Making a Better Chuck Key for the Lathe
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- Опубликовано: 2 апр 2021
- The silly little keys that come with import chucks are always a frustration. Today, I'm making a glorious new key that should make the 4-jaw a joy to dial in. Or at least less of a chore.
Tools used in this video:
*This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated
Shars AXA Quick Change Tool Post Set (eBay*): ebay.to/2SWkUQZ
Shars CCMT0602 RH turning tool holder (eBay*): ebay.to/2SUS4jL
Kyocera CCMT060204-HQ Cermet Inserts (eBay*): ebay.to/2QPV53h
ZLiveCenter 3MT triple ball bearing live center (eBay*): ebay.to/2RSpdzm
5C Collet Chuck (eBay*): ebay.to/3lMVbbr
5C Collets Set - Imperial (Amazon*): amzn.to/3mOcmcQ
5C Collet Set - Metric (Amazon*): amzn.to/3rsBz00
5C Collet Block Set (Amazon*): amzn.to/2WG2vv1
YG-1 1/4" 120 degree spotting drill (eBay*): ebay.to/2MayWfj
YG-1 4-Flute Carbide 1/4" end mill (eBay*): ebay.to/2QRDK9S
Chicago Latrobe HSS Short Franctional Drill Set (Amazon*): amzn.to/3mkmziD
Kurt DX6 6" Mill Vise (Amazon*): amzn.to/3nntHuh
Mill Vise Speed Handle (Amazon*): amzn.to/3u4DsSa
Starrett 827A Edge Finder (Amazon*): amzn.to/38DGNPp
Angle Block Set (Amazon*): amzn.to/2R3Lews
Noga Deburring Set (Amazon*): amzn.to/2xMfiPz
Dewalt Bifocal Safety Glasses (Amazon*): amzn.to/35eCYhl
Shars 0-6" .0001" micrometer set (eBay*): ebay.to/3sxGRqK
Aventor 8" DPS IP54 Caliper (eBay*): ebay.to/37y1Tg3
Scotch Brite Maroon Very Fine (eBay*): ebay.to/2FzIZco
Scotch Brite Gray Ultra Fine (eBay*): ebay.to/2QRJUXN
Emery Cloth 1" Roll (Amazon*): amzn.to/3fxodw6
RapidTap Cutting Fluid for steel (eBay*): ebay.to/2QPjPZq
eSun ABS Filament, 1.75mm (Amazon*): amzn.to/2xYW8uc
Raw Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
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2:25 'Aaaaand I'll make one for Quinn as well.'
You, sir, are a true gentleman 😊❤
I love it when RUclips folks spread kindness with others 👍🏻 keep the positive vibes flowing sir!
I subscribed because you did a great job sharing the exact cutting tools you were using, and feeds and speeds. This is the type of information that is missing in 99% of the machining videos leaving the viewer to guess if they are interested in reproducing the results seen here.
The echoed "As is tradition..." really made me laugh. Nicely done! Good to see two favourites collaborating.
“As is tradition” 👍🏻, don’t forget “Yahtzeee”!
Nice practical project that is, in fact, useful.
Hearing Quins voice there made me feel so happy. Don't know what it is but I can listen to her talking about just about anything and it makes me feel calm. Low key humor and that voice just works so well together.
Indeed, that was fun to hear -- just after 3:33, in case anyone missed it or doesn't know what we're talking about.
James: very cool that you made an extra for her! Kudos!
Yahtzee is only for parting.
27/64 is the common drill size to tap 1/2-13. Probably, a vague recollection of a tapping chart, is what prompted your comment that your viewers would comment it is often used. I really need to make some of these, even industrial sized machines suffer from too short chuck keys.
27/64” is the tap drill for 1/2-13 of course.
I came here to say this
@@freshmas , Where is the huge chart that Abom79 uses?
That's what I was thinking too. I used to do fabrication and it seemed like that came up a ton.
beat me to it lol
I had been watching some of your videos and some of Quinn's, basically bouncing back and forth between the two channels when I saw Quinn using her new chuck key. Had to come back here to see it being made. Great job, nice to see two different channels cooperating and sharing, awesome!
My Satuirdays are very complete. In the AM I have Mr. Pete and Steve Summoers. In the PM I have you, Quinn and later ABOM.
I don't even need a short chuck key to look incompetent.
I’m sure Quinn will love her gift. You are a talented man.
Had to go on disability bout 5 yrs ago. Had been a machinist for 47 years really miss my work watching you all on u-tube helps a lot.ps had my own shop the last 7years
Always love seeing custom tools and fixtures made to make life easier. Nice job 👌
A trick from Joe Pie...
Do not throw away your old chuck key for the 4 jaws...
