Chuck Cradle

[rwm]

I made a chuck cradle to avoid damaging my D1-3 spindle. I wanted to use a single piece of oak, but I realized it would be too difficult to cut slots to perfectly fit the ways of my lathe. I decided I could more easily make followers for the ways and glue the cradle to those.
I used the table saw with the blade angled at 45 deg to make this V:

Then I mocked up the cradle on the ways and scribed a line on the cross bars. Then cut that out to form the cradle.


Then I glued the followers to the cradle cross pieces. I actually glued it in place under the chuck to get the alignment right:




Suggestions on what to finish this with? Polyurethane? Oil?
Robert

 

[Bi11Hudson]

I vote for oil based poly.
Modern woodworkers use water based poly these days. I don't know if oil based is even still available. My house is well over 100 years old. When I take wood out of it during construction projects, that wood gets reused for something. Very little gets thrown out here. I also have a dozen or so squares (100 sq ft) of hardwood flooring. Overages from Wife's work. . . Mostly oak, I mill it down S2S (smooth two sides) for small jobs I want to look nice.

I can't say how poly will stand up for your application. I keep a number of tools in boxes I've made that are dipped with oil when they are put up. The poly stands up well there. How abrasion would affect it is debatable.

.

 

[silence dogood]

I'd go for some mineral oil finish. It's going to get covered in oil anyway. Had some extra Marvel Mystery Oil and used that and it works just fine.

 

[RJSakowski]

I would go with oil. Inevitably, a urethane finish will get scratched but an oil finish is self healing.

 

[RJSakowski]

I vote for oil based poly.
Modern woodworkers use water based poly these days. I don't know if oil based is even still available. My house is well over 100 years old. When I take wood out of it during construction projects, that wood gets reused for something. Very little gets thrown out here. I also have a dozen or so squares (100 sq ft) of hardwood flooring. Overages from Wife's work. . . Mostly oak, I mill it down S2S (smooth two sides) for small jobs I want to look nice.

I can't say how poly will stand up for your application. I keep a number of tools in boxes I've made that are dipped with oil when they are put up. The poly stands up well there. How abrasion would affect it is debatable.

.

Minwax and Varathane still make oil based polyurethane in a variety of formulations. Oil based is my choice for work exposed to moisture.

 

[rwm]

Definitely going to get scratched and covered with oil. I didn't know how well oil based Poly would hold up to the oil and grease. I just don't want a gummy mess.
Now I need to make one for the 8"
Robert

 

[SLK001]

Use a light machine oil, like spindle oil. It will work its way into the wood, just like tung oil, or other wood finish oil. If it gets onto anything, it won't hurt it.

Or, you could just leave it natural.