On 02/02/2012 08:44 PM, coffelt2 wrote:
Couple of years ago I got lots of help here deciding what brand of
scroll chuck to get with my new small Jet lathe. There were lots of
really good suggestions and pro's and con's about what others found good
and bad about those currently available. I settled on a compromise,
based on reputation and cost. The Nova turned out to be a pure delight,
since my only experience (many years ago) had been with spindles between
centers and using faceplates for anything else.
A few days ago, I wanted to turn the end of a few pieces of 5/8"
dowel..... I did get it done, but used methods no body should ever
consider. I really wanted a four jaw independent chuck (not a scroll
type). Combing through the internet and catalogs, choice of smaller 4
jaw chucks seemed very limited. Sure, there were lots of metal working
chucks that would certainly fill the bill, but are terribly expensive
(and some required machine shop work to make adapter plates to fit my
lathe).
What options are there for work on small round, or irregularly shaped
pieces (not using the tailstock or faceplate? I think the simplicity of
the scroll chuck has completely spoiled this old man.

Grizzly is probably the cheapest place to find non-scroll jaw chucks.
Not the highest quality, but some of their stuff isn't bad either.

Without seeing what it is you're trying to turn, it's hard to really
offer advice. In the past I've use my jumbo jaws (like the Nova Cole
jaws) for oddly shaped pieces although I usually bring up the tailstock
until I can turn a tenon that I can grab w/my scroll chuck. Another
thing I've done is used double sided tape. Very good gripper if you
clamp the piece to it for a few minutes. Of course, you need a flat
face on the piece you're working...

--
Kevin Miller - http://www.alaska.net/~atftb
Juneau, Alaska
In a recent survey, 7 out of 10 hard drives preferred Linux
Registered Linux User No: 307357, http://linuxcounter.net