I have an old cheap lathe that I would like to utilize. I cant find parts needed to make the changes I am wanting. I want to utilize this to turn cork and other light wood for custom fishing rods however the live center is rounded and not able to be changed as it it pressed onto a threaded rod on the tailstock. My thought was to get a new threaded rod, which is 3/4x10tpi and an adapter to 1x8tpi and utilize another chuck at that end to hold the mandrels. So there would be a 4 jaw chuck at each end. has anyone ever seen this utilized or see any reason this wont work? Thanks in advance!
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Double Chuck
- Thread starter Derek McCardle
- Start date
The Chuck on the tail stock end would have to be able to spin.
Tom Gall
TOTW Team
Quick answer - doesn't sound like a good idea. Maybe some photos will help us come up with other options.
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You might check out the this thread lots of options for adding center points using both tapped and slip fits.
www.aawforum.org
In general it would be a lot easier to add a point center or a cup and point
For small pieces you can put a nail in a piece of wood cut it off and hold a file to it to make point.
The other end can slip over the tail center or add a thread and be tapped to screw on.
One big disadvantage of a chuck at the tailstock is having turning material strong enough to get the chuck turning before breaking
Cork might want to twist a break trying to spin a heavy chuck at the tailstock.
DIY live center "soft touch" accessory
Nothing new, got the idea from Capt'n Eddie on you tube, but have been needing something like these for quit awhile. was using small pieces of wood between the live center to make a soft touch but did not like it because it would fall out etc... First I bought a 3/4-10 NC tap to match the...
In general it would be a lot easier to add a point center or a cup and point
For small pieces you can put a nail in a piece of wood cut it off and hold a file to it to make point.
The other end can slip over the tail center or add a thread and be tapped to screw on.
One big disadvantage of a chuck at the tailstock is having turning material strong enough to get the chuck turning before breaking
Cork might want to twist a break trying to spin a heavy chuck at the tailstock.
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Also rubber chucky has a lot of products that screw onto 3/4 10 thread
These little centers have a small bearing in the center that fits over a final point to support.
These arbors are useful for holding a piece to turn if it is threaded. Gluing a 3/4 10 nut in a hole threads the wood
These little centers have a small bearing in the center that fits over a final point to support.
Finial Chucky
Rubber Chucky Products, LLC manufacturers and distributes rubber jam chucks and other woodturning aids; enabling both the beginning and professional woodturner an easier way to create their masterpieces. Proudly made in the USA
www.rubberchucky.com
These arbors are useful for holding a piece to turn if it is threaded. Gluing a 3/4 10 nut in a hole threads the wood
Chucky Arbors
Rubber Chucky Products, LLC manufacturers and distributes rubber jam chucks and other woodturning aids; enabling both the beginning and professional woodturner an easier way to create their masterpieces. Proudly made in the USA
www.rubberchucky.com
I admittedly am having trouble seeing the problem but I make a few rods and bought my first lathe just to turn cork. Liked the process so much I now have a larger lathe and turn many things. Anyway do you turn your cork on a mandrel? If so you can buy them that fit the morse taper on the headstock and any sort of support on the tailstock could be made to work. I can't see the point of two chucks.
Did you post about this somewhere else in the past, sounds very familiar. Maybe asking about a Jacobs chuck on the tailstock?
As Gerry says, cork grips are turned on a mandrel in order to make sure they are concentric with the rod blank. There are several ways of doing this, including a pen mandrel, mandrel held at the headstock end in a Jacobs chuck, etc. The tailstock end of the mandrel is usually held in the point of a live center, but there are live centers that have hollow centers into which the mandrel can ride.
I'm not clear from your description exactly what is going on with your tailstock end, so that's as specific a suggestion as I can provide.
I'm not clear from your description exactly what is going on with your tailstock end, so that's as specific a suggestion as I can provide.
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I'm with Dean Center about not being really clear about your description of the live center and how it is attached to the tailstock. But it sounds like you are saying that there isn't a Morse taper connection like we would normally expect. Instead, there is some sort of permanent connection. I think that a photo or two would help (worth a thousand words and all that stuff).
Your idea about putting a chuck on each end would most probably turn out to be a big disappointment because of radial and angular alignment errors between the headstock and tailstock. A cheap lathe is bound to have large alignment errors. It sounds like you could wind up spending a lot of money trying to modify that lathe. I think it would be better to find a new or used lathe that fits your budget. And no matter what lathe, I would not recommend putting a chuck on both ends. Just for the record, I have actually done that on my Robust American Beauty lathe and it sort of worked, but there was some vibration that resulted from that arrangement.
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You might be thinking of John Torchick. He was one of the most active members on the forum and then suddenly no more posts.
I cannot tell a lie, twas I.
Live Center Chuck
Is this a bad idea? If so, why? And how bad? The photo is just a mock up of what I'm considering. The tailstock chuck is not attached in the photo, just pressed against the blank. If I do this for real there will be a chuck on a tenon at the headstock and a second chuck on a tenon at the...
Here are some rod making tips with your lathe. How you hold your rod components on the lathe will depend on the type of rod components you are using. One chuck and one or more steady rests will hold the fishing rod if the rod blank is constructed from a one piece blank. You do not use the tail stock. Also it’s possible to be able to use the lathe to assist in wrapping your guides if your lathe is capable of very slow speeds in this holding configuration. If the fishing rod is in two pieces, to turn the cork on the rod butt you will need a small chuck and a revolving cone center in the tailstock that will fit into the end of the reel seat holder. If either is not the case, send a picture.