# First (successful) attempt at a lathe project: Drill chuck arbor



## Jawn (Oct 25, 2014)

I say successful, but there's things I may do differently in a second go-round (turning final shank diameter with chuck installed to correct for runout... bad idea or no?)

I had an old Jacobs 3/8" chuck laying around... now that I have all this machinery, why not make use of it? Turned a 1/2" straight shank to fit a mill collet, then turned and threaded the other end to match the 3/8"-24tpi of the chuck. I think I'm getting the hang of this.


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## Shadowdog500 (Oct 25, 2014)

Looks like it came out great!!!


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## Andre (Oct 25, 2014)

Nice work, now your going to have to get some Z axis power feed. All that knee cranking gets old, quick.


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## chips&more (Oct 25, 2014)

Maybe yes and maybe no. If the drill chuck has a run-out problem. Then is this problem throughout the range of the chuck jaws? Because if you set it up/chuck it and true the shaft. The chuck my run out in another jaw position. And chucks like you have are terrible for side loads. You would probably have an unhappy result trying to machine the shaft and have the chuck stay grabbed to an alignment shaft or be ridged enough…Good Luck, Dave.


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## Jawn (Oct 25, 2014)

chips&more said:


> Maybe yes and maybe no. If the drill chuck has a run-out problem. Then is this problem throughout the range of the chuck jaws? Because if you set it up/chuck it and true the shaft. The chuck my run out in another jaw position. And chucks like you have are terrible for side loads. You would probably have an unhappy result trying to machine the shaft and have the chuck stay grabbed to an alignment shaft or be ridged enough…Good Luck, Dave.



I did chuck it up that way to shave a slight burr off the back of the arbor I made... just not sure how it'd hold up to a real cut. But with a piece of drill blank in the lathe chuck, the drill chuck on the end of that, the arbor sticking out has visible runout. Didn't measure it yet. 

In any case, if it works, it works... if it doesn't, it was a good introductory exercise in turning, facing, and threading (would have tried parting, if I had a parting blade... instead, cut it off with an angle grinder (away from the lathe of course) and faced it smooth).


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## Bill Gruby (Oct 26, 2014)

Andre said:


> Nice work, now your going to have to get some Z axis power feed. All that knee cranking gets old, quick.



 I'm 68 years old and Knee cranking never gets old. I don't use the Knee to drill a hole, that's what the Fine Down Feed is for.   :thinking:    To the OP, very nice work for your first completed project. It only gets better from here.

 "Billy G"


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## smallfly (Oct 26, 2014)

congrat's  really  nice  work !

      re  steve  in  mt.


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## Andre (Oct 26, 2014)

Bill Gruby said:


> I'm 68 years old and Knee cranking never gets old. I don't use the Knee to drill a hole, that's what the Fine Down Feed is for.   :thinking:    To the OP, very nice work for your first completed project. It only gets better from here.
> 
> "Billy G"



I do the same, but you have to lower the table to fit the chuck in the collet, then you need more clearance for a long jobber drill. Takes my mill about 30 cranks to lower the table enough to drill.


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## smallfly (Oct 26, 2014)

see  this  link--http://www.machinebuildne.com/
http://www.machinebuildne.com/
     these  people can  help with the ''cranking''  they are ''servo''  dealers and remove used table drives for b.p.mills
     every  month.  i  bought 3--used drive  motors from them --so  far they work  well. most of us do not operate 24/7 's.
     in   my  work iam almost a  hobbiest -sooooooooo  do i need a brand  new drive??  hope this helps with the ''toil''
     of all the  cranking.  i  did not care for it either.  re  steve  in  mt.


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## Jawn (Oct 26, 2014)

Andre said:


> I do the same, but you have to lower the table to fit the chuck in the collet, then you need more clearance for a long jobber drill. Takes my mill about 30 cranks to lower the table enough to drill.



That's what inspired this... it's a tiny 3/8" chuck, and a stub arbor so I can get it in the mill without raising the head (no knee, it's a round column mill/drill).


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## GarageGuy (Oct 26, 2014)

That's pretty nice for a first project!  I think I made some spacers or bushings.  Certainly nothing with threads.  Good job!  The sky is the limit.:thumbzup3:

GG


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