When centering a piece in the chuck, find the low and high spot, divide by 2 the difference and now go back to the high spot and using BOTH keys, the new one in front and the old one in the back and screwing on the front, unscrew at the back with the other key until you read half the value.
Now you should be very close to perfect concentricity!
1/2-13 tap drill size sorry I had too......great video James
I love the way you explain things. Keep up the great work. Regards from Finland.
Nice Job! I love the hobby machinist community on RUclips and seeing different channels interact with each other.
Beautiful work, a pleasure to watch.
I love the idea that u and Quinn collaborate. Great inspiration to help each other.
i am always again admiring cleanliness of your shop. Always and always again. Nice video, nice light, nice skills, thanks for sharing it...
I'm not a metalworker but I love these videos. I work with timber and also 3D print. For me it's the creative process of designing something bespoke to solve a problem or to make it work better. Nice work.
Excellent.👌🏻 I have the same lathe and chuck and this seems like a great idea. Thanks Mr 42.
As usual, totally enjoyed watching. Thanks!!!
Great looking tool. I'm sure Quinn was thankful and thrilled! Thanks again.
Great video. I'm still dipping my toes into the world of machining, slowly building my collection of knowledge, and seeing how you go from design to product is very satisfying to watch. Your presentation style is super interesting... quite literally looking over the shoulder of a professional. Thank you for the content!
Beautiful work. I’ve just acquired the G0602 and in the process of setting it up for use. Very inspiring video. Thank you!
Great work as usual. Thoroughly enjoy your videos. I am sure Quinn will love it.
You (and Quinn) will probably smile just a bit every time you touch those new keys. Nicely done!
I'm watching this on our smart tv in UK 🇬🇧 , your videos are very clear & sharp professional, thanks.
Really great idea, James! Quinn will really appreciate the other one you made.
next creation , an electric compound with feed control (-' if it also finds the angle , even better.
Nicely done
Thanks for sharing the process
Hello James,
It's always interesting to see your approach to making things... I hope Quinn likes her gift and you are having a good Easter...
Take care.
Paul,,
Love your CNC - PDA (Power Drill Automation) approach.
Machined beautifully... your work and environment is absolutely meticulous.
Having seen the organization of your lathe tools I feel compelled to ask if you've ever videotaped the design, layout and construction of your work shop...
It must be fantastic
It's a real pleasure, I might add, to watch your presentations... highly informative and exceptionally polished.
Nicely done James
Need it - Make it. Great concept!
It’s the little things that make the most difference
Very nice work
Nice chuck wrench. Thanks for the video.
Just as I was thinking "as is tradition", I either hallucinated vividly or you put that audio clip in... Very clever!
Nice project! I guess I've been watching you and Quinn so long, I had just assumed that spinning to the top to adjust the jaw was normal, hadn't dawned on me that Abom doesn't have to do it...
We just use indicator in magnetic base with nice arm set indicator at top the you have plenty of room in fact if you run lathe a lot you will probably make an adaptor to go on a ratchet.
nice build...shop improvements are great
Found your channel not long ago. Glad I did. Your videos very interesting and well done, though I must admit some of them are just over my head, thank you.😁
I've been watching your videos all year, some are a little over my head, but the machining stuff is great, thanks for great videos to watch. Toad
beautiful chuck key! Came out nice!
Thank you for the step by step 🦋
Nice job and a great gift for Quinn
They are gorgeous! Nice job.🤓
Well done .. awesome part/tool made!
Nice job James happy Easter to you and the family
Very good video, I really liked it. Congratulations. I also did a new chuck key in my lathe
Oh my God! I can't believe you and Blondie do that. Simply Indicate from the Top Position.
OK now that power drill attachment for turning the compound is a great idea! I'll be making one of those next. It's one of those "why didn't I think of that?" ideas. Nice!
I did a similar thing with a drill press chuck key...removed the turn wrench part and welded the tightening part to about a 10 inch extention shaft, but I made the handle out of a 1" piece of pipe. It gives it a whole new feel , very comfortable in the hands....like the difference between a skinny and fat steering wheel dia. Makes it far easier to turn it tight. When I have the r8 drill chuck in the mill the extension is long enough to clear the mill's 3 prong drill press handles. I'm contemplating having a hinge out winder handle in the end of the main handle so you could quickly wind the chuck to accept bigger or smaller drills/tools. one hand on the shaft the other hand winding....like an old brace and bit kinda thing only backwards. It's a joy to use. thanks and keep up the great vids.
Love your work!
James, as usual a great video and a better explanation. I know Quinn will appreciate the long chuck key. She is such a knowledgable and professional lady machinist. Hope you and your family have a great Easter weekend.
