Some place to put my chuck key

[twooldvolvos]

I noticed that my chip tray kept getting cluttered with tools so I made this little wooden tray to hold my chuck keys. Hopefully it will help me remember not to leave them in the chuck. May drill a few holes for Allen wrenches once I figure out which ones I use. Seems to be about 4 that are always lying around. Don't have the fancy ones with the handles. Just the old L shaped for the time being. They seem to get the job done. Stuck some rubber O rings around the key stems to hold them up off the tray. This makes them easier to grab. I didn't drill any holes in the cabinet to attach the tray. Instead I made some threaded clips that grip the edge of the cabinet from the under side. That was the trickiest part of this little adventure. It took me a couple of tries before I got a clip that would actually work.

 

[main_cogg]

Nice job. I've been pondering on something like that for awhile. I really don't want to drill any holes in the lathe , would you mind sharing a picture and details on the clips that you made?

 

[twooldvolvos]

Nice job. I've been pondering on something like that for awhile. I really don't want to drill any holes in the lathe , would you mind sharing a picture and details on the clips that you made?

Well, OK. I'll do my best to explain how I did it. Bear with me. First, my South Bend 10K has a lip on the front underside of the cabinet. This is what I used to attach the chuck key shelf.



I looked around my work shop and found these springy things that I had bought at Home Depot. I think they go along with some specialty electrical channel that is commonly used as a framework to attach piping or conduit or something like that. I used the channel to support a fire back I built for my wood stove. Note that the springy things are tapped to receive a bolt.



So I took a couple of springy things and removed the springs. Then I made a slot in them to mate with the lip on the underside of my lathe using a hack saw.



Here is what the springy thing looks like attached to the shelf top side.



And here is what the shelf looks like on the bottom after the bolts are tightened to hold the shelf to the lip.



I tightened the bolts and Bob's your uncle. Your mileage may vary. Good luck.

 

[main_cogg]

Thanks. That's a clever way to do it, unfortunately that won't work on my Clausing.

 

[Jim F]

Nice, my lathe is on a wooden bench, I used eye lags.
Our chuck keys look alike, what brand of chucks do you have ?

 

[Cheeseking]

Another option is aluminum extrusions available from various sources like Bosch, 80/20 etc., McMaster sells it also. Depending on the configuration of your lathe it may work with some creative brackets or standoffs to mount.
Pics self explanatory what and also didn’t drill any holes in my lathe either. Angle brackets mount using 4 longer shc screws in existing ones holding a cover on the headstock. 3” 1/4-20 hex bolts slide and lock to positions req. i also used some 1/4 plastic I had to mount strips to hold a few qctp holders. DRO got attached on the frame as well. So in addition to your chuck keys you can mount other stuff too!

 

[twooldvolvos]

Very clever. I especially like the way you made the tool holder mounts. The channel makes adjustments very convenient.

 

[graham-xrf]

Springy things are UniStrut nuts.
Kudos to @twooldvolvos and @Cheeseking for some neat tips.
So much better than putting a little red ribbon on it, and leaving it in the chuck. (I kid you not)!!

 

[twooldvolvos]

Nice, my lathe is on a wooden bench, I used eye lags.
Our chuck keys look alike, what brand of chucks do you have ?

I have a 3 and a 4 jaw. They are both by Cushman.

 

[Jim F]

I have a 3 and a 4 jaw. They are both by Cushman.

My 3 jaw is a Cushman.
4jaw is a SB branded Skinner.