shaft collet

tinman467

tinman467

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Sirs...I was curious if you could tell me what you guys use to hold the shaft in the chuck without marring/dinging/denting it ? Is it something I can buy, or could I get the dimensions and have it made ? I'm trying to replace my own tips and or ferruls, and obviously dont wanna mark my shafts. Thanks for your time and input.
 
save the shaft

tinman467 said:
Sirs...I was curious if you could tell me what you guys use to hold the shaft in the chuck without marring/dinging/denting it ? Is it something I can buy, or could I get the dimensions and have it made ? I'm trying to replace my own tips and or ferruls, and obviously dont wanna mark my shafts. Thanks for your time and input.
Click to expand...

Another thing you can do is buy yourself a cheap set of joint protectors and chuck up on them...
 
You can go to a hardware store and get some clear rubber tubeing or something like that and slit it and put it around the shaft till you get some collets. Contact Lee at Brianna billiards supply on here ,,and he has them for sale all different sizes...I forget his whole user name, but do a search,,<<< ED
 
tinman467 said:
Sirs...I was curious if you could tell me what you guys use to hold the shaft in the chuck without marring/dinging/denting it ? Is it something I can buy, or could I get the dimensions and have it made ? I'm trying to replace my own tips and or ferruls, and obviously dont wanna mark my shafts. Thanks for your time and input.
Click to expand...

A strip of leather cut to size. I use the tapping method to center the chuck jaws on the scroll plate and have it turning at zero in about 10 seconds. (Of course I am referring using a dial indicator as you work). Lathe chucks are designed to self center under pressure. More pressure then you can apply to a piece of wood without marring it. When you keep resetting the chuck with the key trying to get it centered or adding shims you are resetting the jaws on the scroll plate by trial and error. Just tap lightly on the high side and rotate the chuck tapping on the highest side till it is centered. There is play in the jaws on even the most precises chuck when it is not tightened down hard. Takes just a few seconds.

By the way, you can do this regardless what you use be it a collet or a piece of leather as I use. In the past I made up collets but found they can even mar the wood and have stuck with leather ever since. Also using the tapping method you can center a shaft that is not round as well as a lot of shafts are. You just find the most centered position. The shaft can often have multiple high and low sides and you have to use your instincts to get it as centered as possible.

Another tip is to mark your chuck. Whether it is a three of six jaw chuck one of the jaws will always repeat better then the others and using the same hole in the chuck to tighten will more consistently reproduce a centered piece. You can test this on your own chuck using a dial indicator and something like the drill bit that is very precise. Once you get to know your lathe you will find there are tricks that help you work faster and better. Get to know the indicators on the handles. You will be amazed how accurately they can be. One trial cut and you can just dial in the final size within a few thousandths rather then ten trial and error cuts.

I am sorry to go on so much to what was a simple question but if you spend time in a machine shop you will learn a lot of things that are not in books that can save time and produce better work.

I don't want to start any kind of debates on how to do things, everybody has their own ideas but you asked what people do.
 
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I truly appreciate everyones help. If I'm standing in front of my lathe (full size)..I'm inserting the shaft tip first, from the left to the right thru the larger hole in the head (which is on the left side). So, I have the ideas for the collets near the ferrul now....but do you guys use or make something for support of the shaft on the other end where it comes out the big hole ? Did that make sense ? lol.
 
Tapered collets the same OD as your spindle thru hole. You can also add a small chuck to the rear of your spindle, Chris Hightower-cueman on here sells them.
 
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Very sound advice

macguy said:
A strip of leather cut to size. I use the tapping method to center the chuck jaws on the scroll plate and have it turning at zero in about 10 seconds. (Of course I am referring using a dial indicator as you work). Lathe chucks are designed to self center under pressure. More pressure then you can apply to a piece of wood without marring it. When you keep resetting the chuck with the key trying to get it centered or adding shims you are resetting the jaws on the scroll plate by trial and error. Just tap lightly on the high side and rotate the chuck tapping on the highest side till it is centered. There is play in the jaws on even the most precises chuck when it is not tightened down hard. Takes just a few seconds.

By the way, you can do this regardless what you use be it a collet or a piece of leather as I use. In the past I made up collets but found they can even mar the wood and have stuck with leather ever since. Also using the tapping method you can center a shaft that is not round as well as a lot of shafts are. You just find the most centered position. The shaft can often have multiple high and low sides and you have to use your instincts to get it as centered as possible.

