chuck stuck on lathe

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fshenkin94

Member
Joined
Nov 2, 2005
Messages
136
Location
Westerville, ohio.
Any suggestions on how to loosen up a chuck that seems to be frozen on the lathe. I have been trying to loosen it up for a couple of days but no luck so far.
 
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have you no way of locking your spindle? one of those rubber strap grips sometimes work or a oil filter removal tool- once you do get it of do yourself a favour and turn a nylon washer to go between the chuck and nose of the lathe to stop it happening again
also sometimes a sharp whack with a wooden mallet will break the bond-
 
I second the rubber wrench. You can pick 2 of them up at Sears for $12.99. They also work on bottle stoppers that are stuck on the mandrel as well as a host of other turning items that may get 'stuck.'
 
Even if you just make a wood washer to go between the headstock and the chuck, it will stop this problem. I feel your pain..I remember being there back when I had my first lathe and chuck. Maybe the chuck manufacturers should have a warning in their instructions for new people or maybe even include a little nylon washer that only is worth a few pennies..I think that would be nice.
 
You can get them apart with a set of Tommy bars, pretty easy, or something that you can dub as Tommy bars. My lathe came with a washer for the head stock when using a chuck. I seldom use it though. I screw the chuck on like you screw on a cap. You should not spin it on and slap it tight, you run the risk of creating a burr, which won`t help your situation. Carl
 
Suggestion . . .

I used to have to run a brake lathe years ago at an auto parts house. Whenever a drum got stuck we used an impact wrench.

You could take a 2" shallow impact socket & wrap it in many layers of duct tape. Tighten the chuck around it, set the direction and hit the trigger.

Use plastic washers in the future . . .

Just a thought . . .
Steve
 
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Finally got it off. Applied a little heat from a blow torch and it loosened up. Will be taking all of your advise and getting a little plastic washer to use from now on.

Thanks
 
PenMan1 said:
MatthewZS said:
Sounds like percussive maintenance is in order!
Click to expand...

Just how "percussive" ? A bigger hammer or an M80:biggrin::biggrin:
Click to expand...


Which ever is handy. :eek:


After you finally get your chuck free, make a plastic spacer before the next time you use it. I cut mine from a plastic lid for a 5 gal bucket. Used a hole saw to cut the outer diameter, then the inside. Spun it on my lathe and cleaned the edge up with a sharp skew. (Or you can buy the nylon washers from Woodcraft or Rockler for $3.00 apiece.)
 
Did the chuck ever become unstuck? If so, how'd you end up getting it off? I loved the idea of chucking an impact socket and using the impact gun to remove the chuck...that makes real good sense to me, especially from a damage perspective. I hate to see anything like vise grips come into play.
 
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