4 jaw chuck back plate

savarin

savarin

Active User
H-M Supporter Gold Member
I have come into possession of an older 4 jaw chuck approx 5"dia (its in the shed and I'm too lazy to go down and get an exact measurement) probably from a Hercus lathe.
Would a cast and machined aluminium back plate be strong enough for this chuck on an asian 9x20 lathe?
I would like to practice on aluminium before I ruin a cast iron one first.
I can always re-cast the ally one and try again but wondered if it would be usable.
 
savarin said:
I have come into possession of an older 4 jaw chuck approx 5"dia (its in the shed and I'm too lazy to go down and get an exact measurement) probably from a Hercus lathe.
Would a cast and machined aluminium back plate be strong enough for this chuck on an asian 9x20 lathe?
I would like to practice on aluminium before I ruin a cast iron one first.
I can always re-cast the ally one and try again but wondered if it would be usable.
Click to expand...

I would think a real thick piece of stock would work for awhile. Could weld up a steel back plate out of bar stock and steel plate. Might find a piece of steel plate in a weld shop that does custom burning. If it was my lathe I would try the weldment appoarch. To save your tooling rough in the outside diameter by cutting it from the face side. Good Luck
 
I would not use cast aluminum, I would use steel,or cast iron though. I suppose it would also depend on the thickness of the aluminum as well. A 5 inch chuck does weigh a few pounds, so you should also think about the RPM that you will be turning the chuck at. Best to use materials that your sure are more than good enough for the task at hand, better to be safe than sorry.
 
It depends on how the plate attaches to the spindle. Thick pieces of aluminum are surprisingly strong and I suspect strong enough to serve as a backplate on a small lathe but... threads in AL do not hold up well and it doesn't wear well. If that's a screw-on chuck, I wouldn't go that route. If you could make a steel or iron hub that attaches to the spindle then, bolt the plate to the hub and then the chuck to the plate... That would probably work. That's more of a fun project than anything else but, if you feel like messing around, what the heck...


Ray
 
Thanks guys,
I take your point about the thread, it is a screw on spindle.
I was just wondering if it would work for a short while so it wont be a permanent feature.
This is just for practice, If I can turn it to the correct sizes that will work I will eventually use a cast iron back plate but I dont want to ruin the cast iron one first.
I still have way too much to learn.
 
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