jaws on their set-up. The parts would run way out of round and/or way out of flat. Jaw diameter and torque are absolutely critical and should not be overlooked or underestimated.
I'd like to add that the bigger the part the more extreme these effects seem to be. I ran and set-up the big parts (8"-18") and the rest of the shop ran the smaller ones (1"-8") and the chuck pressure in flatness of the jaws was extra critical. Bore size mattered across the board.
@@ctdbass the size matters due to what is called "tunnel strength". It requires more force to crush eg. 1/4" wall 1" diameter tube than a 1/4" wall 6" diameter tube. As an example this is a significant factor in choosing wristpin diameter for performance engines vs. wall thickness. Wall thickness to diameter affects dimensional rigidity.
In our shop, we use 3 jaw check to hold almost everything, even squares... you have to be a bit creative :) Another issue people have on 3 jaws is that "its impossible to make them run true". Sure, but you can adjust that quickly by slapping an indicator on the part and tapping the high jaw to fix runout issues. Anyway, great video Joe. Thanks for your videos. Jimmy
I do that all the time with my 3 jaw chuck. An old timer showed me that trick. It's very useful when you have to flip a part end to end and make the concentricity match. I can usually get it within .0005" concentric. My 3 jaw also has 3 tightening screws for the scroll, sometimes tightening one screw more than the others will move it enough to get it concentric.
@@marcellemay7721 I see. I usually tighten only one out of three, but check all 3 to find which one makes the best concentricity. (They can be different ones through different diameters for some reason) and yeah, tapping helps when you need it. I also found that the high point wants to be towards the operator. So if your tightening the key up top, the high point will tend to want to be about 120 deg. to the left. This is because the spiral plate in the chuck has slop and shifts towards the left when tightened. Sorry for the long message Haha but this stuff fascinates me :)
25:00 I was successfully triggered and was ready to argue, then you said "As long as you keep the sequence" and I went "Huh..." then wandered out to the shop and tried it, damned if I didn't learn something new about a topic I thought I knew all the things about! Thank you!!!
Fantastic. Don't worry about "too much time at the white board". You're doing a great job covering the material both on the board and in the shop. Soft jaws could be a good topic for their own video. They are so versatile and potentially misunderstood. Thank you for the time you put into your channel.
Hello Joe. Nice video. Good old fashioned common sense, all those things that should have been explained to us when we were apprentices. When I was a lad one of the biggest crimes in the apprentice school was leaving your key in the chuck. You soon learned to not only remove it but to put it in your pocket when you left the lathe. If you did not one of your mates would put it in the chuck for you, wait until you were at the other side of the shop and then shout ".... you've left your chuck key in", loud enough for the foreman to hear. The foreman must have been a brave man, can you imagine being in charge of thirty young lads in a shop full of dangerous machines? The other day I aquired an odd chuck, I have put a short video up 'Unusual lathe chuck' , I would appreciate it if you could have a look and tell me what it is for. Best regards, Jon
Have to agree that a 4-jaw would always be my choice if that was all I could choose. There are for sure many considerations with chucks and you usefully covered a lot of ground. Thanks Joe.
Loved the safety mark on the chuck. I will put it to use! Thanks!!! I really enjoyed the explanation. That is a wonderful lecture for novice machinist (I am one). I fully agree on listenning to the lathe/mill (after putting earplugs) and they do tell you if something is wrong. I'd say experience is the second best yet our greatest teacher (a real teacher will not let you make catastrophic/dangerous mistakes). I willingly "pay" for my mistakes - making wooden models as learning aids ( and some real mistakes, of course) and learn from my errors, making sure not to repeat them.... (hopefully, lol).
Another great video , I just marked my #3 jaw what a great idea as well as a safty feature! Please consider making a "spider" video and demonstrating how you use them ! Being a new (old) guy I'm learning a lot from you and a few others too! Thank you very much!👍👍👍👍👍
I loved this video. I had a motorcycle accident on Feb-25 and I’m behind my favorite channels and just started to catch up, so when You say “bear with me” I’m just intrigued what is comming. Thank you.
I have many more to offer, but the shop is busy at the moment and time is short. I hope you recover soon from the wreck. As a fellow biker, I hate to hear someone went down. Hows the bike?
Thank You Joe (if I may treat You so friendly). I have not touched any machine shop machine, but watching your videos is just plain joy and will not miss a single video. The wreck, I missed it because I closed my eyes during the tumbling, but although it was pretty serious thank God I’m fixed and onto a long recovery. As for the bike, I was very responsible and took good care of her, only a bent mirror and broken turn-light. Not a single scratch. On the other hand I had 3 surgeries, left ankle reconstructed, left knee recontructed, 8 left ribs broken, spleen gone and a cesarean that mist have been of tweens (all these wearing good protection). So, I’m very thankful for my Wife that participated just on time to save my life, for God above all, drs that fixed me well and the BMW r1100gs in perfect condition waiting for me.
This video is absolute gold. I’ve watched it many times - I finally obtained a 3 jaw chuck with adjust true and soft jaw capability, so giving myself a refresher on good practices. 👍👍👍👍👍
Great video Joe, solid information which should help a lot of people avoid mistakes with their chucks. And thank you for covering the sequence for reinserting the master jaws. I worked in production shops for many years and mostly with 18 to 24" 3-jaw chucks, and some 32" 4-jaw chucks. My first shop had old equipment and beat-up tooling, so we had to improvise a lot. A job came in which, in retrospect, should have been run on a boring mill: large parallelogram-shaped blocks which needed a ~4.5" hole bored through them. We ran it on a Warner & Swasey 3A turret lathe with a special fixture pinned and bolted to the chuck face, with one top jaw providing the sole clamping force. The sequence was: face the outer side about .300", drill 1-9/16" through, drill 3-5/8" through, then bore to size. Tedious and scary job, and I ended up doing most of them. That's my one-jaw chuck story!