Another tip is to mark your chuck. Whether it is a three of six jaw chuck one of the jaws will always repeat better then the others and using the same hole in the chuck to tighten will more consistently reproduce a centered piece. You can test this on your own chuck using a dial indicator and something like the drill bit that is very precise. Once you get to know your lathe you will find there are tricks that help you work faster and better. Get to know the indicators on the handles. You will be amazed how accurately they can be. One trial cut and you can just dial in the final size within a few thousandths rather then ten trial and error cuts.

I am sorry to go on so much to what was a simple question but if you spend time in a machine shop you will learn a lot of things that are not in books that can save time and produce better work.

I don't want to start any kind of debates on how to do things, everybody has their own ideas but you asked what people do.
Click to expand...

Some very good advice given here.
 
tinman467 said:
I truly appreciate everyones help. If I'm standing in front of my lathe (full size)..I'm inserting the shaft tip first, from the left to the right thru the larger hole in the head (which is on the left side). So, I have the ideas for the collets near the ferrul now....but do you guys use or make something for support of the shaft on the other end where it comes out the big hole ? Did that make sense ? lol.
Click to expand...

get the rear chuck from chris hightower
you'll like it

http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=175456&highlight=rear+chuck

you'll want to protect the rear end of the shaft in the rear chuck when you get it too
tape will work or use a playing card around the shaft, cut to size

the leather as mac suggested is what i use on front chuck

big hole = spindle ;)
 
Murray Tucker said:
Ha......my first one was made from a chap stick tube.
Click to expand...

Great minds think a like. :thumbup:

I first wrap the shaft with a folded over rolling paper and lightly tighten it in my 3-jaw. I will turn and retighten the cue until the runout is where I want it. I can never get the runout where I wanted it using plastic collets. I then wrap the shaft in my back chuck with a strip of 1/8" thick silicone rubber gasket material and tighten the _iss out of it. Now I know she won't spin if doing a threaded ferrule, or slide back when clamping on a tip.

You should have seen me stuttering at the smoke shop explaining to the teller what I was buying the rolling papers for. You could just tell he had heard it all and really didn't give a crap.
 
Murray Tucker said:
Ha......my first one was made from a chap stick tube.





Sent from my ADR6300 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
I made my first ones out of the old nose inhaler outer tubes.
Then I went to the mobile home gray 1/2" water pipe. That worked nice until they quit making it.
 
i found some somewhat flexible rubber bushings offshore in one of my maintance shacks.........i dial the shaft in both sides and tighten the bejesus out of it.....i had issues with my chuck staying tight when using typical delrin/nylon collets and every since i started using these everything stays tight and out of site.

The material is actually pretty close to leather in pliability........its got some cushion so it wont mar the work piece but its solid enough when you clamp down good on it so nothing moves while cutting.

cool how everyone's got their own little system worked out......to each his own;)

-Grey Ghost-
 
greyghost said:
i found some somewhat flexible rubber bushings offshore in one of my maintance shacks.........i dial the shaft in both sides and tighten the bejesus out of it.....i had issues with my chuck staying tight when using typical delrin/nylon collets and every since i started using these everything stays tight and out of site.

The material is actually pretty close to leather in pliability........its got some cushion so it wont mar the work piece but its solid enough when you clamp down good on it so nothing moves while cutting.

cool how everyone's got their own little system worked out......to each his own;)

-Grey Ghost-
Click to expand...

You mention your chuck not staying tight. You may want to disassemble the chuck and clean and grease it ( what ever lubrication you chose) And reassemble it so it works nice and smooth. Chuck jaws should not really come loose even under light pressure.
 
All good ideas here. I've use some of them myself before I figured out a better way. I went another direction which I think works even better. I put a tool post grinder on my carriage and a bearing race around the outer chuck

jaws with the pressure outwards as if you were chucking a piece of thin walled pipe on the inside, to keep the jaws concentric. Gotta find bearing races of a size that leaves the chuck open about the size of a shaft. I then,

using a long stone in the tool post grinder, re-grind the inside of my chuck jaws to remove the sharp edges and small pressure points designed to hold metal parts firmly. This leaves them round and about the shape of the shaft. I

can now hold a shaft very accurately without any bushings and not worry about marring the shaft one bit. You don't have to tighten the chuck too tight, just snug enough to keep the shaft from from spinning. The only down

side is that you'll need some kind of bushing if you need to chuck up something smaller than about 3/16", or use a different lathe or chuck for those uncommon events because the chuck will not close up enough to grip it. This

also helps if you have a chuck that is not concentric to your lathe as it will correct any inaccuracies.
 
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