Three-Jaw Chuck

[Russell Neyman]

Gonna try to sort this out again. I went to the metalworking discussion looking for the same answers and got rather curt and unsatisfactory responses. Guess they kinda get their panties in a bunch when a sawduster enters their domain.

I "inherited" this three-jaw chuck when I purchased a used lathe, and it seems to me that it's a metalworking unit. There's no trademark on it. The darn thing is quite heavy (15-20 pounds) and the body is closed with a diameter of six inches. The jaws are straight (no dovetail) and grooved, stepped, and reversible. The metal guys said is wasn't any good for their work and was probably a low-end woodworking unit, but I've never seen anything like it in the woodworking community.

Three-Jaw Chuck.jpg

Here's my take: Because it's heavy, it's useful for rough-turning irregular blanks as long as it's used with the tailstock engaged. The size and bulk acts like a flywheel and tends to balance the object. And the three-jaws means it can grab onto just about any shape (four jaws can't) and the range of opening (1" to 7") makes it useful. I sometimes wrap it in cloth and use it to nervously hold the ID of a nearly-finished bowl to trim the bottom when the softjaws won't fit. BUT-- the lack of tapered jaw faces doesn't hold pieces as well so I don't trust it for my finished work and almost never use it without securing the tailstock.

Three-jaw chucks for metalworking are surprisingly expensive -- $300-plus is not uncommon -- despite what the metalworking guys said.

Not sure if I should keep it or sell it. I've thought about modifying the jaws but that's really hardened stock. Have any of you old-timers seen/used one of these before? Your thoughts?

[James Combs]

Russell, I have a small Grizzly metal lathe and your chuck looks just like the three jaw that came with it. I can't help you with whether it would work for wood but I don't see any reason why it wouldn't especially as you indicated the tail-stock is used consistently. Personally I would keep it. There are occasions where a three jaw is nice to have, for example as you mentioned, odd shapes.

[Wally Dickerman]

Keep it. You'll find lots of uses for a 3-jaw machinist's chuck. Back in the days before most of you guys knew what a lathe looked like, the popular 4-jaw scroll chuck hadn't been invented. A lot of turners, myself included, used the 3-jaw. Those narrow jaws really bit into soft wood, so they had to be retightened frequently.

The 3-jaw is a good chuck to hold thin pieces of wood down to less than 3/8 in. I used mine on 3/8 in. bottle stopper dowels. I used it a lot for turning weed pots. The jaws are reversable (they're numbered on both ends to get them in the right order). Mine can grap a blank up to around 6 inches in dia. You'll find other uses for it.

Be aware that those jaws are real knuckle-busters. That red color on mine isn't paint.....

[Faust M. Ruggiero]

Russell,
I believe that chuck may have originally been a wood workers chuck. I inherited a smaller three jaw and four jaw with a 1950's vintage Delta lathe I purchased second hand. You can actually still buy that style from Grizzly meant for a wood lathe. I really don't believe they were made to be used the way we use the use the modern chucks and jaws. They were better intended to hold one end of a spindle while the other end was supported by the tail stock. The real question is, why use it when much safer chucks are now available.
faust

[Russell Neyman]

Thanks for the input, Wally, Faust, and James. So it IS a metalworking chuck! Thought so. I guess I'm just looking for confirmation on my own thoughts on making the best use of it. My biggest concern is that it might not always be the safest unit, and yes I do constantly re-tighten it. I have three other four-jaw chucks and a bazillion jaws, so keeping this as a specialty unit makes sense.

Wally, do you think cutting a deeper groove at the top of the teeth would improve the holding power? Could it even be cut with, say, a file or grinder?

And Faust: As noted before, three jaws can grab onto irregular shapes quite easily, and four jaws sometimes cannot (like how a three-legged table always settles on any floor but four-legs often are tipsy). I use it when the piece is large and round-ish but not flat. If it's flat, I use a faceplate. I take a rough blank, balance it, and cut a beveled tenon so I can re-mount it in my large One-Way. I also use this one for spindle turning because it fits so many different sizes. But I clearly prefer the four-jaw units for everyday use.

As always, this forum is worth visiting because of the great feedback and ideas available from the group. Thanks again...!

