My First Lathe - HF 9" x 20"

[wachuko]

I'll throw this out there. For a 12" lathe, I find a 6" 3 Jaw chuck, an 8" 4 Jaw chuck, and a 10" faceplate are the most appropriately sized. A 6 jaw chuck is expensive and unnecessary unless you plan on doing work on delicate tubes. My only other purchase I'd like to add would be a 5C collet closer, but that can be down the road many years.

I got my 8" 4 jaw from an import supplier. Works well but I have definitely noticed the issues with jaw lift and perpendicularity of the chuck face and jaw step faces to the rotation axis. I can work around it but it takes more effort to set up that a higher quality chuck.

That all being said, I can dial stuff into concentricity and perpendicularity within tenths if I give it some patience.

I did not get why the need for a 6-jaws... What got me interested was the 4-jaw combination chucks. These chucks have the features of the self centering type, as well as independent type. This enables the jaws to achieve a self centering clamping and, be adjusted separately.

Would that be the only chuck needed? I guess not, for certain parts where only a 3-jaw would work... But I venture to guess, that in my case, something like that would be the only one I would leave on most of the time. But way too expensive for me to consider one...

Anyway, back to reality...

Got out some of the aluminum stock... started to cut with a saw, since I do not have a bandsaw... well, father-in-law mentioned he had purchased a handheld one many, many moons ago, from Harbor Freight... Sure enough... and it was not even sticky...

All I have to say is that I am never going to use a hacksaw again, ever... Using this was sweeeeeet.... Now I really want a 4x6 bandsaw!!

So I place the stock in the chuck, face both ends... and started to drill... Please excuse me, but it will take me awhile to get used to seeing the drill bit fixed while drilling the part . I was just smiling watching that...

I need to drill a 12.1 mm wide hole, 16.7 mm deep

So I still have not installed the QTCP... using the one that came with the lathe. I got to practice using the tail end, self-centering drill bit, drill bit...

I got to the desired depth (accounting for the roundness of the drill bit) but could only get it to 11.8 mm with the drill bits that I have... I do not have one that will get me to the needed diameter, next up would go over the diameter needed... and I am not ready to practice with a boring tool... if I can't find a matching drill bit I will have to bite the bullet and give boring a try...

Wait, I have a 12mm 2-flute end mill... that could work, right?

Side comments...

The chuck-key needs to be taller and with longer handles... a bit of a PITA to have to move the chuck so I can clear the chuck-key to tighten the part...

I need an LED lamp with a magnifying glass...

I need a multiple outlet strip installed on the bench...

 

[Just for fun]

Sounds like your having fun! I'm enjoying following along on your journey! My learning will have to wait for my 1236T to show up!

Keep up the good work!

Tim

 

[macardoso]

I did not get why the need for a 6-jaws...

You'll learn that a 3 jaw chuck distorts material, even solid bar, but especially pipe. Your lathe will cut it circular, then as you ease off on the chuck clamping, the part will spring into a tri-lobe shape. The more points of contact, the lower the distortion is. If people work with thin wall pipe a lot, a 6 jaw chuck can help keep the part deformation to a minimum.

What got me interested was the 4-jaw combination chucks. These chucks have the features of the self centering type, as well as independent type.

Those are sweet. Don't own one but would love to. I guess it would come down to the clamping repeatability of the scroll mechanism. It would need to be as accurate as you can dial in the 4 jaw to be super useful in my opinion. Also if I were to spend the money on a Bison, I'd want master jaws.

 

[wachuko]

Master jaws? Searching for what those are.

 

[WobblyHand]

Wait, I have a 12mm 2-flute end mill... that could work, right?

It might end up too big. This depends on how well you have adjusted your tailstock horizontal and vertical offsets and if the ram isn't cock-eyed. If you haven't measured all that, and corrected it, it's likely to be too large.

If you have to hit the diameter exactly the answer is boring.

 

[WobblyHand]

You'll learn that a 3 jaw chuck distorts material, even solid bar, but especially pipe. Your lathe will cut it circular, then as you ease off on the chuck clamping, the part will spring into a tri-lobe shape.

Didn't know that. Thanks for that gem. For small stuff, I use an ER32 collet chuck. It is relatively inexpensive and surprisingly low runout <0.0005". Anything important or larger goes in my 4 jaw.

 

[wachuko]

Master Jaws means a two part jaw... Got it...

 

[Bi11Hudson]

You'll learn that a 3 jaw chuck distorts material, even solid bar, but especially pipe. Your lathe will cut it circular, then as you ease off on the chuck clamping, the part will spring into a tri-lobe shape. The more points of contact, the lower the distortion is. If people work with thin wall pipe a lot, a 6 jaw chuck can help keep the part deformation to a minimum.



Those are sweet. Don't own one but would love to. I guess it would come down to the clamping repeatability of the scroll mechanism. It would need to be as accurate as you can dial in the 4 jaw to be super useful in my opinion. Also if I were to spend the money on a Bison, I'd want master jaws.

Using "EMT" thinwall conduit for a number of lightweight projects has left me in a bit of a corner there. What I did was to make an insert (steel) for the tubing and clamp it down tight in the chuck. EMT is just an example of the problem. Where accuracy is important, you'll want to figure some way to accomodate it. A six jaw chuck is an expensive answer, and still doesn't provide 100% protection.

I have a 4 jaw scroll chuck for when I need it. And a 4 jaw independant for when I need that. I'm old school and don't like "one size fits all". To me it's a matter of one size doesn't fit anything well. Just my opinion, of course.

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[wachuko]

Using "EMT" thinwall conduit for a number of lightweight projects has left me in a bit of a corner there. What I did was to make an insert (steel) for the tubing and clamp it down tight in the chuck. EMT is just an example of the problem. Where accuracy is important, you'll want to figure some way to accommodate it. A six jaw chuck is an expensive answer, and still doesn't provide 100% protection.

I have a 4 jaw scroll chuck for when I need it. And a 4 jaw independent for when I need that. I'm old school and don't like "one size fits all". To me it's a matter of one size doesn't fit anything well. Just my opinion, of course.

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I get that... maybe not a do-it-all chuck (or one-size fits all)... But, again, in my case being a newbie, a combination four-jaw chuck, I think it would have been a great option since I did not have a 4-jaw chuck...

This is all hypothetical... I already bought a 4-jaw independent chuck... 70.00 vs 1,000.00. Yeah, that was easy to decide...

 

[wachuko]

It might end up too big. This depends on how well you have adjusted your tailstock horizontal and vertical offsets and if the ram isn't cock-eyed. If you haven't measured all that, and corrected it, it's likely to be too large.

If you have to hit the diameter exactly the answer is boring.

Not ready to use a boring tool... I will get there... Too much out of my comfort zone right now.

For now I just ordered a 12mm drill bit and will finish the bottom with a 2-flute or 4 flute 12 mm end mill to make it flat... whatever difference in clearance is needed, I will get there creatively, hahahahaha