Good material Joe. This makes me feel motivated to mention the condition of old, abused or poor quality machines that have "Bell Mouth" jaws. When you encounter a machine that has this condition the problem presents itself in holding stock correctly. You will observe that the jaws are actually holding tighter back in the throat of the chuck rather than out at the tips where you would ideally like it to be. At times machines with a really bad case off bell mouth will exhibit chatter when you have material stick out that you THINK is acceptable yet it still chatters. That is because you are actually holding the part 2 inches back in the chuck effectively making your stickout longer than you think it is. This will often really show in parting operations where it starts honking like a beast with 1/2 inch brass for example. Bell mouthing can be a really dangerous condition when holding small or hard stock out at the tips. If the bell is bad enough parts can literally spit out or become dislodged and begin to run out of true. A person can check the jaw contact surfaces with a test indicator to see if they are in fact flat to the tips. If they are and yet it still exhibits this issue there can be a situation where the slots in the jaws are too loose in the body of the chuck. Physically trying to rock the jaws in the body will often show this condition. This sort of thing tends to show up on poor quality chucks made in China.. They use the lowest grade castings for the chuck and the carrier jaw. Over time the parts wear and slop is created at the chuck slot ...then the rocking results. More food for thought. When looking at machines examine the chuck wrench hole and the chuck wrench. If the hole in the chuck is not properly square or the wrench is showing signs of material displacement on the corners be motivated to find out why. If the T wrench handle is looking more like an S...someone has been torquing the snot out of the chuck. Chances are it's not going to be a great performer and could motivated the need for chuck replacement.
A spyder can be made to hold the jaws adjacent to the work holding points i.e. the angled surfaces allowing loads to be placed at the end of the jaws. Doing this on a very worn Hardinge chuck restored it to usefulness. Someone apparently put a ring outside the jaws and bored it "true". With substantial wear the chuck was now useless. If we could post a photo in comments I would show a tool I made to fix this one.
If there is any way I could collect now, that would be OK by me. Just kidding. Its good to know some dads/moms out there may pass this stuff down to their sons/daughters. Nice legacy.
Great video! I'm just getting started doing some wood working, and about to buy a the first Chuck for my wood lathe. This helped me learn more about what to look for and how to use it more effectively! Thank you for sharing your wisdom.
If you draw your circle with permanent marker it will not erase while you are showing your examples. To get the permanent marker off, just draw on it with the dry erase marker and let it dry. Then erase it like normal and the permanent marker will be gone. I used this when I used to teach and it saves a lot of time. Thanks for the video I learned a lot and thought I could give back some with the permanent marker trick. Have a good day everyone.
Thanks for the video Joe, I'm currently wrapping up a CNC class with lathes and I definitely walked away with a few more tricks. Keep up the good work, learning in MA
Brilliant advice. I bought a 6 jaw at $2500 US (ZAR40K) thinking i was the cat's whiskers. What Joe explained about the work that needs to be round is valid. My work pieces on the 6 jaw was terrible compared to the 4 jaw.
Nice to see new versions of Buck chucks. I have two on my Sheldon 11-44. 11" swing 44" bed (under the head to the back of the tailstock. More like a 30" usable bed. :-) Dad and I bought it in 1952. G-Box and tooling. In a Hardware Store ! Nice lathe to this day.
@@joepie221 I use 2 to get it withing a few thou and then change to one. I also, like to splitting the high/low as the first step to know about where zero is going to be.
We could talk for hours (about anything really I think), and you could teach me so much about machining (which I'm learning about right now)! I still have a ton to learn, but I love this topic. Thanks for the video.
Fantastic video. I have a lot to learn and I'll be watching this again soon. I'm also going to watch your video on a rotary table again. My knowledge is very much lacking in this area. One thing I think you should have mention is the effect of overhang on smaller lathes (South Bend, Logan, Atlas etc.) My Logan 820 has a 1-1/2" x 8 threaded spindle and a chuck that has a very deep body and jaws with chatter like crazy. I'm talking about the distance from the tip of the spindle to the where the work is hanging out of the jaws. My original Logan chuck has 2.75 depth and an aftermarket chuck I have is over 5-inches. I'm glad I have the capacity of the larger chuck but it is not ideal. If you are interested and want to see an example of what I am talking about search youtube for: "Power Hacksaw Restoration - SawMaster 3114" and jump to the 10:20 mark. Thanks!
So I’m not a machinist but I lucked in to a mill and a lathe package deal from a neighbor. I’ve been watching your videos. I was wondering what the spider is used for? Tried looking through your videos but couldn’t find anything on it. Thank you for taking time to make videos, your knowledge is a gift to the less learned.
If you get accustomed to using a four jaw and just leave it in the machine, you can get to the point you can get it running almost true by eyeball and just finish up with your indicator. For just general one piece use I prefer the four jaw any day. If I have 10 or 15 or more to run the three jaw is faster imo. I've seen guys come over to the lathe to run one piece, see the four jaw up and spend more time changing it out to the three jaw than it would have taken to have just indicated it in. Great video man. What the hell I'm doing watching shop related stuff at 6:00am on Sunday morning ill never know but it is what it is I guess .😁
Adso Melk my guys are to put the 3 jaw back on the lathes before they leave the machine. If a 4 jaw, collet, face plate or anything else is required for a job it is billed to that job to put it on as well as return the 3 jaw to the machine. The 3 jaw is the most common used therefore I believe it to be fair practice to bill the change over to the job requiring the “special” setup and not billing the “common” setup for returning the machine to the 3 jaw.
I stumbled on to a Cushman self centering 2 jaw chuck years ago. It sure is handy for making bullet molds with a cutting cherry on the milling machine. Just sqeeze the mold blocks together. Works great. Good video, sir!
First thing I did was go out and mark a safe limit line on my 3 jaw! Can't believe how long I've been playing "guess that's okay" when the jaws were close to releasing. Thank you!
Hello Joe from John. As usual I learned something new. I have always been wary when extending the jaws to close to the limit of the scroll on a three jaw, I will now take your advice as it is a splendid safety feature for those unwary. Thanks again for sharing your knowledge, John, Australia.
Thanks John. Give yourself at least 1 full scroll engagement, but realize you can't torque the life out of just one tooth. Its a warning mark for multiple reasons.
@@joepie221 Thanks Joe I understand all that you have said and always do this and limit torque at the extremes of chuck travel. The Idea of the Mark had not come to my mind. That is a no/brainer in a way so again thanks. John.
Great info Joe as always. I would imagine the other advantage of boring soft jaws a smidgen under the part diameter, would be that as you tighten the jaws and the jaw material deflects, the two points of contact will deflect slightly outward, opening the too- tight diameter up a smidgen and creating the possibility of achieving full- circle grip. Obviously to achieve this you need a perfect match of the tightening torque on the chuck key and the amount of diameter difference and the stiffness of the jaw material. But at least if you start a bit undersize, even if you don't get all the stars to align, in the worst case you still get the six points of contact you described. At best you may get it to deflect from say 2 thou undersized to the perfect size and the perfect full circle contact. If you start oversize you will only ever get 3 points of contact. Like putting a golf ball-- once it has curved to the low side of the hole, it isn't going back uphill and you've missed already even if the ball still has a couple yards to run. If you are on the uphill side you have a chance.