[Bernie Weishapl]

It is a metal working chuck but works great on some projects for woodturning. Bob Rosand uses one all the time and that is where I got the idea of using it on mini birdhouses, ornaments, weed pots, etc. I agree with Wally though they can bust a knuckle if you are not cautious.

[Kurt Johansson]

Keep the chuck, you can rebuild it. When I got into woodturning 50 years ago there where not any four jaw scroll chucks for woodturning so I rebuild my tree jaw by annealing the jaws and then cut them using a hack saw. After grinding the jaws flat and smooth I drilled and tapped to M6 holes on each jaw and then I made jaws out of 8 mm aluminium. Three sets of varying
diameters, 50-75 and 100mm. The original chuck is still with me and I am using it frequently even if I also got two four jaw chucks.
Kurt Johansson

[Wally Dickerman]

Thanks for the input, Wally, Faust, and James. So it IS a metalworking chuck! Thought so. I guess I'm just looking for confirmation on my own thoughts on making the best use of it. My biggest concern is that it might not always be the safest unit, and yes I do constantly re-tighten it. I have three other four-jaw chucks and a bazillion jaws, so keeping this as a specialty unit makes sense.

Wally, do you think cutting a deeper groove at the top of the teeth would improve the holding power? Could it even be cut with, say, a file or grinder?

And Faust: As noted before, three jaws can grab onto irregular shapes quite easily, and four jaws sometimes cannot (like how a three-legged table always settles on any floor but four-legs often are tipsy). I use it when the piece is large and round-ish but not flat. If it's flat, I use a faceplate. I take a rough blank, balance it, and cut a beveled tenon so I can re-mount it in my large One-Way. I also use this one for spindle turning because it fits so many different sizes. But I clearly prefer the four-jaw units for everyday use.

As always, this forum is worth visiting because of the great feedback and ideas available from the group. Thanks again...!

Grooves aren't necessary. Just be sure that the jaw ends butt against a shoulder. Also, for better gripping power, the tenon should be wider than you would use on a 4-jaw chuck.

Grizzley sells this chuck with inserts for most wood lathes for under $100. I recommend it to anyone.

[ray hampton]

this chuck looks the same as the chucks that I own [all new] how do this chuck attach to the lathe ?

[Russell Neyman]

this chuck looks the same as the chucks that I own [all new] how do this chuck attach to the lathe ?

Standard 1 inch 8 tpi threads. Nothing unusual.

[Russell Neyman]

Grooves aren't necessary. Just be sure that the jaw ends butt against a shoulder. Also, for better gripping power, the tenon should be wider than you would use on a 4-jaw chuck.

Grizzley sells this chuck with inserts for most wood lathes for under $100. I recommend it to anyone.

OK, Wally, you recognize the chuck, but that's one of my primary questions. What is it? Model? Brand?

[Dennis Puskar]

My opinon I wouldn't use it on a wood lathe unsafe.

[Wally Dickerman]

My opinon I wouldn't use it on a wood lathe unsafe.

I'm curious....why do you feel that the 3-jaw chuck is unsafe? I've been using one since around 1975, and except for being a knuckle buster it's been perfectly safe. I don't use it as much as I used to but it's still useful at times.

[Russell Neyman]

Well, mystery solved. It is intended for woodturning, and it is not an obsolete item. After reading Wally's comments, I searched through the Grizzly product website, and found this:

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G1194 3-Jaw Chuck

See larger image and other views

Your Price:** $105.00 In Stock

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Description
Increase your wood lathe's versatility with this 3-jaw chuck. This 3-jaw chuck is 6" in diameter and comes complete with key. The 3-jaw chuck is a self-centering style, used mostly for round work. All three jaws tighten together at the same time. Jaws are reversible for expanded work holding capacity. Our chucks fit many of the wood lathes in the U.S.A.!




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The markings and jaw numbering all match perfectly. At $110 it's on the low end of the price range, but it certainly has it's place. This discussion brought to mind how quickly the technology is advancing and how much better the new four-jaw designs are for woodworking.

[Dick Strauss]

Russell,
You'll get a better bite on most things with the jaws reversed from how yours are mounted (oriented like the Woodstock picture you posted above would be my preference). The jaws will have more surface contact with the wood and you'll have better access to the wood near the chuck. I would never use this chuck without the tailstock unless the piece is very small and doesn't extend out from the lathe much.