Work holding without a chuck

I am getting into turning with a shoestring budget and am wondering what ways a person can hold work in there lathe if they don't have a chuck, I know between centers. That is the only one I have used so far.

I have a piece of oak that I tapped to fit on my spindle that I plan to make a face plate out of. (I borrowed the tap an no longer have access to it) I also have 4 or 5 taper blanks that had planned on drilling and tapping to mount jacobs chucks to, make a pair of centers and a drill pad but until I get around to making them I could use the tapers for work holding if there is any way to use them. I do have a 4 jaw chuck but the threads are too large for my lathe and I can't at the moment afford the adapter to make it fit. I also have a steady rest that is for a much larger lathe but with a bit of hack saw work and brazing I should be able to fit it to my lathe. I also have a few dogs but I doubt they are much use in turning wood.

If you can get your hands on a face plate or two, that will be a good option for bowls and platters..........it just takes a little more wood so that you have room to put the screws in and then turn away the holes in finishing off the bottoms. Perhaps a call to your closest wood turning club could get you hooked up with other turners who might have an extra they would not mind you borrowing for a while until you can get your own.

Generally speaking, wood turners are good and generous folks.

+1 on using faceplates

A cheap faceplate, some waste blocks, and a load of hot glue is enough to turn just about anything if you're creative enough.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Marty Eargle

A cheap faceplate, some waste blocks, and a load of hot glue is enough to turn just about anything if you're creative enough.

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Meaning the waste block gets screwed to face plate and glued to the piece being turned?

Yes sir. It certainly doesn't make things as easy as having a chuck, but I've turned many bowls and boxes that way. You can also have a larger, rounded waste block to use for friction turning to finish the bottoms of things.

If you want to turn endgrain pieces, you can also use what is called a "glue chuck", which is merely a waste block screwed to the faceplate, and a mortise turned (or drilled) into it. Then the workpiece is turned between centers to get a tenon, which is then glued into the mortise on the faceplate/waste block. Needs to be fairly substantial mortise and tenon though. Don't attempt screwing into endgrain with your faceplate. Not a good thing...

And invest in a good faceshield.

If you have a 1x8 thread on the headstock spindle you can use a common 1" nut and a large flat washer to make a faceplate. There are some others that are common threads also.

Bob, Thanks, It is a 1x8 spindle, I didn't realize that that was a common size for bolts and that I could just buy nuts off the shelf that would fit. With a bit of welding that opens up lots of options for me.

Joe,
What is your spindle size and thread?
faust

I just measured a face plate that I have that is the same size but to fine a thread so I think that the spindle on my lathe is 3/4 x 10, the threads on the 4 jaw chuck I have are 8x1 and the threads on the face plate are 3/4x something more than 10.

Jerry Mercantel's chuck plate is ingenious. In the tutorial he shows how he mounts it via a scroll chuck, however, it would be easy to adapt to a faceplate, or even thread it to fit your spindle. I'm sure you can find a way to attach it securely.

I turned my 1st ever bowl with the faceplate that i screwed a waste block onto then used just regular yellow wood glue with a brown paper bag in between the project wood and waste block and it held well. Then you can just break them apart. I still have that bowl.. About 40 years ago. Carl

Have not heard from J.P. Rapattoni in a long time but he had been turning for many years and never had a chuck the last time I talked to him. Do a Google search and you should find some of his work.


Sid