I've had an axminster clubman chuck for a year or so and have only used it
with the type C jaws. er, this is my first bash with an expanding chuck in
case you can't guess from the rest of the post.

These have a dovetail on the outside and a lipped internal grip on the
inside.

http://www.axminster.co.uk/product-A...Jaws-21941.htm

After one or two disasters with the expanding dovetail on bowls where i had
left insufficient wood around the outside of the recess to withstand the
forces - and that the internal recess can be left on the bottom of a bowl
but its not a great feature - i have tended to use the internal lipped
recess for most stuff and then take off the stub after finishing.

originally i would turn a stepped spigot to fit the lip - but i had one or
two of those fly across the room with the "stepping" bit splitting.
So i took to just doing a straight spigot.

But it tends to slip occasionally.

Two questions then - what does everyone else use - the inside stepped or the
outside dovetail. If you use the inside stepped do you turn a stepped
spigot or a straight one.

And would a different internal shape be better for bowls such as the
serrated one on the type H Medium gripper or the dovetailed ones on the Type
A ? (eg the kids don't know what to get me for xmas...)


Thanks

Ken

"Ken Wilson" wrote in message
...


And would a different internal shape be better for bowls such as the
serrated one on the type H Medium gripper or the dovetailed ones on the
Type A ? (eg the kids don't know what to get me for xmas...)


Ask over at rec.crafts.woodturning. But I'm an inside dovetail guy myself.
Allows me the freedom to finish the bottom before I reverse to hollow. You
can do a few cutsies or just leave the recess, wherever the muse takes you.
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d1...e/bb09ce26.jpg

The serrated types have their own problem set. They gnaw the tenon, which
itself steals depth from the bowl, and they're a PITA or impossible to get a
bowl recentered once they do. With smooth jaws the force is widely divided,
so you don't exceed the elastic limit of the wood.

Remember, you're not holding with a "grip" as much as you're holding with
the nose of the jaws bottomed in the recess or against the shoulders with a
dovetail tenon. Sort of like flat work, the dovetail just holds it from
being retracted, the shoulder or end bears the load.