Yeah, she's awesome!
.421 for .500-13 and .453 for .500-20 and OSG over EMUGE all day!
Fellow machinist here. Keep this alive.
Lovely job 👌
27/64 is the (a) tap drill for 1/2-13. So not suuuper useless, but not super common either
Also, recommend a flat on the handle for the set screw. Not that you'll be removing it, but it helps prevent the burr from the setscrew from getting the shaft stuck in the setscrew hole.
beautiful work!
It came out perfect! :)
Nice work!
Nice job on the chuck key. The shop is way cleaner than mine! I hope you spend more time making than cleaning!!
Nice job. I really like your chuck key holder, and have printed one for myself. One thought (safety concern) I had, specifically with that large chuck-key handle, is that it might be worth adding a slanted boss to the near side of top surface of the chuck key holder that will force the handle to rotate as it drops in, so the handle is more or less parallel to the z-axis of the lathe. This will ensure it is never sticking out towards the chuck for some stringy chips to grab it, something to fall on it, or some other freak circumstance to cause it to somehow get involved a lathe accident. It is probably unlikely, but still better to add the extra safety margin just in case you run into a final-destination scenario.
you are an incredibly intelligent and likeable individual with a great channel, but obviously have never tapped a 1/2-13 🤣🤣🤣.i say what i want, i got 38 years' experience and a shop in Colorado) thanks for your content
Awesome work, James. I might have to make a similar chuck key for my lathe. I'm used to dialing in the 4-jaw the same way you describe, and I'm definitely into the idea of making it easier.
Gonna have to make a project of it. Thanks for the inspiration!
One additional trick makes it really quick: Having used the rings on the face of the chuck to get it visually centered, spin the job and correct the remaining error if it's over say 0.020" TIR. Then, with all jaws moderately tight, note the max/min positions of the indicator needle as it swings through its arc. Now :
Turn the chuck to bring the needle to the middle of that arc. Move the crosslide handwheel to re-zero the indicator (easier than turning the dial, which usually changes the indicator position).
Turn the chuck through a whole revolution to check: it might take one more tweak of the handwheel to get the plus deviation to be the same as the minus deviation.
Now that preparation pays off in spades: all you have to do is go the jaw whose reading is lowest (showing it is furthest from the operator side) and slacken it until the needle comes most of the way to zero on the dial. Spin to the opposite jaw and tighten snug to zero.
Repeat for the other pair of jaws, and (after you get the hang of this method, which is not hard), that's it!
I forgot to mention: to make it easier to compute the midpoint of the arc of swing of the needle, you can first stop at the lowest reading, and zero the indicator. Then it's just a matter of turning the chuck to half the indicator travel.
That was a cool trick with the drill!
Nice job!
Great video!
Gotta love Criterion boring bars!! Excellent quality, you definitely get what you pay for
Great job!
Beautiful !
Great video.
Zgood job and great idea. I will make one tomorrow.
Thanks for the inspiration James. I went out and made a chuck key too. Not as nice as yours, but I’m pretty happy with it. Cheers, Jady
Happy Easter
Turned out beautiful...
Thanks for sharing!
Good stuff. Very informative. Just subscribed to the channel.
That is nice of you to think of Quinn,don't you just love her ! Thanks !
Hi James,
thanks for another very enjoyable video and a very practical project. I'll be doing the same as soon as I get some fresh oil into the lathe. At a suitable moment when you are on the mill and if you are inclined to of course, would you mind please running through the automatic feeds on the quill. Thanks very much and I hope you have a good weekend. Regards from Wales
I'll be that guy. 27/64" is the tap drill size for 1/2-13" thread. :D
Nice. The last 1/2-13 I tapped was for my lathe leveling system. I forgot about that.
I'm late to this party, and was wondering how many folks mentioned this. I actually stopped the video to confirm the nagging thought in the back of my brain. Just before the gotcha comment about the popularity of 27/64.
@@Ddabig40mac Same. Then I came looking for this comment because I knew I wouldn't be the first.
Nice project, well done, well filmed and well edited.
Fine to make a second one for Blondihacks. She's well worth being appreciated.
The way You milled the square is worth noticing. I've got an end mill bit with a broken end, but perfect for side milling. Use side milling as often as possible, using the less used part of the milling bit.
Hello James, Keith has been watching you a lot. I purchased the same Lathe model and had belt issues on the high range. They agreed it was defective. You've put a lot modifications. Spring in Michigan, I'll need set the Lathe wants, away until this fall.
Nice job. Thanks
Great video, “as is tradition”.
nicely done.
Great job, thank you
I am a new viewer , well done ! miss Quinn will like it .
I liked the "As is tradition" Quinn voice over.
