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chuck mystery

Joined
Mar 4, 2007
Messages
56
Likes
8
Location
Lakewood, Colorado
Hi,

I have had a Nova g3 chuck that has worked well for several years. Today I went to use it and the jaws were stuck. I removed the insert and the jaws to see if that revealed anything. At point point I used considerable force to try to unjam the chuck. Has anyone heard of something like this?

Herb
 
chuck mystery solved

hi,

I'm feeling pretty dumb right now the problem with the "stuck" chuck is that I was using the wrong key.

I'm sorry to have taken your time.

Herb
 
Try soaking all the moving parts several times or more with Liquid Wrench or something similar. I have soaked stuck things in the past with good results doing it this way.....and jar it back and forth as you soak it if you can.....
 
For chucks of all types (key, tommy bars, etc.), as well as almost all threaded connections & lock nuts, if it doesn't unstick in one direction, try the other direction. Especially if you have more than one type. BTDT.😱🙁:mad:
 
[Just so Herb doesn't feel unique in having a Doh! moment in the shop]

OK, show of hands...how many of you have struggled to get the chuck off the spindle, only to realize you'd forgotten about the grub screw? After, of course, buggering up the flat behind the threads.

Quietly raises hand 😱
 
[Just so Herb doesn't feel unique in having a Doh! moment in the shop]

OK, show of hands...how many of you have struggled to get the chuck off the spindle, only to realize you'd forgotten about the grub screw? After, of course, buggering up the flat behind the threads.

Quietly raises hand 😱

Raising both hands!!
 
I use the Vicmarc chucks which don't have a grub screw so I can't raise my hands for that. All of my chucks are the same and use a hex key so there isn't any confusion there either. I have to keep things simple because my brain doesn't work on hard stuff anymore.
 
LOL. John I have to agree with you. I use Vic's or their clones with the hex keys. Don't want to let my brain overloaded.😀
 
Grub Screw

You don't need a chuck to make that mistake. I did it with a faceplate.

Don't ask how many scratches my MM had when I did that. I cried.

John 🙂
 
[Just so Herb doesn't feel unique in having a Doh! moment in the shop]

OK, show of hands...how many of you have struggled to get the chuck off the spindle, only to realize you'd forgotten about the grub screw? After, of course, buggering up the flat behind the threads.

Quietly raises hand 😱

Of course that never has happened to me.🙄
 
[Just so Herb doesn't feel unique in having a Doh! moment in the shop]

OK, show of hands...how many of you have struggled to get the chuck off the spindle, only to realize you'd forgotten about the grub screw? After, of course, buggering up the flat behind the threads.

Quietly raises hand 😱

I never reverse because the lathe won't, so I can't raise my hand on that one. I do have three different sizes of chuck keys, and the inappropriate pair is always available when I'm searching. I keep two keys for my Nova chucks. One is supposed to be on the magnet on the headstock, the other in the drawer for use when I have spent enough time groping through shavings and cursing looking for the first.

Did I mention that I store my edged tools in the same bed of shavings?
 
I removed the set screw(s) from faceplate when first setting up the lathe. Carefully put the screws somewhere that they would be easy to find. Have not seen them since.
 
[Just so Herb doesn't feel unique in having a Doh! moment in the shop]

OK, show of hands...how many of you have struggled to get the chuck off the spindle, only to realize you'd forgotten about the grub screw? After, of course, buggering up the flat behind the threads.

Quietly raises hand 😱

Oh yeah! How about if you've forgotten to tighten the grub screws. I do much of my turning with the lathe in reverse. (I'm a lefty). A flying stronghold chuck with a wet blank mounted can be quite impressive!
 
[Just so Herb doesn't feel unique in having a Doh! moment in the shop]

OK, show of hands...how many of you have struggled to get the chuck off the spindle, only to realize you'd forgotten about the grub screw? After, of course, buggering up the flat behind the threads.

Quietly raises hand 😱


I solved that problem by losing the grub screw in a pile if shavings.
 
A good cleaning can do wonders for a chuck. I recently disassembled my Oneway Talon and gave it a thorough cleaning in some good degreasing solvents. After reassembly, I lightly lubricated it with a spray graphite lube (it is a lock lube and the liquid part flashes off fairly quickly). It is amazing how stiff the scroll mechanism can become when it gets full of CA (don't ask). 😱 Fortunately I was able to get my hand unstuck from the chuck in time. NOTE TO SELF: wait until the CA sets up a bit before unscrewing the chuck from the spindle. SECOND NOTE TO SELF: Make sure that the debonder is within easy reach of the lathe -- some lathes are simply too heavy to drag across the shop floor while looking for the debonder. At least, I didn't have to drive to Rockler's with a lathe in tow to buy a bottle of debonder.
 
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