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Lost my set screw!

hockenbery

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I have gotten metric set screws at both Loews & Home Depot.
They have the pull out trays with the metric screws.

We have a Fasten all in Lakeland that has terrific service.
Ours always has someone to help with the search.
If I bring the part with the hole they test fit it.
 

Roger Wiegand

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It's a little bit of an investment, but going to McMaster Carr or the like and buying a box of each size, whether you think you need them or not, and putting them in a lidded tray with dividers and labels can save frustration for decades to come. The first time you don't spend an hour and a half sifting a pile of shavings to try to find a grub screw you will thank yourself.
 
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Gary - I have some M6X6 set screws here at work if you want me to mail you a couple. No charge, just message me your address. I can send them today if you let me know before noon EST.
 
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Aren't lathe spindles and chuck adapters/inserts made of hardened steel so that lead shot and brass grub screws are not necessary to protect threads? - John


I have marks on my spindle to prove it is not impervious
 
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Aren't lathe spindles and chuck adapters/inserts made of hardened steel so that lead shot and brass grub screws are not necessary to protect threads? - John

Hardened set screw on hardened spindle is not a good practice. Very poor holding. Although I doubt the lathe spindles are nearly as hard as a set screw.

A trick if there's an issue of losing a set screw you can take a cold chisel and slightly wack the first thread in the hole to prevent the set screw from un-screwing by itself. It doesn't take much of a hit to damage the threads just enough, you want to still be able to remove the set screw with a hex wrench.
 
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Good idea Doug, that would work with my faceplate screws. Unfortunately the adaptor on the chuck doesnt have a deep enough hole for the setscrew to go in far enough. I wish they would have been made with the same profile as the faceplate with a couple of 1 1/2” flats on a thicker body instead of making a hex bolt profile at that same size.
 
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McMaster-Carr does sell a dog point set screw with a locking patch on the side, unfortunately only in inch sizes.

Can you use a shorter set screw and another one in the same hole to lock it in? (like a jam nut)

Stu
 
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I found out that the brass tipped setscrews are no match for a 19” blank running in reverse. It sheared the brass tips off both setscrews and damaged the threads on the headstock spindle. I was able to clean up the mess but will no longer use brass tipped screws for something running that much torque.

Those brass tipped set screws have way more brass protruding than is needed to protect the surface they're pressing against. I usually grind off (on a belt sander) most of the brass so that there's just enough protruding to do the job. That would probably reduce the chances of it shearing off, if you still want to use them. I haven't had any 19" blanks to test mine with.
 
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If you grind the brass down and then the chuck slips there will be hard steel of the set screw damaging the spindle threads rather then the softer brass tips.
Stu
 
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If you grind the brass down and then the chuck slips there will be hard steel of the set screw damaging the spindle threads rather then the softer brass tips.
Stu
That may be so but if the tip is sheared off then gets pulled into the threads and damages them its more widespread damage. At least if the chuck slips with the ground tip it will stop at the base of the threads.
 
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Hardened set screw on hardened spindle is not a good practice. Very poor holding. Although I doubt the lathe spindles are nearly as hard as a set screw.

A trick if there's an issue of losing a set screw you can take a cold chisel and slightly wack the first thread in the hole to prevent the set screw from un-screwing by itself. It doesn't take much of a hit to damage the threads just enough, you want to still be able to remove the set screw with a hex wrench.

A dab of cheap enamel nail polish on the threads at the top of the hole works pretty well.
 
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I think you missed the point that a setscrew on a chuck is jot a permanent thing.

The dab of nail polish keeps the grub screw from backing out and falling in your shavings. JusA very tiny dot, just enough to put a bump on the thread so the screw won't back out. A little bit of acetone will clean it right off if you need to remove it permanently.

Cheap, because it'll dissolve in acetone and that kind usually doesn't flow well so it doesn't go very far into the thread.
 
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Good idea when the hole is deep enough to hide the setscrew, but the collars on the Nova chucks are barely thick enough to hold a threaded hole and the screw is above grade even when seated. Then it has to be unscrewed a bare minimum of two and a third turns to clear the spindle threads. Leaves the setscrew barely hanging on.
 
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Yesterday I replaced the set screw on my Supernova 2. It takes a 6mm thread (metric). In my experience, if I need something less than common, like a set screw, I go straight to Ace Hardware. 1) They almost always have what I'm looking for, and 2) there's usually someone there to help me find it.
 
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I have a leather punch that I use to make 'dots' out of leather scraps. I drop one into the hole before I insert the set screw. If the leather dot gets lost in the shavings, no sweat ... I have a pill bottle full of them.

I also coat my set screws with a product called 'Vibra-TITE 213 VC-3'. It is thread-locker similar to Loctite, but screws coated with this stuff can be easily adjusted, removed, and reused. Reduces the chances of losing them in the shavings.
 
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Fastenal is a great store....take the chuck with u to the
store
Might be a good idea to check with Fastenal first by phone or online. A couple of years ago, the manager of our local Fastenal store told me they switched away from doing walk-in retail sales. You can order online, then pick up at the store, but he said you can't walk in and buy small quantities of screws, etc.
 
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wow lots of good info on this thread,,,,,,I like the idea of the nail polish! And with red or white
nail polish I can see the hole. I am always losing my grub screws....I was trying to find a little cork to put in the set screw hole ...but I could'nt find any tiny wine bottles.

And every lathe I ever had.....(an I have had 6 wood lathes)....I had marks on my spindles and tools turning tools... from set screws, grub screws.

Fastenal stores up here in my area always served me an look up prices too...one of these days I should get an acct with Fastenal.
I love the Fastenal stores ...its so quiet in those stores and so clean...and the bathroom is not a mile away...And they have those nice looking young people in there as store attendants and they
know exactly where every single screw and stuff is.
And yes they have free calendars.
I have not been in since the Pandemonium started...

JMHO
Mlyle
 
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@GRJenson

Say GR, where is Bay Settlement, Wis?
I used to live in Madison....prob bout 60 yrs ago...
I loved it there ....was a great place for a 6 7 8 yr old to grow up.
Colder than h e double toothpick....
 
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@GRJenson

Say GR, where is Bay Settlement, Wis?
I used to live in Madison....prob bout 60 yrs ago...
I loved it there ....was a great place for a 6 7 8 yr old to grow up.
Colder than h e double toothpick....

Bay Settlement is just northeast of Green Bay ... one of the oldest settlements in Wisconsin. We are just a short distance from the spot where the French explorer Nicolet landed in 1634.
 
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Gary, thank you for adding a new phrase to my arsenal of standard excuses.
From now on, when I mess something up, I'll point to where my brains used to live and say "Sorry, I lost my set screw".
Lars
 
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