Chuck assembly

[Herbiev]

Hi all. I have one of those imported lathes 12x36 and although the jaws are clearly marked 1,2&3 the chuck body has no markings that I can find. How do I tell what goes where?
TIA
Herbie

 

[maverick]

Trial and error will work, it just takes a few trys to get the right combination.

Good luck,
Mike

 

[hi speed scrap]

On my 3 jaw chucks 1 goes in first, then 2, then 3 as you turn the scroll.

The first jaw can go in any slot as the scroll is reference for location from centre.

If the jaws are not numbered, you can still identify the first jaw in by
turning them over and lining up the teeth. First jaw in will have the least
distance from tooth to tip of jaw.

Dave

 

[kcmillin]

Hi Herbie,

With the jaws out, turn the chuck key counter clockwise, and you will see the scroll turning. Keep you eye on one of the empty jaw slots and look for the end of the scroll at the outermost part of the chuck. Let the end of the scroll go slightly past the slot and then insert the #1 jaw and tighten the chuck just enough to engage the jaw. Then proceed to tighten the chuck and keep an eye on which slot the end of the scroll goes to next. This will be where you put the #2 jaw. Then repeat until you have all three jaws installed.

Hope that helps,

Kel

 

[Herbiev]

Many thanks Mike, Dave and Kel for your response to my question regarding chuck assembly. The question arose after reading a section of L. H. Sparey's book THE AMATEUR'S LATHE. On page 96 ninth impression 1986 he states that " care must be taken when replacing the jaws, as each one must be fitted into its correct slot in the body and in the correct sequence. For this reason the jaws and slots are always numbered from one to three."
I know that not all chuck bodies are stamped 1,2 & 3 but there is usually some mark or indicator that denotes the slot that jaw number one belongs. Any further comments greatly appreciated.
Tia
Herbie

 

[Omnimill]

Try having another look inside the jaw slots on the chuck - mine is badly stamped on both jaws and chuck and not easily seen.

 

[lensman57]

Hi all. I have one of those imported lathes 12x36 and although the jaws are clearly marked 1,2&3 the chuck body has no markings that I can find. How do I tell what goes where?
TIA
Herbie

Hi,
Look inside the jaws guides- housing where the scroll is my lathe is from Sieg and the nos are stamped on the top pf the scroll bar coresponding to each jaw, they are quite faint and you may need to clean the metal to see them.
Regards,
A.G

 

[n4zou]

One of the chuck key sockets may have a 0 stamped beside it. If so insert the chuck key in it and rotate the chuck so the key is pointed straight up. The slot closest to you or the 10 o'clock position facing the chuck, will be slot #1. Slot #2 will be at the 2 o'clock position. Usually an oil port for the scroll will also be aligned with the 0 chuck socket. Always position the oil port at 12:00 o'clock before squirting oil in the oil port so the oil runs straight down into the scroll.

 

[Ned Ludd]

Just add the the n4zou's words, if there is no other marking the chuck key hole nearest the makers label is usually the "prime" keyhole.
Ned

 

[Jack C]

I recently bought and sold a 3 in one machine. When I was trying to figure out this same problem I found some info in a file that I downloaded. It said that if there were no markings on your chuck to look for a serial number on the bottom area of one of the slots. That is your number one slot. Then number two is the one to the left if you are looking at the chuck. In other words counterclockwise looking at the front of the chuck. I hope this helps.

JCC

 

[Herbiev]

Thanks all for your response. It looks like Ned won the prize as far as my chuck is concerned. There is a makers label countersunk on the face of the body and the slot to the left seems to be the starting slot. Thanks again to all who responded on this great forum.
Herbie