Once again, Joe, Many Thanks for doing the video. I have had my 3-jaw marked for quite a while, following one of your earlier videos. I've been thinking about a D1-5 4-jaw scroll chuck for my lathe - a bit expensive but might be worth it. I learned from the video.
Thank you Joe, I at least know what kind of 3 jaw chuck I have. I believe you called it a chuck with carrier jaws. Mine are not soft jaws but steel jaws. I'm having trouble getting it closer than .003 on center. When I bought it I of course put it together. After installing the carrier jaws I put a test bar in it and indicated the bar. It was .009 out. I took it out and loosened the Allen head screws moving the carrier jaws by hand to get it closer to zero. I could only get it within .003". I an 69 years old so I'm a hobbyist with limited knowledge of machining as a professional. I have a lot of fun doing little projects at home but this 3 jaw was supposed to be within .0005", I guess I don't know how to adjust the jaws. Thanks for the video, excellent information to know.
Carrier jaws? I know Joe used that term too, but it’s unusual. I’m going to go over the method of centering an adjustable chuck if Joe’s didn’t seem to work for you. There are master jaws that remain in the chuck, and replaceable top jaws. If your chuck is “supposed” to be set to 0.0005”, then it’s some sort of adjustable chuck. There should be four screws close to the back edge of the body of the chuck. You loosen the front mounting bolts so that they sit firmly, but not too tightly. You then loosen or tighten those four screws until the chuck sits as closely as possible to concentric. A 0.0005” indicator is needed to do this properly. Then, after you adjust it, CAREFULLY begin to tighten the front mounting bolts, slightly, one after the other, going around three times, each time tightening it until it’s tight. Then, because tightening them can knock your adjustment off slightly, check concentricity again. If it’s ok, then you’re done. If not, you have to slightly loosen those mounting bolts, but just slightly, and do it again. Early this year (2021) I bought a new Buck 8” Adjust-Tru. It wasn’t too difficult to get it to 0.0002” at a 1” diameter. But you need to use a high precision pin to do this. It needs to be round to better than the concentricity you need. Otherwise, it’s useless. Don’t use a quarter inch dia pin. Splurge and buy a 1” dia. 6” pin, so you can stick 2” in the jaws, and still be able to test at the jaws, and 4” out.
Thanks Joe .Part of learning curve has been losing the work part out of chuck.Only luck was small part at low speed. Holding work of 50 mm diameter 70 mm long but only holding back 10 mm to thread! All i needed was to put inner jaws back in three jaw. How stupid of me . It had worked before but no guarantee to keep working. However these incidents really wake you up Safety Safety
I love this channel, I do modelmaking, at least I did, as a hobby, and would love to get back into it. My models were small-scale, I have a Unimat 3 with a geared scroll 3J and a 4J. (the standard 3J has tommy bars!) . The U3 has a vee guide and a flat. I used to use all sorts of stuff, like throwaway nylon set screws, to try to stiffen it up, but basically a sound machine, if not a cut devil. Courageous cuts pay off, though. I have two motors, leaving the milling attachment in place, and use the screw gearing to autofeed, the belts are not up for it. I find magic markers indispensible, also custom collets. Where there is a will, usually there is a way, but never could anyone think of making a living with it. I have some broken and seriously work-hardened cutters which I treasure! Please stay on your seat!
Excellent as always. Just one critique: if your video would have been issued one week before I would have applied your safety mark idea and not damaged my three yaw chuck by using just one turn of the scroll applying too much toque. ;-) Seriously: I really love your clear and coherent style of teaching!
As always an excellent video. I learned several things I had never thought about before. Heading to the shop to mark the number 3 jaw on my 3 jaw. Keep up the great work.
Great video as always, I would also like to point out that if someone is new and buy an old lathe, that some have camlock chucks and those are not adjustment points.
Great idea to add the safety mark at the third jaw. I also use the stop bolts to locate disk type parts. Picked up the idea from Robrenz. All my chucks have that feature now. You can easily face parts parallel to within .001". Thanks for the video Joe!
@@joepie221 Yes I like the way they can be faced with the jaws removed. Can't get any closer than that! Nice little lathe project by the way. A true test of a machinist's skills and patience.
@@rayp.454 I'm trying to stay 5 steps ahead of my next move. Its a personal challenge not to make any mistakes on that build. And unlike the steam engine I built, I'll take some design liberties with this one. Like the dials.
Hi Joe , thanks for another great video . Can I take this opportunity to say that the video on lathe collet chucks with demo of draw bar use there, combined with the expanding collet video, has got me thinking about combining all for home shop solution for draw bar operated expanding collet 😀👍. Rather than buying expensive commercial solutions.So if the idea of your channel is to get us thinking outside the box , then it's working . Would love to see you do a longer demo of the draw bar and its use on a lathe . I have a lathe that has a spring tensioned facility for use with draw bar , so it was nice to see how your draw bar worked. I understand it a bit better now . Not many demos on web about it , Cheers Colum
Great review. Excellent tips. May I add word about why cost is related to quality of construction. I like Buck and Kalamazoo brand chucks for the least cost and best build. The extra costs over foreign made chucks I believe is paid back in the improved tolerances. Building a quality product inescapably costs more. Some European brand chuck prices are nearly was expensive as USA made brands. A chuck is the most important tool to purchase for your lathe. Buy once and be satisfied.
As always, more than worth waiting for, and worth every minute to watch! Very good whiteboard work! That safety mark is a real winner! I wonder if you could suggest when it makes sense, or requires us, to use a collet, instead of a chuck? Is there any good, or easy, way to use some kind of carrier, or backing, to avoid the 'dishing' effect on a thinner flat part that is being surfaced? Could you glue, or double-face tape, a smaller, appropriately-flate, plate on the back, or make some kind of magnetic attachment (for ferrous mat'l)? A lot of glues can be released with just moderate heating; just wondering...
If you notice my chuck face, its drilled and tapped. I have, in the past, attached a solid plate to the chuck face with channels for the jaws. Facced it and installed the jaws. I then had a full backing surface for my thinner plate work. Make sure the geometry of the cutting tool drives the work against the backing plate and not scoop it for better results. Facing off a 6" dia 1/8" thick plate is no problem.