Just use a 3/8" socket wrench extension. I JB Welded one onto the handle that came with my PM 1236 and it works fine. (You may have to file the square drive part of the wrench since it is probably metric at 10mm)
You can get a set of 4 of various lengths for $7.49 at HF and they are already black phosphate coated.
Well done
I learned to use chuck keys that had a spring loaded sleeve around the key. That way the key would pop out the moment you no longer pressed it in. Yea, sounds like a drag, and at first it was, but you got used to them pretty quickly. Also looking at the ceiling with the remains of a chuck key sticking out of it made me appreciate the idea of never being able to just forget that you had the key sitting in the chuck when you started the lathe...
You can't make everything totally safe, or you wouldn't be able to get any work done, but I don't scoff on things like trying to make it harder to shoot a chuck key all over the workshop and embed it into the concrete wall or the ceiling.
Seeing you make these new chuck keys got me thinking of alternative designs, such as adding a ratcheting mechanism. But I don't think there are much you can do to improve on the basic design without adding way to much complexity or weakening the design. Even adding a spring loaded sleeve wouldn't be entirely trivial. Also they do take some getting used to and using them tends to be a two hand operation, which can be a drawback. So probably not worth it. Oh, an alternative to the spring loaded sleeve that I've seen was a spring loaded pin in the center of the square key that is long enough to push the key far enough out of the nut that it falls out. Doesn't address the inconvenience of having to press the key in but may make for a sleeker design.
Been more than 30 years since I touched a lathe, and probably 15 since I even were in the same room as one, so don't take this as criticism or relevant advice or anything. It's just grumblings from someone that's a little envious of the skill and the equipment, but generally just enjoys seeing people make things, and occasionally manages to fool himself into thinking he understands what is being shown in these videos...
I don't think that he's much bothered about safety.
Rings, watches and the like are very unsafe.
There are some very good videos on RUclips. You might enjoy This Old Tony. Click Spring. And a few others that are very entertaining.
You're right about the spring. Leaving a chuck key in the lathe is very dangerous. It can fly out like a bullet!
Best wishes.
@@dalekify It's also a pretty small lathe so probably not "let's launch this chuck key at the moon!" capable. So not quite as dangerous.
Nice job. Regarding the chuck wrench holder, I've pondered for decades adding some sort of buzzer that buzzes when the wrench is not in the holder. Ditto to the suggestion of a flat on the handle for the set screw.
I use a tee handle socket wrench (1/2” drive) with an extension. The ‘socket’ on the end, which fits into the chuck, is an upsizing socket adapter (1/2” to 5/8”) which I’ve modified to fit the .590 square hole on the 4 jaw chuck. Not just for indicating. Sometimes the work us larger than the chuck (15”) and you just can’t get in there to tighten the work any other way.
By the way, nice custom chuck key there.
Love the Quinn voice-over! :-)
Very neat, thanks.
James, a beautiful well executed project as always. However that wrench to tighten the tailstock has my machinist OCD going into overdrive. Set up a GoFundMe so we can all pitch in for a new lathe, at least a 12x36 with a locking tailstock. Would love to see that unboxing and set up, like you did with the mill. Cheers!
I just made a new chuck key for my 6 and 8 inch chucks out of stainless. I had a prop shaft from a 1980's Kawasaki jet ski in my junk bin, turned out to be a perfect material for the key. The 12x36 (like a G4003) has the chuck so close to the headstock that you can't even turn the stock key unless it's at 12 o'clock, super annoying.
Nice job.
Hi James.
Once again a great video.
Some suggestions or ideas that I have for you.
For this chuck key, I would have made a small detent in the middle of the handle and use a small ball bearing and a spring. Then it will always locate on the center of the shaft, and if you need that little extra leverage to loosen the chuck, you have it by extending the lever to the side.
Have you considered adding a feature to your electronic leadscrew to pulse the feed. That is to stop the feed for a millisecond to just break the chip. For the finishing pass, a continuous feed will have to be.
You can also incorporate a micro switch to stop the leadscrew, and or reverse the feed for a end stop.
Just a thought. You are welcome to reply your thoughts on these ideas.
Det er rigtig godt ud tommel op. It's really good looking thumbs up ivan from Denmark
I would have been great to see the math for figuring out the diameter for the square size. Well done.
Now for a second project do a mini version. Used for two handed movement of the part. Loosen one while tightening the other.
Works great except for the last and final tightening where the short/mini version will not have enough torque to properly.
Maths wise, you multiply the square size you want by √2 to get the circle diameter.
Interesting Angus. I would have calculated the length of the diagonal in the square as a hypotenuse knowing it would be the diameter but this shortcut did not occur to me. Nice.