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Lubrication For Lathe Chucks

William Young

William Young

Joined
Dec 14, 2004
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Location
Wynndel, British Columbia, Canada
Website
www.picturetrail.com
I have a Oneway Talon Scroll Chuck and recently it go tight turning the T wrench to open and close the jaws.
I washed it all out with WD-40 and it loosened it up and it moves in and out very freely now. But I don't think there is actually much lubrication qualities but more of a cleaner with WD-40
I am also not sure if this will attract more dust into the moving parts and gum it up worse .
Does anyone here know the proper method and product to use to keep the Oneway chucks moving in and out freely like when they were new?
W.Y.
 
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i use WD 40 for the same reason, but next i'll try top cote, a dry lubricant, also because of the dust.
i don't know if i trust grease or oil

sascha
 
I would recommend going to the bicycle shop and asking for some dry lube product. Something like you would use on a mountain bike chain. You want something that drys so as to not attrach dust. Personally, I just clean them with solvent and dry them off. Rarely do they see the lube.
 
Thanks for all the replys.
I have some of the graphite powder with the tiny nozzle made for blowing it into lock cylinders. Might work good except for the fact that it is very black and wouldn't want to get it transferred to wood. I will try to get some clear dry lubricant but for now the WD-40 has it freed up real good. The varsol with 10% oil soak method from Oneway also looks good.
I have gallons of varsol and oil handy.
W.Y.
 
Having worked in the repair industry I do not use WD-40 as a lubricant. It is good for displacing water and it is good for loosening rust but it is not a good lubricant. It becomes gummy after a short period of time. It's pretty good as a lubricant for lathe beds although I prefer wax. I'll use WD-40 to get rid of rust after turning Oak.
I prefer LPS or some other high quality lubricant. For chucks I spray a little on and then wipe all of it off. I've only had to clean my Vicmarc once in all the years I've had it. I blow it off frequently with compressed air. I use air tool oil for any other moving parts on the lathe and on the threads of the spindle.
 
I do most of my finishing with lacquers and oils, and they are applied while the wood is on the lathe. Whenever the chuck starts getting gummed up with the finishes, I soak it overnight in a can of lacquer thinner or MEK, and blow it dry the next day. I save the dirty solvent for the next time the chuck needs cleaning, usually no more than twice a year.

The best lubricant I have found for a clean chuck is NONE. A lubricant always seems to migrate onto the wood surface when I least want it to. Dry lubes have been the worst because the ones I have used all contained silicone lubricants, and the silicone contamination can cause fisheyes in a sprayed lacquer. It appears that others do not have this problem.

On the issue of an open or closed back on the chucks, the open back can get junk in the gears and scroll rather quickly, but it is very easy to clean. The closed back chuck will take longer to get gummed up, but when it does, it is more difficult to clean because I have to take it apart.
 
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I have used Johnson's Paste Wax on the moving parts of my Talon chuck and it works very smoothly. The good thing about Johnson's Paste Wax is that shavings, etc. do not stick to it. Use a flux brush to apply it sparingly to the bevel gears and also the spiral gear parts.

Bill
 
Thanks Bill;
That also sounds like a good one and I am surprised I havn't tried it because I know how Johnsons wax works so well on my cast iron scrollsaw table for spinning the wood around while cutting. I also use it on my table saw, jointer , planer, bandsaw etc etc ..Might as well give it a try on my Oneway chuck as well.
Lots of good ideas in this thread and some more on other sites to try as well..
What works best for one does not necessarily work best for all . So I will try a few and see what works best for me.
W.Y.
 
Thanks re Dry-Lube but. . . .

uniquewoodworld.com;
Thanks you for your response.
I checked with Walmart in USA when I was passing through a city with a Walmart store today and that particular one had never heard of dry-lube as you suggested.

I have decided to order some DrioCote from one of my favorite woodworking tools specialists along with some other parts I need from them. I have done much resaerch on this and I feel this is the product I will try.
http://www.glubie.com/01_Pages/lubricant_info/dricote.htm
I have used their TopCoat for my scrollsaw table top and the rest of my cast iron table tops and if their Dricote is half as good as that it will be excellent. Not cheap but we often (but not always) get what we pay for.
Ay little goes a long way and I will use it on other applications that they have made it it for as well as on my chucks so it will serve as a multi purpose high quality dry lubricant..
W.Y.
 
john lucas said:
Having worked in the repair industry I do not use WD-40 as a lubricant. It is good for displacing water and it is good for loosening rust but it is not a good lubricant. It becomes gummy after a short period of time. It's pretty good as a lubricant for lathe beds although I prefer wax. I'll use WD-40 to get rid of rust after turning Oak.
I prefer LPS or some other high quality lubricant. For chucks I spray a little on and then wipe all of it off. I've only had to clean my Vicmarc once in all the years I've had it. I blow it off frequently with compressed air. I use air tool oil for any other moving parts on the lathe and on the threads of the spindle.
Click to expand...

John

I've been researching old threads and came across your's.

I'm trying to decide which chuck to get for my new Jet 1642. Right now I'm focusing on the Vicmarc 120 5". Can you give me some feedback on your experience with Vic? Is there another chuck you wished you would have bought instead?

Thanks in advance.
Mike Chapman
PineCabinWoodShop@centurytel.net
 
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