Chuck Adapter Solutions?

[Jonathan Tuttle]

Hello all! I'm a beginning turner, retired/unemployed/poor, and I've been given an old (Sears?) 4-jaw chuck that fits a 1/2" 20 headstock. I have a Rockwell/Beaver lathe with a 7/8" 14 thread, and an adapter to use 1" 8 accessories. I can't afford a different chuck ATM, so I'd like to adapt the 1/2" chuck. Drilling and re-tapping the chuck would cost ~$150, and I've been looking for adapters for weeks with no luck. I've tried bolting the chuck to a faceplate, but it's too sloppy. Any ideas? I'm stuck. Thanks in advance!

 

[GRJensen]

Talk to Victor at Best Wood Tools ...

 

[Jonathan Tuttle]

Will do, thanks!

 

[Jonathan Tuttle]

What a bargain! He'll machine an adapter custom for $60. Compared to the 1-hour minimum/$150 I found locally for retapping the chuck, that's an awesome price. Still too much for me right now, but maybe soon.

 

[Michael Edelman]

Is that a machinist’s chuck? They’re not great for woodworking. They don’t self-center and you can’t really grip wood as securely as with a wood chuck. Consider just using a faceplate and glue blocks. That’s what turners used to do, and what I (and many others) did when we started out.

 

[Jonathan Tuttle]

Is that a machinist’s chuck? They’re not great for woodworking. They don’t self-center and you can’t really grip wood as securely as with a wood chuck. Consider just using a faceplate and glue blocks. That’s what turners used to do, and what I (and many others) did when we started out.

It was supposedly an accessory for an old Power Companion (?) wood lathe from the '50s. Who knows! You're right tho, it doesn't grip very well. I had assumed that no older chucks were self centering, and that any 4-jaw chuck was for woodworking. Anyway, I mentioned in another post that I'm going to wait and buy a better, vintage chuck that actually fits my lathe. I'll look up using glue blocks. Thanks!

 

[Tom McClellan]

For $60 you can almost buy a used chuck or chinese chuck for midi / mini lathes that would have the 1" 8tpi that you already have an adapter for. I have a nova "midi chuck" that is a direct thread to 1" 8tpi that actually works really well and I got for cheap. Tommy bars aren't so terrible a thing once you get used to using them a few times. There are also plenty of chinese chucks available on amazon for that price range. I was skeptical and haven't tried myself, but I see plenty of people asking questions and posting reviews about them, so they are getting used. Maybe there is a gem in the rough if you find the right one.