Craftsman 109 chuck question

[wawoodman]

In every case I'm familiar with, you put the drill chuck in the tailstock and spin the workpiece in the headstock. Am I woefully backwards?

 

[MrDan]

True. But I think he's trying to come up with a poor-mans 3-jaw chuck to hold small stock, like 1/4" or smaller. A drill chuck would work, although unless it was an expensive one it will likely have significant runout.

 

[wa5cab]

The AA lathes that Sears sold came with one or the other of two spindle nose threads - 1/2"-24 on the WW-II vintage 109.0703 and 1/2"-20 on all of the postwar ones. The latter is far more common.

The Jacobs 6B, 7B, 30B, 32B and 33B were all available with 1/2"-20 threaded mounting. CAUTION - each was also available in at least one other thread, so check that in addition to model number and condition. The various models have various chucking capacities from 0"-1/4" up to 5/64"-1/2". As nearly as I can tell from the Jacobs catalog, none have a through hole. However... In the catalog paragraph on removing tapered arbors from chucks, the text says that the chuck body is soft (that's relative soft, of course) and it is acceptable to drill a hole through the body in order to use a press to remove the arbor. So you can drill through the chuck the same diameter as the spindle through hole. Which should be 1/4". If your work pieces larger that 1/4" dia. only need another inch or so of length, on a 0-1/2" capacity chuck, you should be able to drill through up to about 7/16" dia.

 

[dontrinko]

mine has 1/2-20 threads and is MT0 on both the head and tail stock. 1/2-20 chucks are easy to find and many use them on the spindle for small work, Don

 

[abracadabra]

The AA lathes that Sears sold came with one or the other of two spindle nose threads - 1/2"-24 on the WW-II vintage 109.0703 and 1/2"-20 on all of the postwar ones. The latter is far more common.

The Jacobs 6B, 7B, 30B, 32B and 33B were all available with 1/2"-20 threaded mounting. CAUTION - each was also available in at least one other thread, so check that in addition to model number and condition. The various models have various chucking capacities from 0"-1/4" up to 5/64"-1/2". As nearly as I can tell from the Jacobs catalog, none have a through hole. However... In the catalog paragraph on removing tapered arbors from chucks, the text says that the chuck body is soft (that's relative soft, of course) and it is acceptable to drill a hole through the body in order to use a press to remove the arbor. So you can drill through the chuck the same diameter as the spindle through hole. Which should be 1/4". If your work pieces larger that 1/4" dia. only need another inch or so of length, on a 0-1/2" capacity chuck, you should be able to drill through up to about 7/16" dia.

This is good info and the direction I was going . For some reason I though drill chucks were usually hollow but that shows what I know. I my end up getting a Jacobs 7B or something similar and drill it out. I see these can be had fairly cheaply. I think I understand things better now, glad I asked. Seems like there are numerous options. Down the road I could always upgrade to a good/small 3 jaw chuck.

Mk

 

[MrDan]

In the catalog paragraph on removing tapered arbors from chucks, the text says that the chuck body is soft (that's relative soft, of course) and it is acceptable to drill a hole through the body in order to use a press to remove the arbor.

I did not know that. Great info!

 

[Charles Spencer]

If the spindle thread is 1/2-20 then you should be able to buy a plain back 3 jaw chuck and make a back plate using a tap for the threads. You can hold it in the 4 jaw chuck to drill it and then turn it to the finished diameter(s) right on the spindle. That should go a long way to ensuring that it is fairly concentric. 1/2-20 taps are common and you could buy a chuck something like this:

http://www.shars.com/products/toolh...self-centering-scroll-lathe-chucks-solid-jaws

 

[The Liberal Arts Garage]

I have a Jacobs keyed chuck that came with my Clausing MK2 lathe, its No. 56B, screws on the spindle, made for this operation. I holds from 0 to 17/64ths diameter work. It says on it 1" by 10 P.
Perhaps you can find a similar chuck.

I have a 1/2"capacity Jacobs keyed
chuck with a 1/2 - 20 thread, bought on E- bay long ago.........BLJHB.

 

[Round in circles]

Buy a couple of cheap dead centres that will fit the tail stock & a sleeve to adapt the head stock taper to the same size. Then turn down the point off the centre to same size needed for doing the thread of a decent chuck off a meaty power drill . I tried to turn the taper of a Jacobs drill press chuck , but it was not a pretty sight nor was it really accurate so I tried the above , on a chuck that screwed on a meaty burnt out electric drill I got from a repair shop as it was going to be scrapped .

Sometimes in the tools you may get with an Atlas lathe there is a short length of threaded bar about 3 inches long , the threaded end of this bar fits the three jaw tailstock chuck that comes with the lathe so you can run it from the head stock chuck . Can't remember if it'sfor both sizes of chuck & I'm not going outside to my man cupboard to check as it's peeing it down like stair rods . .
.

I made up a simple holder for a " Button " threading die a bit like an extra deep socket for a large nut with a 1 & 1/2 " long 3/8 " dia shaft tapped into a tight turned hole then a blob or three of weld to keep true & it fixed in place . It can be inserted either in the head stock chuck or the tail stock one . I can slip it in the tailstock & put an accurately aligned thread on any rod held in the chuck ... by turning the lathe chuck back & forth , giving it a few drops of thread cutting oil & gently advancing the tailstock ram till the thread is formed on three full turns , then I just slacken off the tailstock enough for the new thread to draw it along as I make more threads. When I want a thread right up to a shoulder I thread as close as I can then take th button out & reverse it *& make the last bit oif thread ever so carefully 1/6 tho of a turn at a ti=me before backing it off to clean the new thread & remove the little bit of swarf produced before & moving on to the next 1/6 th of a turn .

When I get round to it , the Mk 2 version will be set on a long turned down dead centre in the tail stock taper size as I have several adapter sleeves for the head stock tube .

 

[Round in circles]

In every case I'm familiar with, you put the drill chuck in the tailstock and spin the workpiece in the headstock. Am I woefully backwards?

Partly .
Occasionally I've used a sleeved up tailstock chuck with a straight shanked drill in the head stock spindle when I've had something clamped on the side or the top of of the saddle that would not sit easily under my small table top drill press. On more than one occasion when drilling out holes up to a 1 & 1/4 " hole in some thick Delrin clamped down on the saddle the large taper drill held in the spindle tube was not sleeved & for the others above 1/4 to about 9/16 " I 've used sleeves to bring up the morse tapers up to the headstock spindle taper size .