I never noticed this, on all of Joe's white-board talks before, in the upper left corner: "Playland, Rye, NY," I learned to ice skate there as a kid in winter The Dragon Coaster in summer, a real old time wood trestle roller-coaster. Huh. Great informative video.
i didnt see the thing with the gauge pin.. if you didnt see mine. lol some great tips, and above all, some direction to think about the way i work. Thanks Joe
BTW, my clockmaker's lathe came with a chuck that has two sets of four clamping screws, that allows chucking just about anything, that is smaller than 20 mm, and adjusting for both concentricity and axial angle, or, indeed, for machining any kind of non-concentric, and off-axis angle... a bit "non-trivial" to set up, but can 'fix' all kinds of alignments.
Thanks for this educational info, I go and add that safety mark, and seriously rethink everything mentioned about the 3 jaw chuck. I do fiddle with each round part I put in and tigten the jaws but a rethink is good, my 3 jaw chuck has keyslot for each, although al three closes together from any one.
Soft jaws a available in mild steel or aluminum. One key thing about soft jaws. You may want them to be slightly softer than the part. Here is why. Say you are doing second operation turning or milling. You are having to clamp on a machined surface. You would not want the jaws to affect the surface finish of the part.
horseshoe28016 Ally jaws would work fine with the bolt on type of jaw. They would be totally unusable with the Bernard type of Chuck as there would be galling and the threads would fail. Brass jaws are another option for Bernard type chuck, but personality I haven’t come across any.
Another safety tip that could be offered is this: If turning the OD on piece of pipe or tubing and clamping using ID jaws, pay attention to the heat developed in the part. If a part gets too hot, it can expand enough to come loose on your jaws and disengage. Don't ask me how I know this..........
instablaster
Joe - I have to say, man.... THANK YOU. This video is no more brilliant than any of your others, really, but you just keep sharing quality stuff. Seriously... THANK YOU. I own a design/fab studio and we are self-taught machinists. I think we're clever folks, but we're definitely self-taught. You, Tom Lipton, John Saunders, Mr. Pete and Abom have shared an unbelievable number of hours and hard-knocks lessons. Please.... keep it up!
Thanks. I am honored to be included in that list.
You've put a lot of thought into this before recording this video. I appreciate all the information you've conveyed.
You are one of my favorite TH-cam shop teachers. Thanks so much
Thank you very much.
Great video! I am going to mark the face of my chucks with the visual safety mark. I have seen chucks with broken scrolls from guys over torquing chucks at the outer grip range.
Man, I love your straight-laced no-nonsense presentation style. Thanks for putting these videos on!
Thanks. fluff has its place, just not on machining videos.
We had a 1340 Clausing in our shop until it was lost in a fire. Great machine. I was taught to always tighten up all the pinions on a scroll chuck ... when available. Same thing with a drill chuck.
you talk about using a spider for boring jaws on a chuck ,explain how to use them ,please
Great content. Love the focused topic format. I watched it stoned off my ... on meds in a hospital bed after a medical procedure. Tomorrow I’ll take another swing at it.
get well soon.
If I could only have one lathe chuck, it would be a four jaw.
Likewise, if I could only watch one TH-camr channel, it would be your's. I learn more from your videos than I do from all the other producers combined. Thanks:)
Thank you very much.
I have been a toolmaker for 38 yrs an it's always nice to learn new things thanks
Thanks Joe, the things we don't think of when doing mundane tasks, then you have that one critical part and wonder why it can't pass spec. Great video very informative
When you retire you should get your teaching degree. You could teach young people in trade schools to have the passion that you have. I love the way you teach the theory in class and then go out to the shop and give a demonstration. A true teacher! There was a time when you keep your secrets that was a way you keeping your job. Now with the internet you can learn just about anything you desire. Keep up with the videos.
Joe I am not a machinist but the chuck to me was the main tool. This video explained alot of techniques and methods and myths about Chuck's. I have found all videos very informative but this was the best for me. Christopher
As usual, Joe, you are an inspiration.... Trouble is, it's 11pm, and all I want to do is go out to the lathe. When bed would be the better option! Well done, Stan, UK.
Great timing as I’ve been going through the repeatability and reliability factors of my current 3 jaw chuck and potential replacement. I learn something from every one of your videos. Thank you!
As a newbie “self-taught” wanna be machinist, your videos are GOLD! This one especially. 😊 thank you!
I've watched this particular video a couple of times. I learned from it, bought the right stuff and applied everything I learned to great success. I still find myself coming back just to see how simply Joe explains everything.
Guy is genius
Great job Joe!! I'm a 4 jaw guy...mainly because I do more repair work and things that have only one shot to be repaired. I have same 13 x 40 as you....I can agree it is the best lathe out there...and it was built in 1997...still tight and accurate. I was on sack lunches for years until I finally got one! My 4 jaw (Buck) has jaws that the top is removable ...thus I can use soft jaws and even weld to the jaws if needed. Keep up the great work....in the next month or so...I have a gift coming your way for your Colchester ... Hope it knocks your socks off....
Great videos Joe. I have been in the trade 30+ years. I still remain and will always be teachable. I get a lot from your channel. Thank you !
Dave
Thanks for the comment. I take it as a compliment.
I love how accurately you can index parts in a 3-jaw with bored jaws. However my work usually requires a 4-jaw to accurately dial in various diameter parts during repair work. What's my point? Listen to the amazing advice Joe delivers and master every technique to become the most valuable person in the shop.
Wow. Thank you for that.
That mark on your chuck is brilliant and simple !
In my opinion, they should come with one.
Joe Pieczynski
agreed! I’m surprised that the top end units don’t have something like that and considering adding a small line on the chuck face would cost next to nothing it would be a nice finishing touch to a quality chuck . I wouldn’t trust one on a cheap chuck , i think i would rather do it myself and at least then i know it’s in the right spot !
There is a lot of food for thought in that video Joe , i think i will have to watch it a couple of times to make sure it all sinks into this thick cranium of mine ! Thanks for the video and all the effort you put into them Joe - i always learn something from you !
As a newbie, I really appreciate the subjects that you do. Very well explained and the drawings help me a lot also. You are a great instructor. Thank you.
Awesome, thank you!
Wish I could have seen this when I first started piddling with this stuff. Great video Joe, for a new guy to this stuff you save me years of goofing up.
Very interesting for a soon to be hobby machinist, (me). I enjoy and have learned so much watching you, Adam Booth, Keith Fenner and others. This was very educational to me. I was so novice to the craft I was not sure exactly what a "soft jaw" really was. This will help me a lot going forward as all of your video's have or will when I getted started.
