chuck for lathe

[bfrikken]

I thought I would make a plea in case anyone can help me out. I have a Jet Mini knockoff lathe. I am really getting into turning pens, but will be soon approaching a point where all my kits are used up. I thought I would give some other turnings a chance. Mostly for practice, probably some spindle type stuff, but I am really interested in turning bowls.

I don't have the budget right now to buy any of the nicer chucks that I've seen mentioned. Even the one at Woodcraft that was(is?) on sale for 69 bucks is well out of my price range. Nor do I have a faceplate for the lathe. So, anyone have a chuck they were looking to get rid of on the cheap? I've seen people on other forums say things like, "Once I got my <expensive brand> chuck, I never use <cheap chuck> anymore." I'm spending some time just doing homework with videos and books right now.

Thanks.

[Russianwolf]

Can't help with finding a chuck as I only have one of the cheap ones. But, have you priced out the faceplates? Most of the mini's came with 3 inch faceplates, and that's all you'll really need to get started.

With a faceplate, you can screw into the blank (into what will become the core) and turn the outside of the bowl with a small hollow on the bottom. Then you remove the blank and put a scrap block on the faceplate. True the scrap block and turn a small tennon in the face of it that matches the hollow on the bowl. Then you use standard wood glue to glue the two together and turn the inside of the bowl. Once done, you use a chisel to separate the two and just have a little clean-up on the bottom.

It's more time consuming than having a chuck, but as said, it will get you started.

[bfrikken]

I didn't get a faceplate with my lathe. Any recommendations?

[MikeMcCoy]

It would help if you break out what you do have. By any chance do you have a tap to fit the spindle on your lathe??? If so, you can make a wooden face plate. There are other options but I'm not sure what you already have that might work.

[eezlock]

chuck for lathe

You said you had a "knock-off" copy of a Jet lathe...what brand is it? Do you know what spindle size and thread per inch it is? This will help a bunch in finding a faceplate for you.. If you bought the lathe used...I can understand that it may have beeen discarded or lost with the original owner, but if it is a new one....the manufacturer should have included it with the lathe when sold. I would try the website for that brand lathe and obtain one there, it would be the proper one and probably the best all around thing to do.

Have you tried e-bay for these lathe(s) and parts? Most of the smaller
mini lathes like Jet, Rikon, Steel City, PSI, Delta and maybe others all use
a standard spindle size of 1"x8tpi, some may use a smaller size spindle, but they are more rare than standard these days. Hope this helps....
Let us hear from you as to what size you need and someone here can help
find one for you....eezlock

[bfrikken]

I bought it used. I was told it was a Jet that got rebadged when imported. I believe the nametag that is on it is for the distributor. If I recall, since I don't have it here, it is for Hickory Machines...

I'm not sure what you mean by tap. It is 1"x8 tpi. I have a mandrel that i use for turning pens. It looks exactly like a Jet Mini from what I've seen of each.

[MikeMcCoy]

I'm guessing you don't have a tap. With a tap... you put threads in to wooden stock that in turn, threads onto your spindle.

[bfrikken]

I'm guessing you don't have a tap. With a tap... you put threads in to wooden stock that in turn, threads onto your spindle.

Yes, you are correct. I was guessing that was what you meant, but Figured it was easier to just say I didn't know. I'm not afraid to admit that

[Russianwolf]

http://www.pennstateind.com/store/lathe-faceplates.html

Face Plates from $10-20 depending on size.

you might be able to find some a bit cheaper if you look around some on ebay.

[bfrikken]

would something like this work: http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...temnumber=4486

[just started]

You could try making your own face-plate with a #2 morse taper out of a single piece of wood. Start with a piece 4-5" long (the longest you can drill and put on your mandrel) that will end up at 3-4" diameter and turn the morse taper plus ~ 1/2" and then the rest to your 3-4" base plate diameter.