I have read the numerous posts about vacuum chuck construction as well as a few websites. My question is about the pipe that is pressed into the sealed bearing that extends into the head stock. One end of this pipe is connected to the vacuum line, does the other end connect to something or does it just end short of the face plate and create a vacuum through the hole in the chuck?
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Vacuum Chuck Construction
- Thread starter Jason Ledbetter
- Start date
john lucas
AAW Forum Expert
vacuum adaptors
Jason I have 2 styles of vacuum adaptors. On of them fits directly into a hole bored in my handwheel. The hose from the vacuum goes to a nylon adaptor. That has been pressed and glued into the inner race of the bearing. The bearing then slides onto the hole bored into my handwheel. There is a foam seal on the bottom of that hole to seal it from leaks.
Then you have to build a vacuum chuck. Sort of a bowl with foam round the lip and a hole in the bottom. This is screwed onto your spindle and if nothing leaks then your ready to go.
Another way to go with this I learned from Soren Berger. You make a bowl that is held in your chuck jaws. There is foam on the lip and a hole in the bottom. Glued to this hole is a small hose that goes into the morse taper. Wrap tape around this hose until it fits the inside of the morse taper and won't let the vacuum leak. This is handy if you don't like removing your chuck. You can make different sized vacuum chucks for different sized bowls.
The last thing I use is my homemade version of the EZ chuck. It is a piece of lamp rod that goes through the headstock. The inboard side has a piece of wood turned to roughly fit the morse taper. This is just to align the rod not to stop the vacuum from leaking. The outboard side had a homemade sort of handwheel knob kind of thingy that screws on the lamp rod and holds the whole thing solidly in the spindle. The bearing is then glued into this handwheel with the vacuum hose and whatever adaptor is needed to fit the inner race of the bearing.
The first 2 adaptors won't work if your spindle has holes in the side. Most don't. The EZ adaptor will work with any lathe that has a hole that goes all the way through the spindle.
I have plans to build the EZ adaptor at home on my computer so if your interested e-mail me at johnclucas@tntech.edu
If anyone has anything any better I'm still looking for tips for future issues of the Journal.
Jason I have 2 styles of vacuum adaptors. On of them fits directly into a hole bored in my handwheel. The hose from the vacuum goes to a nylon adaptor. That has been pressed and glued into the inner race of the bearing. The bearing then slides onto the hole bored into my handwheel. There is a foam seal on the bottom of that hole to seal it from leaks.
Then you have to build a vacuum chuck. Sort of a bowl with foam round the lip and a hole in the bottom. This is screwed onto your spindle and if nothing leaks then your ready to go.
Another way to go with this I learned from Soren Berger. You make a bowl that is held in your chuck jaws. There is foam on the lip and a hole in the bottom. Glued to this hole is a small hose that goes into the morse taper. Wrap tape around this hose until it fits the inside of the morse taper and won't let the vacuum leak. This is handy if you don't like removing your chuck. You can make different sized vacuum chucks for different sized bowls.
The last thing I use is my homemade version of the EZ chuck. It is a piece of lamp rod that goes through the headstock. The inboard side has a piece of wood turned to roughly fit the morse taper. This is just to align the rod not to stop the vacuum from leaking. The outboard side had a homemade sort of handwheel knob kind of thingy that screws on the lamp rod and holds the whole thing solidly in the spindle. The bearing is then glued into this handwheel with the vacuum hose and whatever adaptor is needed to fit the inner race of the bearing.
The first 2 adaptors won't work if your spindle has holes in the side. Most don't. The EZ adaptor will work with any lathe that has a hole that goes all the way through the spindle.
I have plans to build the EZ adaptor at home on my computer so if your interested e-mail me at johnclucas@tntech.edu
If anyone has anything any better I'm still looking for tips for future issues of the Journal.
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What kind of bearings?
John,
Do you need any special kind of sealed bearings to keep from sucking the grease out or can ordinary LLU double metal sealed bearings be used?
Bill
John,
Do you need any special kind of sealed bearings to keep from sucking the grease out or can ordinary LLU double metal sealed bearings be used?
Bill
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