Thanks again Joe. 👍👍👍
Glad you covered soft jaw bore diameter. In my shop we cut a lot of rings for bearings (CNC lathe work). Maximum out of round varied .002 to .006 depending on the part. Maximum flatness/parallel deviation .003 typ. We held the parts in pie jaws and bored them to the exact nominal outside diameter of part (which dep. on the customer had a +/- .001 or .002 tol.) And then held at very light chuck psi.
You could always tell when guys rushed the jaws on their set-up. The parts would run way out of round and/or way out of flat.
Jaw diameter and torque are absolutely critical and should not be overlooked or underestimated.
I'd like to add that the bigger the part the more extreme these effects seem to be. I ran and set-up the big parts (8"-18") and the rest of the shop ran the smaller ones (1"-8") and the chuck pressure in flatness of the jaws was extra critical. Bore size mattered across the board.
@@ctdbass the size matters due to what is called "tunnel strength". It requires more force to crush eg. 1/4" wall 1" diameter tube than a 1/4" wall 6" diameter tube.
As an example this is a significant factor in choosing wristpin diameter for performance engines vs. wall thickness. Wall thickness to diameter affects dimensional rigidity.
This channel is a hidden gem.
In our shop, we use 3 jaw check to hold almost everything, even squares... you have to be a bit creative :)
Another issue people have on 3 jaws is that "its impossible to make them run true". Sure, but you can adjust that quickly by slapping an indicator on the part and tapping the high jaw to fix runout issues.
Anyway, great video Joe. Thanks for your videos.
Jimmy
I do that all the time with my 3 jaw chuck. An old timer showed me that trick. It's very useful when you have to flip a part end to end and make the concentricity match. I can usually get it within .0005" concentric. My 3 jaw also has 3 tightening screws for the scroll, sometimes tightening one screw more than the others will move it enough to get it concentric.
@@marcellemay7721 I see. I usually tighten only one out of three, but check all 3 to find which one makes the best concentricity. (They can be different ones through different diameters for some reason) and yeah, tapping helps when you need it.
I also found that the high point wants to be towards the operator. So if your tightening the key up top, the high point will tend to want to be about 120 deg. to the left. This is because the spiral plate in the chuck has slop and shifts towards the left when tightened.
Sorry for the long message Haha but this stuff fascinates me :)
25:00 I was successfully triggered and was ready to argue, then you said "As long as you keep the sequence" and I went "Huh..." then wandered out to the shop and tried it, damned if I didn't learn something new about a topic I thought I knew all the things about! Thank you!!!
I knew a few of you would want to explode. i had to clarify that.
@@joepie221 I'm glad you did, this info goes into my mental toolbox and will be used to win a bet one day! :)
Fantastic. Don't worry about "too much time at the white board". You're doing a great job covering the material both on the board and in the shop. Soft jaws could be a good topic for their own video. They are so versatile and potentially misunderstood. Thank you for the time you put into your channel.
Hello Joe.
Nice video. Good old fashioned common sense, all those things that should have been explained to us when we were apprentices.
When I was a lad one of the biggest crimes in the apprentice school was leaving your key in the chuck. You soon learned to not only remove it but to put it in your pocket when you left the lathe. If you did not one of your mates would put it in the chuck for you, wait until you were at the other side of the shop and then shout ".... you've left your chuck key in", loud enough for the foreman to hear. The foreman must have been a brave man, can you imagine being in charge of thirty young lads in a shop full of dangerous machines?
The other day I aquired an odd chuck, I have put a short video up 'Unusual lathe chuck' , I would appreciate it if you could have a look and tell me what it is for.
Best regards, Jon
Have to agree that a 4-jaw would always be my choice if that was all I could choose. There are for sure many considerations with chucks and you usefully covered a lot of ground. Thanks Joe.
Loved the safety mark on the chuck. I will put it to use! Thanks!!! I really enjoyed the explanation. That is a wonderful lecture for novice machinist (I am one). I fully agree on listenning to the lathe/mill (after putting earplugs) and they do tell you if something is wrong. I'd say experience is the second best yet our greatest teacher (a real teacher will not let you make catastrophic/dangerous mistakes). I willingly "pay" for my mistakes - making wooden models as learning aids ( and some real mistakes, of course) and learn from my errors, making sure not to repeat them.... (hopefully, lol).
Another great video , I just marked my #3 jaw what a great idea as well as a safty feature! Please consider making a "spider" video and demonstrating how you use them ! Being a new (old) guy I'm learning a lot from you and a few others too! Thank you very much!👍👍👍👍👍
You’ve attained a mass amount of knowledge and experience! Please tell us every little thing you have in your bank of memory!
I loved this video. I had a motorcycle accident on Feb-25 and I’m behind my favorite channels and just started to catch up, so when You say “bear with me” I’m just intrigued what is comming. Thank you.
I have many more to offer, but the shop is busy at the moment and time is short. I hope you recover soon from the wreck. As a fellow biker, I hate to hear someone went down. Hows the bike?
Thank You Joe (if I may treat You so friendly). I have not touched any machine shop machine, but watching your videos is just plain joy and will not miss a single video. The wreck, I missed it because I closed my eyes during the tumbling, but although it was pretty serious thank God I’m fixed and onto a long recovery. As for the bike, I was very responsible and took good care of her, only a bent mirror and broken turn-light. Not a single scratch. On the other hand I had 3 surgeries, left ankle reconstructed, left knee recontructed, 8 left ribs broken, spleen gone and a cesarean that mist have been of tweens (all these wearing good protection). So, I’m very thankful for my Wife that participated just on time to save my life, for God above all, drs that fixed me well and the BMW r1100gs in perfect condition waiting for me.
This video is absolute gold. I’ve watched it many times - I finally obtained a 3 jaw chuck with adjust true and soft jaw capability, so giving myself a refresher on good practices. 👍👍👍👍👍
Glad it helped!
Great video Joe, solid information which should help a lot of people avoid mistakes with their chucks. And thank you for covering the sequence for reinserting the master jaws.
I worked in production shops for many years and mostly with 18 to 24" 3-jaw chucks, and some 32" 4-jaw chucks. My first shop had old equipment and beat-up tooling, so we had to improvise a lot. A job came in which, in retrospect, should have been run on a boring mill: large parallelogram-shaped blocks which needed a ~4.5" hole bored through them. We ran it on a Warner & Swasey 3A turret lathe with a special fixture pinned and bolted to the chuck face, with one top jaw providing the sole clamping force. The sequence was: face the outer side about .300", drill 1-9/16" through, drill 3-5/8" through, then bore to size.
