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I finally have my new lathe chuck jaws and i think the person who did these to me did a pretty good job!

This weekend i am going to use it for the first time!

Those jaws look great! Congrats

Are the jaws blued gun metal or aluminium??

Let us know how it works out. If it's successful, maybe your guy can make more. (You get to be the guinea pig.)

The jaws are aluminium.

I still haven't had the chance to try it out but i will post results when i do.

The Jaws work excepcionally well!

Here are two pics of the first stummel turned on my new lathe with these claws.

Given the pictures I would recommend that you turn dwon the your pointed screws to be a bit shallower and a lot sharper at the point.

Thanks for the advice Chris.

it was the first time i was chucking a block and i got carried away.

Hey...did your guy ever consider making more?

BLC

Nice looking jaws, when i first saw them i thought hope they are not steel, if they were you would be spending a fortune in new head stock bearings.

Jon Yoo Suk wrote:Nice looking jaws, when i first saw them i thought hope they are not steel, if they were you would be spending a fortune in new head stock bearings.

Why?

yeah, why?

Running that amount of weight offcenter or even central on an 80/100mm chuck is outside what the lathe is designed for, basically it would be out of balance, even a big block of wood is only going to be 100grams, them jaws in steel would be perhaps 5x that.

Everything we do as pipemakers is outside what the lathe is designed for. The jaws are never run far off centre if set up correctly, the action of the briar block would be many magnitudes worse despite its lesser weight. It would not worry me in the least to run that chuck with steel jaws.

if anyone ever wants to invest in a very durable set of jaws, I had my 8" chuck modified for about 650.00. They estimated 1,000.00, but were able to do it quicker than they thought. If anyone wants me to oversee a set made for you, just let me know, the Malansen company in Rutland VT does phenomonal work at great prices. And yes, 650 is a great price. Note the diamond gridding pattern and adjustable center points, give for an ultimate grip, unlike the ones made with minimal grip. Have a block fly off the lathe once and you'll be investing in a sturdy set. Dont get me wrong, there are guys who are careful and make it work with a oneway setup, but just offering the info if someone wants to do it once and do it right

caskwith wrote:Everything we do as pipemakers is outside what the lathe is designed for. The jaws are never run far off centre if set up correctly, the action of the briar block would be many magnitudes worse despite its lesser weight. It would not worry me in the least to run that chuck with steel jaws.

Rotating anything in a lathe increases the weight by a factor of ten, 80 and 100mm chucks are usually fitted to the small Chinese origin lathes, CRAP DEEP GROOVE BEARINGS not TAPER roller bearings, only trying to bring my knowledge to help.

We appreciate the insight. We're just relaying the fact that most of us run extremely non standard setups (and have been doing so for years) and haven't run into the problems you are describing. Not being dismissive, just relaying our collective experience.

andrew

damn steve, those are nice jaws. looks like someone else's I've seen before.

but am I ever jealous of that turret....so awesome

turrets are the cat's ass, you never have to double check alignment, the turret has seperate depth stops for each bit, never have to crank a drill chuck ever. I can make a pipe kit in less than a minute, and very accurately

but a good sturdy set of jaws is a good investment. I learned from an old pro who showed me the 5 he has used in the past 40 years, and why each one failed over time, we then designed something that can take a lifetime of abuse

Steve, are those jaws welded to factory ones very low / close to the chuck, or are they manufactured as a complete, solid jaw (including the part that slides inside the chuck body) ?