Quick DIY Self-Ejecting Lathe Chuck Key

Mark Stonich

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Sep 24, 2016
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I have almost no short-term memory, thanks to one of those jerks that thinks it’s OK to be chatting on the phone, when they should be paying attention to where they're pointing their SUV. Needless to say, I've left the key in the chuck of my Grizzley G0602 more than once. Haven't turned it on with the key in, but I realized it's just a matter of time.

I turned down the OD of the key to roughly 0.005' less than the ID of a spring I had on hand. Except for the 1/4" closest to the handle, which is roughly 0.005' larger than the ID of the spring.

I do a lot of repetitious work using the same size pieces. So I usually just give the key 1/2 a turn, dozens of times per hour. When I need many turns of the key, the spring could get really annoying. But all it takes is a quick counter-clockwise twist to remove or replace the spring. Removing the spring reminds me why it's there, so I doubt I'll forget again, even when it's off.

self_ejecting_key.jpg
 
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