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Wrench for the DVR

Gary Beasley

Gary Beasley

Joined
Sep 12, 2017
Messages
950
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1,352
Location
Marietta, Georgia
I find quite often after turning a bowl on a chuck or faceplate when I go to unscrew it I cant break it loose without jamming something into the chuck and rapping it. Most lathes Ive worked with a paper spacer keeps this from happening but the shoulders on the DVR shaft are so narrow it just cuts the paper apart and still sticks. My solution was to go to Home Depot and buy a 1 1/2” open end wrench and grind the sides down to 7/16” thickness to allow the wrench in between the head and the chuck. The face plates and the chucks all have 1 1/2” flats, and with the leverage and the index locked all it takes is a gentle push to break the threads loose, much better than beating on a cross pin stuck in a chuck to get a grip.
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I shopped garage sales for a wrench to do this, looking for one of the large opening stamped wrenches that come with many stationary power tools. I never found one and eventually decided I just had to pay for a Nova wrench. The darn thing is too short for leverage and the shaft/end you have to grab has a bulge/ slot on it that makes it very uncomfortable to use. It's nearly worthless. Your solution is much better, except a 1 1/2" wrench retail is really pricey. Back to the garage sales for me.

BTW, how the heck does Nova expect us to take their Titan chuck off? There are no flats on the headstock side. Is there a trick?
 
For the Titan I just have a long chunk of some sort of hardwood from a pallet that I just tighten across the jaws and lock the spindle and pull. Doesn't usually take a ton of force but that's definitely a design flaw.
 
John Torchick said:
Try Harbor Freight. Decent prices and wrenches to repair a bulldozer. I have had good luck with www.ereplacementparts.com for such things. Got "rare" wrenches to change the blade on my Ryobi BT3000 table saw.
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Actually Harbor Freight was the first place I looked. They had that size wrench but only in sets, not singly. Thats why I went with HD.
 
I bought the adjustable spanner from HFT for less than $$20 to cover that size. That works for me but may be too thick for your DVR. If you don’t mind experimenting and grinding a closed end converting to an open end, then. HBF has a $7 1-1/2” in the trailer area.
 
Gary, you can never have too many tools. I have accumulated a lot of tools over the years plus I now have my father's tools. Remember, the guy who dies with the most tools, wins!
 
I wipe down my spindle with air tool.lubricant. put it on and wipe it off with a rag. The residual.amount seems to stop the chucks and faceplate from locking on..
 
After my first stuck chuck, I applied nuclear grade never seize to my spindle and anything that I want to come apart later. I've never had another stuck chuck and you know a beginner may get a catch occasionally!
 
Remember the old military saying- Don't force it. Use a bigger hammer.
I use the Teflon washer between the headstock and the chuck.
 
I just grabbed a 1 1/2 inch wrench at peavey mart the other day. Fits perfect between my supernova and the lathe head. The thing has to be 18 inches long, it's completely effortless to loosen the check now.
 
The points on the back of the jaws work like spammers or tommy bars. I haven’t found a use for the small end so I put a wood handle on it.
That”s spanners!
 
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