Tedious and scary job, and I ended up doing most of them. That's my one-jaw chuck story!
Good material Joe. This makes me feel motivated to mention the condition of old, abused or poor quality machines that have "Bell Mouth" jaws. When you encounter a machine that has this condition the problem presents itself in holding stock correctly. You will observe that the jaws are actually holding tighter back in the throat of the chuck rather than out at the tips where you would ideally like it to be. At times machines with a really bad case off bell mouth will exhibit chatter when you have material stick out that you THINK is acceptable yet it still chatters. That is because you are actually holding the part 2 inches back in the chuck effectively making your stickout longer than you think it is. This will often really show in parting operations where it starts honking like a beast with 1/2 inch brass for example. Bell mouthing can be a really dangerous condition when holding small or hard stock out at the tips. If the bell is bad enough parts can literally spit out or become dislodged and begin to run out of true. A person can check the jaw contact surfaces with a test indicator to see if they are in fact flat to the tips. If they are and yet it still exhibits this issue there can be a situation where the slots in the jaws are too loose in the body of the chuck. Physically trying to rock the jaws in the body will often show this condition. This sort of thing tends to show up on poor quality chucks made in China.. They use the lowest grade castings for the chuck and the carrier jaw. Over time the parts wear and slop is created at the chuck slot ...then the rocking results. More food for thought. When looking at machines examine the chuck wrench hole and the chuck wrench. If the hole in the chuck is not properly square or the wrench is showing signs of material displacement on the corners be motivated to find out why. If the T wrench handle is looking more like an S...someone has been torquing the snot out of the chuck. Chances are it's not going to be a great performer and could motivated the need for chuck replacement.
A spyder can be made to hold the jaws adjacent to the work holding points i.e. the angled surfaces allowing loads to be placed at the end of the jaws. Doing this on a very worn Hardinge chuck restored it to usefulness. Someone apparently put a ring outside the jaws and bored it "true". With substantial wear the chuck was now useless. If we could post a photo in comments I would show a tool I made to fix this one.
Thanks Joe, future generations owe you one!
If there is any way I could collect now, that would be OK by me. Just kidding. Its good to know some dads/moms out there may pass this stuff down to their sons/daughters. Nice legacy.
Great video Joe!
I like the marking idea on the chucks, I'll have to do that
Its a very good idea for safety.
Joe, Thank you for taking the time to put out the videos, you have helped tremendously!
Thanks for covering a whole lot more than I've ever wondered about lathe chucks.
I had a friend that used to say "Its impossible to know what you don't know". I hope you got something out of this video.
You did this video at a good time for me. Not only was it very informative, it saved me from buying a 6 jaw chuck.
6 jaws are fantastic and provide superior holding power, but the parts better be guaranteed round.
Thanks for the info Joe im still learning new stuff every time i watch your channel
Great video! I'm just getting started doing some wood working, and about to buy a the first Chuck for my wood lathe. This helped me learn more about what to look for and how to use it more effectively! Thank you for sharing your wisdom.
If you draw your circle with permanent marker it will not erase while you are showing your examples. To get the permanent marker off, just draw on it with the dry erase marker and let it dry. Then erase it like normal and the permanent marker will be gone. I used this when I used to teach and it saves a lot of time. Thanks for the video I learned a lot and thought I could give back some with the permanent marker trick. Have a good day everyone.
Thanks for the video Joe, I'm currently wrapping up a CNC class with lathes and I definitely walked away with a few more tricks. Keep up the good work, learning in MA
Be aware of the pressure setting for your CNC lathe chuck. It is a setting that can be dialed in.
That safety mark for maximum jaw extension is one of those alarmingly simple why-didn't-I-think-of-it ideas.
Thanks Joe, really informative. I would also like to see more about using spiders. Chris, UK
Hey "PROFESSOR Joe" Love this format. I know it takes a lot of work, but any time you can do videos this way it will be appreciated.
Brilliant advice. I bought a 6 jaw at $2500 US (ZAR40K) thinking i was the cat's whiskers. What Joe explained about the work that needs to be round is valid. My work pieces on the 6 jaw was terrible compared to the 4 jaw.
A 6 jaw will still hold tighter than all the others on true round bar. Only 60 degrees between jaws means less chatter.
The mark will be added to all of my chucks as soon as I get home. Thanks for another great video.
Now we need a video on how to make soft jaws for those of us who have never done it ?
Nice to see new versions of Buck chucks. I have two on my Sheldon 11-44. 11" swing 44" bed (under the head to the back of the tailstock. More like a 30" usable bed. :-) Dad and I bought it in 1952. G-Box and tooling. In a Hardware Store ! Nice lathe to this day.
Another in a very long line of great videos, Big Thanks Joe. Keep Coming !!!
Joe, on my 4-jaw, I like using 2 chuck keys, opposite each other... It simplified the adjustments and makes it easy to true the work.
Neat idea.
I've seen that done. I still use just one.
@@joepie221 I use 2 to get it withing a few thou and then change to one. I also, like to splitting the high/low as the first step to know about where zero is going to be.
Give it a shot, brother, I was amazed how it makes adjustments so simple. I'll never use just a single again... try it!
We could talk for hours (about anything really I think), and you could teach me so much about machining (which I'm learning about right now)! I still have a ton to learn, but I love this topic. Thanks for the video.
Its a vast field. I'm sure we could learn something new everyday.
Fantastic video. I have a lot to learn and I'll be watching this again soon. I'm also going to watch your video on a rotary table again. My knowledge is very much lacking in this area. One thing I think you should have mention is the effect of overhang on smaller lathes (South Bend, Logan, Atlas etc.) My Logan 820 has a 1-1/2" x 8 threaded spindle and a chuck that has a very deep body and jaws with chatter like crazy. I'm talking about the distance from the tip of the spindle to the where the work is hanging out of the jaws. My original Logan chuck has 2.75 depth and an aftermarket chuck I have is over 5-inches. I'm glad I have the capacity of the larger chuck but it is not ideal. If you are interested and want to see an example of what I am talking about search youtube for: "Power Hacksaw Restoration - SawMaster 3114" and jump to the 10:20 mark. Thanks!
So I’m not a machinist but I lucked in to a mill and a lathe package deal from a neighbor. I’ve been watching your videos. I was wondering what the spider is used for? Tried looking through your videos but couldn’t find anything on it. Thank you for taking time to make videos, your knowledge is a gift to the less learned.
