Any safe way to thread away from my chuck on a South Bend 10K?

mickri said:
You don't use a chuck with collets. The collets are held in the spindle by the draw bar and you need to have a thread protector on the spindle threads to prevent damage to the spindle threads.

As others have said there is no need to thread away from the headstock. When I started I used pvc pipe to practice on. Didn't take long to get the process down. Maybe an hour at most.

IMHO Mr Pete, aka Tubalcain, is the best source on the web for a beginning hobby machinist. He is a retired high school shop teacher. You could start with his beginning videos doing and making what he says and by the time you get through the first couple of hundred of his videos you will be well on your way. There are lots of other good videos by very knowledgeable people. But they are random helpful tips on how to do things. Mr. Pete starts from square one and leads you down the path. He is still my go to source to brush up on things whenever I run into a problem.
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The South Bend 10K has the spindle ground to take a collet directly in the spindle. It is possible to use a collet and a chuck at the same time. I have done just that to hols a work stop in the collet.
 
Illinoyance said:
The South Bend 10K has the spindle ground to take a collet directly in the spindle. It is possible to use a collet and a chuck at the same time. I have done just that to hols a work stop in the collet.
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Yup I've sucessfully used MT3 collets on my 10K even though the 'official' type is a 6K which are pretty hard to come by.
 
When I taught threading it was a requirement that the student make a number, 10 to 30 dry passes, (without the tool engaged). This would built (a little) muscle memory into the operation. Once the hand/eye co-ordination is established (and the speed is slow) threading becomes easy.
 
If you get an ER collet chuck that also reduces the hazard of hitting the chuck. Still not good to make contact but at least you don't have jaws to hit since the chuck face is basically flat. Also since you don't have jaws it is easier to see the solid bits so if you need to cut close to the chuck you can see exactly how far you have left to go. Jaws on a spinning chuck kind of fade into a blur.

I use a red sharpie on the ends of the jaws as well as on the stock I'm cutting to help me see where the jaws are likely to make contact when I need to work close to the chuck.


Edited to add most collets will offer the same advantages, it is not limited to the ER type, but on small lathes ER collets are popular since they can often hold larger stock than many of the in the spindle collets. Most lathes under 11-12" usually can't use 5C collets without a collet chuck.
 
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I have 3C collets for my craftsman 12x36 and yes I can still put a chuck on the spindle with a collet in the spindle bore.. But the chuck does not hold the collet in place. The collet is held in place with a draw bar.

When I practiced threading with PVC pipe all I was doing was learning the process. The mechanics of threading. Watch the threading dial to engage the half nuts on the proper line. Let it run for an inch or so. Disengage the half nuts. Back out the cross slide. Move the carriage back to the starting point. Move the cross slide in to zero. Advance the compound and do it again. Over and over again until I had it down pat. Both external and internal threading.

I had dykem on the PVC to be able to see the cut. I would check with a thread gauge to see if I was getting the correct tpi. As Tom said I was learning the mechanical process. Spent about an hour doing this and threading is now no big deal. The next step was practicing with steel until the nut would screw on. Recently I had to cut a whitworth thread without the benefit of a nut. This required me to learn how to use wires to measure the thread. I don't have a thread micrometer and don't plan to buy one. The wires work for me. Another skill that I have learned. But it all started with learning the mechanics on PVC pipe.
 
SLK001 said:
Aren't Morse Taper collets also hard to come by?
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For reasons unknown to me there seems to be a bit of a resurgence in MT tooling.
 
It's my understanding that 3C collets (more readily available than 6K) can be used in a 10K by using the 3C to MT2 adapter for the 9" lathes. This will limit you to 1/2" dia. though where use of 6K will go up to 5/8ths.
 
twooldvolvos said:
I'm slowly adding to my lathe skills and its time to make a thread. So of course I have been doing a lot of reading and viewing videos on line. I have a burning question. Is there any safe way to cut threads away from the chuck on a South Bend 10K? My understanding is that answer is no because I would run the risk of unscrewing the chuck (my chuck is a screw on type). If this is correct, I will need to learn thread cutting in the direction of my chuck. I have been too close for comfort to my spinning chuck with my tool post already and it makes nervous to do so. Any wisdom is appreciated. Thanks.
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Please watch Joe Pieczynski's video on threading in Reverse Direction gear on youtube.
 
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