stuck screw chuck

[Robert Feingold]

I like to use a screw chuck for speed but it is often difficult to unscrew the wood. I often have to mount the wood on the scroll chuck on the lathe and then unscrew the screw chuck. Is there a trick to making the wood easy to remove from a screw chuck? I tried putting wax on the threads but that only made it easier to mount it.
Thanks,
Rob

 

[hockenbery]

Robert a couple of things that help. You may be doing allow some of these already
1. Drill the proper size hole. A screw will thread in a too small hole in wet wood
2. Don't leave the wet Wood on the chuck more than about 10-20 minutes
This will be plenty of time to rough the outside of bowl once you get experience.
3. Thread the bowl on as tight as you can. If the screw is tightening while you are turning it likely will thread on tighter than you would have threaded it.

If you are using as crew in a four jaw chuck.
4. Be sure the screw cannot turn in the chuck. The ONEWAY and Nova chucks have indents or flats that face the jaws. The vicMarck screws are just round but the Vic usually old them . A ONEWAY screw fits and is a great addition to a Vicmarc chuck.

Sometime it takes some muscle to unscrew a bowl.


Have fun
Al

 

[nicktodd]

Does your screw chuck have a tommy bar or wrench? Either should allow you to hold the chuck in place while unscrewing your work.

 

[Harry Robinette]

I have nerve damage in my wrist so I use a STRAP WRENCH to loosen anything I have on my screw chuck.

 

[Edward Weber]

I also keep a strap wrench handy for the stuck ones. You could try using a different size bit, maybe a 64th larger. I use a different size bit depending on the wood type. The threads are almost too aggressive for some of the harder woods.

 

[Gretch Flo]

screw chcuk

I remove the screw and wood from the chuck, use a vise grip on the end of the screw, and hold the wood against my chest while using a largish vise grip. If the bowl is small/wet (think the wood swells into the threads) and hard to grip I occasionally (just 2 weeks ago) have had to denude the first couple or more of the threads with my wood working tools and rubber mallet before it loosens enuf to use the vise grip. The screw chuck doesn't seem to mind the vise grips, taking no precautions to pad the vise grip jaws. Gretch

 

[MichaelMouse]

Wet wood contracts on the threads, which is nice, and it probably also cross-threads a bit from starting/stopping if you have one of those electronic wonders with brakes. I like the idea of a strap wrench or wrenches if the piece itself is too small to give much leverage. On those few occasions where I've allowed the the lathe to tighten the chuck :mad: they've worked fine.

 

[odie]

I have nerve damage in my wrist so I use a STRAP WRENCH to loosen anything I have on my screw chuck.

Strap wrench is what I use, as well........

All my screw center chucks have a hole in the side and matching lever bar.

Lever bar has been modified with wooden extension handle.

My strap wrench has been modified to fit anything I can mount on my lathe up to 16" in diameter. (strap has been lengthened)

I've NEVER had a problem with removing any piece of wood, quickly and easily......ever!

ooc

 

[Terry Vaughan]

I lock the spindle and grip the wood with a bit of high friction router mat using both hands. You can buy small bits of the mat (or something similar) in kitchen shops where it is sold for opening jars. It's less fiddly than a strap wrench, at least the one I have, and almost always gives enough grip.

Terry
My workshop pages

 

[rjones]

you can just loosen the screw a little in the chuck and sometimes that breaks the seat of the wood to the Jaws and will free it up just enough to make it loose enough to turn. does not work all the time but most.
good luck

 

[Mike Peace]

I use Teknatool chucks and have on occasion removed the bowl with the woodscrew attached and used a wrench to unthread the screw. As previously pointed out, there are flats on the Nova screws so easy to grab with a wrench.