What is the correct way to remove a stubborn 3 jaw chuck 2-1/4 by 8 tpi ?

gmcken said:
South Bend Lathe group has several good articles on removing stuck chucks. Its better to read than to break a gear tooth.
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ThAnks,
i better read more articles than damage a gear. I did not lube the spindle or inside chuck threads.
Any spe ial lube,white lithium grease or black grease from a tube?

Jon
 
I can't help you much at getting it off, but I may be able to help you from having it happen again.
1. Cleanup threads real good before you put the chuck on.
2. When you're reinstalling the chuck turn it on by hand do not spin it on and let its slam into the end of the threads.
The voice of experience.
 
I just bought a Loagan several months ago, and no idea how long the chuck had been on the spindle, but I got it off amazingly easy. I just made sure my spindle was free wheeling.....no back gearing engaged.....didn't want to shear off any teeth......and then I took a piece of oak and a hammer and rapped the chuck a couple of times on the chuck jaw groove, out at the largest diameter. Spun off real nice. Inertia and impact are wonderful and powerful things.
I have gotten bolts loose using impact, when putting a larger lever arm on it would have surely sheared off the bolt.
 
itsme_Bernie said:
Just way oil or spindle oil- no grease.


Bernie
Click to expand...

I use copper never-seize on everything that I want to remove at some point, it holds up to high heat, but you can clean off excess easy. Any reason not to use it on a chuck or backplate?
 
You may not believe this (I didn't when I was told to do it) but it does indeed work. I have a SouthBend Heavy 10 with a 2 1/4 x 8 spindle. I have several chucks - buck 3 jaw, buck 6 jaw, skinner 4 jaw they all seem to get stuck once in a while no matter what I do to prevent it. (clean, oil, etc)
A couple years back I had my chuck stuck really tight. No amount of persuasion worked. I finally made an aluminum wrench to hold the spindle and bolted a 5 ft square tube to it. With a smile on my face and some wood blocks to prevent the chuck from turning, and some rosin on the spindle to keep the wrench from slipping, I proceeded to bend the 5 ft square tube (2 inch)! I was extremely disappointed and frustrated. My engineering expertise is not in the mechanical field. I called a buddy that is a registered PE and he laughed at me. He told me to put a 3 or 4 ft bar in the chuck (sideways) All I had was a giant screwdriver that I use as a pry bar. (about 30 inches long). He then asked if I had a 5 gallon bucket. I did. He had me hang the bucket on the end of the screwdriver (back gear engaged) and told me to fill the bucket with scrap! I had some paver bricks, a couple bags of lead shot (I load shotshells) and some other junk I put in the bucket. I left the shop and went in the house to eat dinner. About an hour later, I hear this loud noise coming from the garage. The bucket was on the floor, one of the pavers was broken, lead shot was everywhere, but the chuck was loose! It turns out that slow, steady pressure trumps the grunting and groaning and pulling on the wrench! My guess is that I had about 75 pounds (afraid to put any more in the Homer bucket), about 26 inches away from the lathe centerline. I have done this twice since that time and have refined the process to add a rope off the screwdriver to have the bucket hang only 5 or 6 inches off the floor. Works for me!
 
Earl said:
You may not believe this (I didn't when I was told to do it) but it does indeed work. I have a SouthBend Heavy 10 with a 2 1/4 x 8 spindle. I have several chucks - buck 3 jaw, buck 6 jaw, skinner 4 jaw they all seem to get stuck once in a while no matter what I do to prevent it. (clean, oil, etc)
A couple years back I had my chuck stuck really tight. No amount of persuasion worked. I finally made an aluminum wrench to hold the spindle and bolted a 5 ft square tube to it. With a smile on my face and some wood blocks to prevent the chuck from turning, and some rosin on the spindle to keep the wrench from slipping, I proceeded to bend the 5 ft square tube (2 inch)! I was extremely disappointed and frustrated. My engineering expertise is not in the mechanical field. I called a buddy that is a registered PE and he laughed at me. He told me to put a 3 or 4 ft bar in the chuck (sideways) All I had was a giant screwdriver that I use as a pry bar. (about 30 inches long). He then asked if I had a 5 gallon bucket. I did. He had me hang the bucket on the end of the screwdriver (back gear engaged) and told me to fill the bucket with scrap! I had some paver bricks, a couple bags of lead shot (I load shotshells) and some other junk I put in the bucket. I left the shop and went in the house to eat dinner. About an hour later, I hear this loud noise coming from the garage. The bucket was on the floor, one of the pavers was broken, lead shot was everywhere, but the chuck was loose! It turns out that slow, steady pressure trumps the grunting and groaning and pulling on the wrench! My guess is that I had about 75 pounds (afraid to put any more in the Homer bucket), about 26 inches away from the lathe centerline. I have done this twice since that time and have refined the process to add a rope off the screwdriver to have the bucket hang only 5 or 6 inches off the floor. Works for me!
Click to expand...

This sounds like incredibly good advice. No way you're going to break teeth and sounds like a sure fire method. Thanks a ton for sharing!
 
I tried a couple times to take the chuck off my 618. What finally worked was a small strap wrench and rubber mallet. Little pressure and one tap and it spun. I don't think I had anything locked up just had the belts tight. Dumb luck more than anything I think.
 
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