Work holding without a chuck

[Joe Hillmann]

I am getting into turning with a shoestring budget and am wondering what ways a person can hold work in there lathe if they don't have a chuck, I know between centers. That is the only one I have used so far.

I have a piece of oak that I tapped to fit on my spindle that I plan to make a face plate out of. (I borrowed the tap an no longer have access to it) I also have 4 or 5 taper blanks that had planned on drilling and tapping to mount jacobs chucks to, make a pair of centers and a drill pad but until I get around to making them I could use the tapers for work holding if there is any way to use them. I do have a 4 jaw chuck but the threads are too large for my lathe and I can't at the moment afford the adapter to make it fit. I also have a steady rest that is for a much larger lathe but with a bit of hack saw work and brazing I should be able to fit it to my lathe. I also have a few dogs but I doubt they are much use in turning wood.

[Roger Chandler]

If you can get your hands on a face plate or two, that will be a good option for bowls and platters..........it just takes a little more wood so that you have room to put the screws in and then turn away the holes in finishing off the bottoms. Perhaps a call to your closest wood turning club could get you hooked up with other turners who might have an extra they would not mind you borrowing for a while until you can get your own.

Generally speaking, wood turners are good and generous folks.

[Dennis Ford]

+1 on using faceplates

[Marty Eargle]

A cheap faceplate, some waste blocks, and a load of hot glue is enough to turn just about anything if you're creative enough.

[Joe Hillmann]

A cheap faceplate, some waste blocks, and a load of hot glue is enough to turn just about anything if you're creative enough.


Meaning the waste block gets screwed to face plate and glued to the piece being turned?

[Marty Eargle]

Yes sir. It certainly doesn't make things as easy as having a chuck, but I've turned many bowls and boxes that way. You can also have a larger, rounded waste block to use for friction turning to finish the bottoms of things.

[Jim Underwood]

If you want to turn endgrain pieces, you can also use what is called a "glue chuck", which is merely a waste block screwed to the faceplate, and a mortise turned (or drilled) into it. Then the workpiece is turned between centers to get a tenon, which is then glued into the mortise on the faceplate/waste block. Needs to be fairly substantial mortise and tenon though. Don't attempt screwing into endgrain with your faceplate. Not a good thing...

And invest in a good faceshield.

[Bob Bergstrom]

If you have a 1x8 thread on the headstock spindle you can use a common 1" nut and a large flat washer to make a faceplate. There are some others that are common threads also.

[Joe Hillmann]

Bob, Thanks, It is a 1x8 spindle, I didn't realize that that was a common size for bolts and that I could just buy nuts off the shelf that would fit. With a bit of welding that opens up lots of options for me.

[Faust M. Ruggiero]

Joe,
What is your spindle size and thread?
faust

[Joe Hillmann]

I just measured a face plate that I have that is the same size but to fine a thread so I think that the spindle on my lathe is 3/4 x 10, the threads on the 4 jaw chuck I have are 8x1 and the threads on the face plate are 3/4x something more than 10.

[Jon McElwain]

Jerry Mercantel's (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/content.php?129-Building-a-Chuck-Plate) chuck plate is ingenious. In the tutorial he shows how he mounts it via a scroll chuck, however, it would be easy to adapt to a faceplate, or even thread it to fit your spindle. I'm sure you can find a way to attach it securely.

[Carl Civitella]

I turned my 1st ever bowl with the faceplate that i screwed a waste block onto then used just regular yellow wood glue with a brown paper bag in between the project wood and waste block and it held well. Then you can just break them apart. I still have that bowl.. About 40 years ago. Carl

[Sid Matheny]

Have not heard from J.P. Rapattoni in a long time but he had been turning for many years and never had a chuck the last time I talked to him. Do a Google search and you should find some of his work.


Sid