If you get accustomed to using a four jaw and just leave it in the machine, you can get to the point you can get it running almost true by eyeball and just finish up with your indicator. For just general one piece use I prefer the four jaw any day. If I have 10 or 15 or more to run the three jaw is faster imo. I've seen guys come over to the lathe to run one piece, see the four jaw up and spend more time changing it out to the three jaw than it would have taken to have just indicated it in. Great video man. What the hell I'm doing watching shop related stuff at 6:00am on Sunday morning ill never know but it is what it is I guess .😁
Adso Melk my guys are to put the 3 jaw back on the lathes before they leave the machine. If a 4 jaw, collet, face plate or anything else is required for a job it is billed to that job to put it on as well as return the 3 jaw to the machine. The 3 jaw is the most common used therefore I believe it to be fair practice to bill the change over to the job requiring the “special” setup and not billing the “common” setup for returning the machine to the 3 jaw.
I stumbled on to a Cushman self centering 2 jaw chuck years ago. It sure is handy for making bullet molds with a cutting cherry on the milling machine. Just sqeeze the mold blocks together. Works great. Good video, sir!
Thanks for sharing all the great tips and tricks.
You can always put a 3 jaw chuck in your 4 jaw and have an adjust true 3 setup with the speed of a 3 and the versatility of a 4. That is what I do. 😀
First thing I did was go out and mark a safe limit line on my 3 jaw! Can't believe how long I've been playing "guess that's okay" when the jaws were close to releasing. Thank you!
In my opinion, it should be something that comes from the factory that way.
Hello Joe from John. As usual I learned something new. I have always been wary when extending the jaws to close to the limit of the scroll on a three jaw, I will now take your advice as it is a splendid safety feature for those unwary.
Thanks again for sharing your knowledge, John, Australia.
Thanks John. Give yourself at least 1 full scroll engagement, but realize you can't torque the life out of just one tooth. Its a warning mark for multiple reasons.
@@joepie221 Thanks Joe I understand all that you have said and always do this and limit torque at the extremes of chuck travel. The Idea of the Mark had not come to my mind. That is a no/brainer in a way so again thanks. John.
Thankyou Joe. A really good practical video based on your wide exoerience.
Great video Joe. Covered the subject well.
Cheers Rob
Thanks Rob.
Thanks Rob.
Thanks so much for Joe for sharing your experience/wisdom. This is a real service to the machinists community and not going un-noticed!
I feel very welcome here. The numbers really show some appreciation and I thank you all.
Great safety idea marking the 3 jaw. A how to use video on spiders sure would be nice to see. Thanks.
Second that .I'd like to see the spiders in action and hear your thoughts on their use. Great video as usual .
Sharing your great wealth of knowledge is a credit to the trade. Thank you for your time.
Thanks for watching.
Great info Joe as always.
I would imagine the other advantage of boring soft jaws a smidgen under the part diameter, would be that as you tighten the jaws and the jaw material deflects, the two points of contact will deflect slightly outward, opening the too- tight diameter up a smidgen and creating the possibility of achieving full- circle grip. Obviously to achieve
this you need a perfect match of the tightening torque on the chuck key and the amount of diameter difference and the stiffness of the jaw material. But at least if you start a bit undersize, even if you don't get all the stars to align, in the worst case you still get the six points of contact you described. At best you may get it to deflect from say 2 thou undersized to the perfect size and the perfect full circle contact.
If you start oversize you will only ever get 3 points of contact.
Like putting a golf ball-- once it has curved to the low side of the hole, it isn't going back uphill and you've missed already even if the ball still has a couple yards to run. If you are on the uphill side you have a chance.
Once again, Joe, Many Thanks for doing the video. I have had my 3-jaw marked for quite a while, following one of your earlier videos. I've been thinking about a D1-5 4-jaw scroll chuck for my lathe - a bit expensive but might be worth it. I learned from the video.
I thought I knew, but only thought... Another really informative video. Much appreciated.
Thank you Joe, I at least know what kind of 3 jaw chuck I have. I believe you called it a chuck with carrier jaws. Mine are not soft jaws but steel jaws. I'm having trouble getting it closer than .003 on center. When I bought it I of course put it together. After installing the carrier jaws I put a test bar in it and indicated the bar. It was .009 out. I took it out and loosened the Allen head screws moving the carrier jaws by hand to get it closer to zero. I could only get it within .003". I an 69 years old so I'm a hobbyist with limited knowledge of machining as a professional. I have a lot of fun doing little projects at home but this 3 jaw was supposed to be within .0005", I guess I don't know how to adjust the jaws. Thanks for the video, excellent information to know.
Carrier jaws? I know Joe used that term too, but it’s unusual. I’m going to go over the method of centering an adjustable chuck if Joe’s didn’t seem to work for you. There are master jaws that remain in the chuck, and replaceable top jaws. If your chuck is “supposed” to be set to 0.0005”, then it’s some sort of adjustable chuck. There should be four screws close to the back edge of the body of the chuck. You loosen the front mounting bolts so that they sit firmly, but not too tightly. You then loosen or tighten those four screws until the chuck sits as closely as possible to concentric. A 0.0005” indicator is needed to do this properly. Then, after you adjust it, CAREFULLY begin to tighten the front mounting bolts, slightly, one after the other, going around three times, each time tightening it until it’s tight. Then, because tightening them can knock your adjustment off slightly, check concentricity again. If it’s ok, then you’re done. If not, you have to slightly loosen those mounting bolts, but just slightly, and do it again.
Early this year (2021) I bought a new Buck 8” Adjust-Tru. It wasn’t too difficult to get it to 0.0002” at a 1” diameter. But you need to use a high precision pin to do this. It needs to be round to better than the concentricity you need. Otherwise, it’s useless. Don’t use a quarter inch dia pin. Splurge and buy a 1” dia. 6” pin, so you can stick 2” in the jaws, and still be able to test at the jaws, and 4” out.
Thanks Joe .Part of learning curve has been losing the work part out of chuck.Only luck was small part at low speed. Holding work of 50 mm diameter 70 mm long but only holding back 10 mm to thread!
All i needed was to put inner jaws back in three jaw. How stupid of me . It had worked before but no guarantee to keep working.
