Cleaning a chuck?

[John Torchick]

I have noticed for a while there is an accumulation of sawdust on and in various parts of my SuperNova2 chuck. Considering disassembling it for a thorough cleaning. Your experience and advice is most welcome. BTW, have an air compressor it that helps.

 

[Doug Freeman]

I always disassemble chucks when I get them, new or used, and clean with mineral spirits or naptha using a brass brush and paper shop towels and q tips as needed. I want all grease, oil, and rust preventive removed - they just collect dust. I then use Alox (cast bullet lube) rust preventive thinned down to coat everything and let dry. All friction surfaces get a good coating of paste wax, allowed to dry for 20-20 min while continuing to smear it around, then wipe off/lightly buff the wax. No rust problems and rarely need to disassemble to clean - just blow out accumulated dust once in a while.

I think the Nova chuck manual has step by step disassembly instructions.

 

[John Torchick]

I always disassemble chucks when I get them, new or used, and clean with mineral spirits or naptha using a brass brush and paper shop towels and q tips as needed. I want all grease, oil, and rust preventive removed - they just collect dust. I then use Alox (cast bullet lube) rust preventive thinned down to coat everything and let dry. All friction surfaces get a good coating of paste wax, allowed to dry for 20-20 min while continuing to smear it around, then wipe off/lightly buff the wax. No rust problems and rarely need to disassemble to clean - just blow out accumulated dust once in a while.

I think the Nova chuck manual has step by step disassembly instructions.

Thanks. Will check the instructions. T-shirt- "Real men don't read instructions." Yeh, right?

 

[George Kuipers]

The latest issue of Woodturning has an article about maintaining chucks.

 

[Tom Gall]

I have noticed for a while there is an accumulation of sawdust on and in various parts of my SuperNova2 chuck. Considering disassembling it for a thorough cleaning. Your experience and advice is most welcome. BTW, have an air compressor it that helps.

I use compressed air to blow out the dust anytime I remove a chuck from the spindle ... and sometimes while still in use. This may be all the maintenance you will ever need. I don't believe I've ever disassembled a chuck in 30 years. See the thread below from several years ago.

https://www.aawforum.org/community/index.php?threads/chuck-lubricant.11978/#post-112556

 

[Bill Blasic]

Here is a video on how to clean a Super Nova II.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMeL8pQFFFs

 

[Odie]

If it ain't broke, don't fix it!

If the slides are moving freely, there is no need to clean it.

I'm now not using any lubricant on my chucks, and although it does go against my first inclination about it, no lube has been working out very well. My rule of thumb is to give the chuck a strong blast of air every time I dismount a turning. Any kind of lubricant will attract dust, and will eventually cause the slides to be sticky. I'm using my chucks daily, and it's been several years since the last time one of them needed disassembly for cleaning. Even then, I was still using a lubricant.

-----odie-----

 

[John Torchick]

Thanks to all. I'll use the air compressor as odie says. I'll use the time for something else.

 

[robo hippy]

Old Robbo, not robo like me, from Down Under, has the best video I have seen on taking apart the Vicmark chuck and cleaning it. He also did one on the Nova chuck. If you don't know him, he as the most famous video on why you don't use a spindle roughing gouge on bowls.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PF3IfVkbCxE


robo hippy

 

[R Henrickson]

I've found that a heavy application of WD40, then opening and closing the jaws several times does a good job. All my chucks, some 12 years old or more, work fine.