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Small Diameter Turning Chucks ?

M

MattW

Joined
Jan 21, 2008
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Location
Minnesota
I haven't done any turning for quite some time and have recently gotten back into it. I have a Delta Midi Lathe. I'm considering the purchase of a Beall collet chuck for turning bottle stoppers and other small diameter turnings. I currently have a Nova Compaq chuck and have found that not only is it out of production, there really is nothing (at least that I've been able to find) that I can use to modifiy it to hold a 3/8" dowel for turning bottle stoppers. I'm seeking the opinions of you more experienced turners on whether this is a good move or if I should perhaps be looking at something other than the Beall. Thanks much. MattW
 
I have the Vicmarc chuck and with the long nose jaws I can hold a piece a little less than 3/8". I have several morse taper collets that I purchased from a machine shop to hold common sizes. I've always looked at the Beal and think it would work great it's just too much money when I already have ways to hold smaller stuff.
 
Matt, I give my bottle stoppers away, as such I don't like them to cost me much. I use scraps and cut offs. I also do not waste a dowel on them until I'm sure a blank is finished. I use a pin chuck held in my drill chuck in the headstock. This is the most inexpensive way I've found. You can make stoppers while you save your money to buy the chuck you are looking for.
 
Woodcraft has a very nice collet chuck set with a #2MT that will fit into your headstock. I use it with the 3/8" collet to turn Wine Bottle Stoppers. It works great.
 
I now use a pin chuck to do my bottle stoppers. They aren't hard to build althought it's a lot easier now that I have a milling machine. If I was doing the screw in bottle stoppers I would probably just use Ruth's little jig.
 
If you can't get small jaws for the chuck, you can make a collet pretty easilly that the chuck can hold. For bottle stoppers, though, I use either a pin chuck or the woodworm glued into a block held by the chuck.

dk
 
john lucas said:
I now use a pin chuck to do my bottle stoppers. They aren't hard to build althought it's a lot easier now that I have a milling machine. If I was doing the screw in bottle stoppers I would probably just use Ruth's little jig.
Click to expand...

I read awhile back, somewhere, about using a piece of the threaded lamp tubing filled with epoxy to prevent crushing and held with a drill chuck or spigot jaws. I has a piece of the lamp tubing so i filled it with epoxy. It works surprisingly well. You just screw on your 3/8" drilled blank until it bottoms out and you are good to go.
 
MattW said:
I currently have a Nova Compaq chuck and have found that not only is it out of production, there really is nothing (at least that I've been able to find) that I can use to modifiy it to hold a 3/8" dowel for turning bottle stoppers. I'm seeking the opinions of you more experienced turners on whether this is a good move or if I should perhaps be looking at something other than the Beall. Thanks much. MattW
Click to expand...

How about the Nova pin jaws? Work fine for me on diameters down to ~3/8. http://www.teknatool.com/products/Chuck_Accessories/Pin.htm I believe the compaq uses standard Nova jaws.
 
Thanks for all the helpful information. I too am not impressed with the cost of a collet chuck for simply making bottle stoppers so I'll follow up on the suggestions. Much appreciated. MattW
 
If all you want to turn is the bottle stoppers.....you could make a set of wooden or plastic jaws for your nova mini chuck. It wouldn't be that hard. I'd use a 1/8 or 3/16s router bit in a small router with a guide jig to ride the bearing on to make the recess in a blank for the screw grubs to fit onto. Then drill out for the 8 screws. Then cut the blank equally into 4 sections. mount them onto you nova mini and close them up all the way. Then run a drill bit into the center from the tailstock at something slightly less than the 3/8" you need. I would use a good hard stable wood like hard maple.

You could do the whole thing in about 10 minutes.

---Nailer---
 
Another option

I use the collet sold by Nick Cook.
http://www.nickcookwoodturner.com/supplies.htm
Its 3/8" and uses a bolt or allthread through the headstock to tighten.
$32.00
May be the same as the Beall system, but only one size.

I've found it usefull for making finials and toothpick turnings from dowels also.

T-Bird
 
I appreciate the responses and the suggestions. I'm sure I'll find something here that'll work. Thanks again. MattW
 
Nova Compaq chuck

I have a Nova Compaq and it will, I think, clamp down to 3/8" using the chuck itself--not the jaws. Depending on how long the dowel is you may have to remove the jaws. If you remove the jaws they are a pain to get back on correctly unless you follow the instructions. If you don't have those instructions I can e-mail them to you in PDF form......Ron
 
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