Mounting wood inside chuck jaws?

[David Kaye]

Hi all, I'm a fairly beginner turner, and I've recently been reading Mark Baker's book "30-Minute Woodturning", where he talks about mounting wood inside the chuck jaws. If I understand correctly from the picture and instructions (attached here - see image on left and highlighted text on right), he is mounting the wood in the hole that usually holds a woodworm screw, and not actually between the chuck jaws at all.

Is this common practice? I've never seen or heard of anybody doing this before. I was considering buying a set of spigot jaws to hold small pieces, but if I can safely mount small wood this way instead then it will definitely save me some money.

Thanks!

 

[Bill Boehme]

I haven't seen it before either, but as long as there is good support at the tailstock end, it looks OK to me. The only disadvantage would be that you couldn't turn close to the chuck.

 

[hockenbery]

It is a technique that I have used in workshops to hold finials for Christmas ornaments when there were not class sets of small jaws.
It is more like a quick work around than a long term solution.

If you wanted to turn a few ornament finials a year the center of the chuck will grip the tenon well enough for you to get by.

Downside:
You cannot turn inside the jaws so that part of the finial has to be finish turned before going into the chuck.
This is the supporting part that you would like to turn last so your design must be compromise toward leaving it thick.
Also the points of the jaw slides tend to make 4 dents in the the tenon. Not usually a problem.

If you just want to hold a 3/4” dowel for practice then it will work fine.
You just have an inch or so of waste wood for the tenon and where you can’t turn.
Turn a small tenon on the mounting side so that there is a flat on to rest on the top of the jaw bottoms.

In Mark’s photo he is using the tailstock center so he doesn’t need the shoulder.

 

[David Kaye]

Thanks is for all these replies. I was mainly thinking of using this method to hold small pieces of wood to start to make some spinning tops with finial handles, but that would mean I'm not using a tailstock for some of the work, so I guess as long as I make a tenon then I should be ok?

 

[hockenbery]

Thanks is for all these replies. I was mainly thinking of using this method to hold small pieces of wood to start to make some spinning tops with finial handles, but that would mean I'm not using a tailstock for some of the work, so I guess as long as I make a tenon then I should be ok?

Tops can be turned nicely in either direction with the handle or point toward the headstock

A simple way to turn a top is turn a tenon on a small piece of wood Mount it in the Chuck round it and face it off. glue your top stock into a mortise 1/4” should work. ca glue should hold. Turn the handle toward the chuck last step is to cut the handle free at the top of the clock on the chuck. Only waste a 1/2” of wood.
The glue in the next piece.

If you want to hold your stock in the chuck For the first one
My suggestion is to turn the point toward the tailstock.
Give yourself 1/4” waste on the tailstock side for the center point( take the center point out if you can)
Use an extra an inch waste on the chuck side tenon may not be needed but use one on the first one.
Use the tailstock until most of the top is shaped. Do any sanding, chatter work, coloring...
Cut the the point free sand this. You want a slightly rounded point.
Then cut the handle free.

Cutting the handle free - I do it with a skew. A small saw works well.

 

[John Jordan]

You can take the jaws off.

John