Nut Starter

[homebrewed]

I finally got tired of the struggle to swap lathe chucks on my mini lathe. The chucks are held in place by threaded studs, and there's not enough clearance between the headstock and spindle flange to get your fingers in there while holding a nut. That means it's done with fingertips. I usually drop at least one nut in the process, as a result sometimes needing to get down on my hands and knees to find where the damned thing went. So I made a nut starter with a magnetic holder:




All made with stuff I had lying around the cave. The body is aluminum so the magnetic field can get to the other side and hold the nut in place. A drop of epoxy holds the magnet in place. Not pretty but it gets the job done.

 

[mikey]

Great idea!

 

[homebrewed]

If anyone makes something similar, be aware that the aluminum sides aren't all that strong. I tried using the tool to loosen a nut and the sides bent out. Oops. Some pliers fixed that

The magnet on the back also gives you a nice way to store the tool near the lathe, just hang it on some steel item nearby.

 

[Pierre52]

Brilliant idea thanks Home Brewed. I have the same issue so I will be unshamelessly stealing your idea to make one for myself. Point noted on the arm thickness.

 

[Winegrower]

Great idea! This is one of the things I love about this hobby, that you can take problems like this and by simply expending hours you can save seconds.

 

[FanMan]

https://www.handeeclamp.com/