Stuck drill chuck

[Redshed]

I have gotten my Dirll chuck stuck in my headstock morse taper after a first attempt at a pool cue. I have already tried using a knock-out bar but it has also gotten stuck as the drill chuck has a hole in the back. I also tried WD-40, a little heat, and twisting it with no luck.
Does anyone have any ideas?

 

[jttheclockman]

How can a knockout bar get stuck?? You got me on that one. The bar is smaller diameter than the hole. Besides that looks like a piece of rod. Take visegrips and twist that rod. Have no worries about butchering because it does not belong there. If you do not want to boogger it up then see if you can thread double nuts on it and back it up and turn with a wrench. Use PB Blaster in the hole and let it soak abit. After you get all out you need to check inside and see if any debris or nicks in there.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/PB-Blast...44d1c86434891b47ef00accdf7789261&gclsrc=3p.ds

 

[Redshed]

thanks, I will definitely try that.

 

[egnald]

Hmmmm - not all penetrating oils are the same (WD-40 really isn't a penetrating oil). The best I've found is CRC-Freezeoff.
You could also get a big nut that has the same threads as your spindle, cut it in half, place it on the spindle and clamp it back together to hold it on. Then use a wrench to turn it - applying force to the chuck. You would also most likely need to clamp together some kind of "split" spacer between the nut and the chuck as the chuck looks like it is quite a ways away from the spindle threads. I would try some CRC-Freezeoff first though. Most auto parts stores carry the stuff.

Good Luck
Dave

 

[Redshed]

just got the knock-out bar out with vise-grips

 

[Redshed]

penetrating oil is on the way

 

[Edgar]

It looks to me like you're using a drawbar for a knockout bar. A knockout bar should be just smaller than the hole through the headstock and larger than the drawbar hole in the chuck.

At the risk of saying something you may already know, a drawbar should always be used when a Jacobs Chuck is inserted into the headstock for safety purposes. A threaded bar screws into the back of the Chuck and is held tight against the back end of the headstock with a threaded knob on the end of the drawbar.

Using a drawbar or other rod that is small enough to fit into the hole in the Chuck as a knockout bar is likely to damage the drawbar threads of the Chuck.

 

[Redshed]

Some penetrating oil and a bigger knock-out bar later and it's out! thanks for the help!

 

[monophoto]

Agree with Edgar - looks like a drawbar rather than a knockout bar.

First, don't beat yourself up - we've all done something like this. Fortunately, there are a number of solutions, some obscure, and at least one that is very obvious.

First, the more obscure solutions:
1. Put the chuck key into the chuck, and then use it to apply leverage to break loose the stuck taper. However, be aware that the jacobs chuck mandrel is double-ended - a Morse Taper on one end (the end that is stuck in the headstock spindle), and a JT33 taper on the other end. Applying leverage using the chuck key could just break loose the JT33 taper which removes the chuck, but leaves the mandrel stuck in the headstock spindle.
2. A variation on that idea - open the jaws of the chuck, and insert something between them that can be used to lever the chuck free. This is a common solution when the chuck that is stuck is a scroll chuck (a problem that we have all had). But again, the the problem is that trying to break things loose by applying leverage to the chuck could break loose the JT33 taper rather than the MT taper.

But the best solution is the simplest - using the wooden mallet that you should have permanently stored at the headstock of the lather, just tap the end of the drawbar as it comes through the handwheel. Realistically, the difference between a drawbar and a knockout bar is that the diameter of a drawbar is smaller, and the end is threaded to screw into the end of the morse taper on the jacobs chuck. But if the chuck is stuck - tapping on the end of either has the same effect - it loosens the morse taper.

In fact, when I made my drawbar, I made a threaded HDPE cap that fits on the outboard end. That cap serves two functions. First, it makes the end of the drawbar smooth so that I don't gouge my hand when I grab the handwheel. After you have done that a few times, you get the message why that is important. Second, it provides a smooth, hard plastic surface that I can tap if I get carried away when tightening the drawbar and pull the morse taper in so far that it gets stuck.

And you say you don't have a mallet stored at the end of the lathe - - - why not? If you are a wood turner, you can easily make one from a scrap of firewood.