Headstock spindle adapter

[Jonathan Harvey]

here is my headstock spindle adapter and it is 7/8" x 14TPI MT2. I am wanting to try my hand at turning bottle stoppers but all the kits come with a different size then my headstock adapter. Can I just buy a whole new MT2 adapter with different threads or is there an easier way?

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Jonathan,

To turn bottle stoppers, I bought a drill chuck with a #2 morse taper. The mandrels that I use have a smooth end and a threaded shaft with a sizing washer. The thread matches the thread on the bottle stopper unit. You drill the b/s blank and thread it onto the mandrel. Some folks believe your need to tap the b/s blank. The acrylic ones I do...the wooden blanks...sometimes I do. Insert the smooth end of the mandrel into your drill chuck. Insert the drill chuck end with the morse taper into your head stock. The morse taper on my drill chuck has a 1/4" threaded hole. I use a long 1/4 x 20 IIRC bolt with a wingnut and washer on it. I insert the bolt through the handle for the head stock and threading it into the morse taper. I then spin the wingnut and washer up against the handle in the headstock so it keeps the drill chuck from spinning out when turning. I bring the tailstock up and contact the b/s blank for insurance until I have it pretty close to being finish turned. I then move the tailstock out of the way and finish the turning. I sand and finish on the lathe. When it comes off the mandrel it's done! Unscrew it off the mandrel and install the b/s unit.

[Richard Madison]

Or if you have a scroll chuck, it will probably hold a mandrel in the center, where they expect you to use the screw thingy that came with the chuck. My "mandrel" is a 3/8-16 hex cap screw (bolt) with the head cut off, and a hex nut to limit the depth to which the blank screws onto the mandrel. Took several minutes to make it. Be sure to deburr the cut off end.