Anyone ever used an MT2 drill chuck as a work holder?

[Joshua Dinerstein]

So not having a collet chuck or other really small work holder and getting tired of worrying about breaking something of the while jaws of death on my standard Barracuda 2 chuck I decided to try something new.

I have a HF MT2 Drill Chuck at home. I use it in my tail stock to drill things etc... Works out pretty well for that. So I turned down a pen blank to a 1/2" round and "chucked it up" in the drill chuck in the head stock. It spun true and I was off to the races. Right up to the part where i took my first cut. It shifted almost immediately and was way off-center. I pulled the wood out to look at why and found that the "jaws" of my drill chuck aren't flat or rounded as I had supposed. Instead they look something like this on the bottom of each one:
_ _ or perhaps: -u-
U

I expected either flat or a little round. AS a result it was gripping a very small part of the wood only and crushed it terribly, it was scrap so no worries... but it didn't as a result hold very well.

Anyone ever been successful with that kind of thing? Or is it better to just go out and get a collet chuck if I want to turn things in this way? Any other suggestions?

I have contemplated making a threaded wooden chuck that has a 3/4" square hole in it. But that won't clamp down on it. So turning down the very end could be a challenge for me. So then I contemplated making an all wood collet chuck but at some point while it is an interesting exercise it begins to become a low of diminishing returns. I would get only 1 size collet, I don't know how durable it would be or how long it would take to make. So like I said I was just wondering what sucesses for failures the you others on here might have had.

Thanks!
Joshua

[David Walser]

Joshua,

Drill chucks are frequently used to hold small items in the headstock. To do so safely, most people either use the tailstock to support the piece or use a drawbar. The tailstock and the drawbar both prevent the drill chuck from shifting forward (coming out of) in the Mores Taper.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Joshua I finally broke down and bought the collet chuck from PSI. So far I like it a lot. It sure does make finial work better. Can't help with making one but like I said for $89 I am satisfied. I think the only size is 1 X 8.

[David Walser]

Here's a link to an Ed Davidson video on making and using a drawbar.

http://www.arizonasilhouette.com/videos/StopperMandrel.wmv

[Paul Engle]

They make a drill chuck to hold round small items, in stead of have sharp jaws they are machined to 1/2" radius at max opening to give a 360* grip. The outfit in Utah sells em. the other was is a #2mt collet chuck in various sizes 1/8 to 1 1/2 inch ID ( Litttlemachineshop.com). are pretty specific plus or minus .010" usually, only one size per collet and come in mt 2, mt 3 etc , R-8 , C-5 ( threaded style specific spindle id shape). One might be able to grind out an old drill chuck, but you'd need a tool post grinder to accomplish that one.and nope no intrest in the machine shop.com company.

[Jim Becker]

You can use the drill chuck for small work, but you ideally want a draw bolt through the headstock to insure it stays in place. The end of the taper should have a threaded hole. You just need a length of threaded rod that will screw into that and long enough to pass all the way through your headstock, a washer and a wing nut.

I will say that I prefer the spiggot jaws I have for my Talon for this purpose, however.

[Andrew Derhammer]

Did you have a pen mandrel? No way that you could turn a pen in the manner you described.

Most of the time a drill chuck is used it's holding some type of mandrel such as a bottle stopper.

Do get a draw bolt as the MT will shake loose. I used a drill chuck with sanding drums in the headstock the one time with out a drawbolt. Shook loose once or twice and I had to catch the drill chuck with a sanding drum in there, not recommended at all. Not one of my smarter moments.

[Joshua Dinerstein]

Did you have a pen mandrel? No way that you could turn a pen in the manner you described.
Wasn't turning a pen. I was turning down a pen blank to that I had to a solid cylinder that I then turned into a finial. Actually I turned it into a 1/2" handle for a baby rattle. 2 larger balls on either end.

So I wasn't drilling out the blank for a tube. I was just trying to hold it solid so that I could work it. Since it wasn't holding very solid I had just wondered if it was my drill chuck or if it was the case with all drill chucks.

But after reading all of the comments I have made up my mind and I will just buy a collet chuck. It will have many of the same properties I was hoping that a drill chuck would have for me, smaller size/no jagged jaw edges/more gap between the headstock and the work, but will grip it tight and solid and not crush the wood.


Most of the time a drill chuck is used it's holding some type of mandrel such as a bottle stopper.
Yep, but as I said in this case I was just trying to grip the wood directly. I had expected some damage just not the surprisingly loose hold on the wood. I am certain that most of the looseness was the crushing of the fibers and the give that came from doing that.

I think that following the advice given here I could bore out the jaws a little bit so that it would be more round giving more grip and let crushing points. But to be honest I don't think that it is worth it. I will just buy a Beall or a PSI collect chuck.


Do get a draw bolt as the MT will shake loose.
Excellent advice. I did not have one. But then I had the tailstock pulled up tight for all bout about the first 5 seconds when the cutting shifted the wood so violently out of position.

That is one of the reasons to get a threaded collet chuck. I couldn't reverse the lathe direction but I don't have to worry about things going airborne and circling the room.

Joshua

[Tony Wheeler]

I have taken ten ions that I had parted off of other projects and drilled different size holes in the (like quarter. half and others) then cut then in half so when I want to chuck a small spindle or finial I just put the two halfs back into the chuck to hold what I need seem to work real well if they dont grab thigh enough then sand a little off each half

[Paul Atkins]

If you have MT2 in the headstock you can order MT2 collets of all sizes up to about 5/8" I think. I use a 1/2" all the time for tops, knobs, small spindles etc. No jaws in the way, just your spindle. Just cut a half inch tenon and you're there. I think they are about 20 bucks. I made a draw bolt for each lathe and a knob with a centering bearing.

[Marvin Hasenak]

Get an extra long blank and screw a short lag bolt in one end leaving about 1" sticking out. Then cut the top off of the lag bolt mount that in the Jacobs chuck. With the lag bolt on the headstock end and live center on the tailstock end no need for a draw bar. You just need a blank long enough to sacrifice the part where you screwed in the lag bolt and where the live center dimpled the other end.

Same set up works pretty good as a bottle stopper chuck also and only costs a few pennies. Down side is the sacrifice of pretty wood being cut off of the top end of bottle stoppers from the dimple of the live center.

Marvin

[Joshua Dinerstein]

If you have MT2 in the headstock you can order MT2 collets of all sizes up to about 5/8" I think. I use a 1/2" all the time for tops, knobs, small spindles etc. No jaws in the way, just your spindle. Just cut a half inch tenon and you're there. I think they are about 20 bucks. I made a draw bolt for each lathe and a knob with a centering bearing.
Interesting. I had looked at those but I had worried about damage to the mt2 taper in the head stock. Have you had any problems with scoring or damage of any kind?

Perhaps my worries are totally unfounded but I did worry. :confused:

Any issues with yours that you would care to report?

Thanks,
Joshua

[Paul Atkins]

No damage that I see after 10 or more years of hundreds of tops . That's what they are made for. I'm not that gentle with it either - it gets a pretty good tap with the mallet to get it loose sometimes. I just used 3/8" all thread for the drawbar. The bearing is on the Delta lathe and makes the knob turn easier (also used for vacuum chuck). With a longer rod I use it on the Powermatic. Last pic. is a top started -pretty unencumbered area. I have the ER collets like Bernie for my Logan but haven't used them much yet. As a set, alot better deal.

[Joshua Dinerstein]

Thanks Paul. That is really good to know. I think I will go order a set from the big auction site. Was about the only place I could find them.

I appreciate all the help and the answers!

Joshua