Hey guys,
I was attempting to make a replacement part on the large today and just couldn’t get the Chuck on the lathe to hold a 5/32 drill bit. I managed to get about an eighth of an inch in to my piece and then the Chuck would loosen and the bit would start spinning in the Chuck. Do we have a keyed Chuck for the lathe? Is this a known issue with our current Chuck?
Sorry for all the capitalized chucks, Damn phone auto correct.
Thanks,
Nick
What you view as a keyless chuck for the lathe is a keyed chuck. It uses a kind of spanner wrench to tighten it. @bgangwere should know where to find that wrench.
BTW, I have been able to use that chuck (hand tightened) to drill a 3/4" hole in steel. Were you using cutting fluid? How much pressure were you applying? What kind of material were you using? The reason I ask is I wouldn’t have expected much beyond basic hand tightening to be needed for such a small diameter bit.
I didn’t buy that chuck, it might not go down to 5/32. But there’s a pin wrench in (I think) the bottom drawer of the top section of the red toolbox.
I have used it for 1/8" holes.
I was drilling aluminum. The issue seemed to be that when I put any forward pressure, the chuck would loosen. I even held the chuck as I fed the bit into my material and as soon as it made contact I felt the chuck grip slightly twist as it loosened. I wasn’t forcing the bit to cut. So light pressure.
It can definitely hold a 5/32 bit, just not sure if it has been messed up or I’m doing something weird. I’ve used this chuck in the past with no issue, but now it seems to have a bit of slop and doesn’t want to hold pressure on the drill bit. Paper Folding Chuck says he has a chuck that fits the lathe that he can loan me to finish my job, I’ll use that to finish.
Someone else should probably see if they run into the same issues as I have with our current chuck to eliminate the chance of user error.
I bet the tailstock wasn’t out far enough. Extend it a bit more and make sure the tang is aligned when you slide the chuck in.