However these incidents really wake you up
Safety Safety
I love this channel, I do modelmaking, at least I did, as a hobby, and would love to get back into it. My models were small-scale, I have a Unimat 3 with a geared scroll 3J and a 4J. (the standard 3J has tommy bars!) . The U3 has a vee guide and a flat. I used to use all sorts of stuff, like throwaway nylon set screws, to try to stiffen it up, but basically a sound machine, if not a cut devil. Courageous cuts pay off, though. I have two motors, leaving the milling attachment in place, and use the screw gearing to autofeed, the belts are not up for it. I find magic markers indispensible, also custom collets. Where there is a will, usually there is a way, but never could anyone think of making a living with it.
I have some broken and seriously work-hardened cutters which I treasure! Please stay on your seat!
200th like! Glad to see a demo of your evidently rather deep knowledge. for the betterment of the trade, Thanks for sharing, Joe
Excellent as always.
Just one critique: if your video would have been issued one week before I would have applied your safety mark idea and not damaged my three yaw chuck by using just one turn of the scroll applying too much toque. ;-)
Seriously: I really love your clear and coherent style of teaching!
As always an excellent video. I learned several things I had never thought about before. Heading to the shop to mark the number 3 jaw on my 3 jaw. Keep up the great work.
Great video! Lots of good information always look forward to your videos, thanks for taking the time to make these.
Great video as always, I would also like to point out that if someone is new and buy an old lathe, that some have camlock chucks and those are not adjustment points.
Great idea to add the safety mark at the third jaw. I also use the stop bolts to locate disk type parts. Picked up the idea from Robrenz. All my chucks have that feature now. You can easily face parts parallel to within .001". Thanks for the video Joe!
The stop bolt idea is fine, but I use machinable round aluminum standoffs. I have a video on the subject.
@@joepie221 Yes I like the way they can be faced with the jaws removed. Can't get any closer than that! Nice little lathe project by the way. A true test of a machinist's skills and patience.
@@rayp.454 I'm trying to stay 5 steps ahead of my next move. Its a personal challenge not to make any mistakes on that build. And unlike the steam engine I built, I'll take some design liberties with this one. Like the dials.
Joe - you covered it all! I really benefitted from this video and made some well-informed choices - thanks to you! Keep Well!!
Glad it was helpful!
Hi Joe , thanks for another great video . Can I take this opportunity to say that the video on lathe collet chucks with demo of draw bar use there, combined with the expanding collet video, has got me thinking about combining all for home shop solution for draw bar operated expanding collet 😀👍. Rather than buying expensive commercial solutions.So if the idea of your channel is to get us thinking outside the box , then it's working . Would love to see you do a longer demo of the draw bar and its use on a lathe . I have a lathe that has a spring tensioned facility for use with draw bar , so it was nice to see how your draw bar worked. I understand it a bit better now . Not many demos on web about it , Cheers Colum
I like the suggestion.
Learning as much as I can from you before I even TOUCH a lathe. Thank you!
Glad to help
Video like this that make this channel my most favorite to follow. Thanks Joe.
Thank you very much.
Great review. Excellent tips. May I add word about why cost is related to quality of construction. I like Buck and Kalamazoo brand chucks for the least cost and best build. The extra costs over foreign made chucks I believe is paid back in the improved tolerances. Building a quality product inescapably costs more. Some European brand chuck prices are nearly was expensive as USA made brands. A chuck is the most important tool to purchase for your lathe. Buy once and be satisfied.
I've also had very good experiences with Bison brand chucks. " BUY NICE, OR BUY TWICE"
Joe, loved the idea of the safety feature I have often worried about that. I'm an amateur and am confused about the use of the spiders.
As always, more than worth waiting for, and worth every minute to watch! Very good whiteboard work! That safety mark is a real winner! I wonder if you could suggest when it makes sense, or requires us, to use a collet, instead of a chuck? Is there any good, or easy, way to use some kind of carrier, or backing, to avoid the 'dishing' effect on a thinner flat part that is being surfaced? Could you glue, or double-face tape, a smaller, appropriately-flate, plate on the back, or make some kind of magnetic attachment (for ferrous mat'l)? A lot of glues can be released with just moderate heating; just wondering...
If you notice my chuck face, its drilled and tapped. I have, in the past, attached a solid plate to the chuck face with channels for the jaws. Facced it and installed the jaws. I then had a full backing surface for my thinner plate work. Make sure the geometry of the cutting tool drives the work against the backing plate and not scoop it for better results. Facing off a 6" dia 1/8" thick plate is no problem.
@@joepie221 Thanky, Maestro, as always, a 'professional' solution, and answer :-)
Thanks for expressing the practical realities! Very well put.
Joe this was definitely one of your best videos ever!!!! 🤓
I never noticed this, on all of Joe's white-board talks before, in the upper left corner: "Playland, Rye, NY," I learned to ice skate there as a kid in winter The Dragon Coaster in summer, a real old time wood trestle roller-coaster. Huh. Great informative video.
I did some work for their maintenance machinist. He gave me that.
i didnt see the thing with the gauge pin.. if you didnt see mine. lol some great tips, and above all, some direction to think about the way i work. Thanks Joe
Great comment. if nobody saw it, then it didn't happen. right?
BTW, my clockmaker's lathe came with a chuck that has two sets of four clamping screws, that allows chucking just about anything, that is smaller than 20 mm, and adjusting for both concentricity and axial angle, or, indeed, for machining any kind of non-concentric, and off-axis angle... a bit "non-trivial" to set up, but can 'fix' all kinds of alignments.
Very informative thanks Joe.
Thanks, very informative and useful. I learn something every time I see one of your videos
Thanks for the continuing education Joe! Marking my 3 jaw as soon as I get a little shop time.
Thanks for this educational info, I go and add that safety mark, and seriously rethink everything mentioned about the 3 jaw chuck. I do fiddle with each round part I put in and tigten the jaws but a rethink is good, my 3 jaw chuck has keyslot for each, although al three closes together from any one.
Hi Joe another great video. Here in the UK we can buy steel soft jaws that replace standard jaws such as the Burnard chucks.
Soft jaws a available in mild steel or aluminum. One key thing about soft jaws. You may want them to be slightly softer than the part. Here is why. Say you are doing second operation turning or milling. You are having to clamp on a machined surface. You would not want the jaws to affect the surface finish of the part.
horseshoe28016 Ally jaws would work fine with the bolt on type of jaw. They would be totally unusable with the Bernard type of Chuck as there would be galling and the threads would fail. Brass jaws are another option for Bernard type chuck, but personality I haven’t come across any.
@@daveticehurst4191, ah, I didn't realize you was talking about 1 piece jaws. Yeah, aluminum wouldn't work well as a 1 piece jaw.