Gerd’s Shop Notes

Inspired by this thread on BT3Central.com I built a Longworth chuck (see here, here and here). I modified it a bit to have 6 instead of 4 slots to improve holding power. The bolts are from one of Rockler’s T-Track kits, and I used rubber feet and nuts also from Rockler. This was a much cheaper solution than jumbo jaws, and has the advantage of not blocking a chuck or having to swap jaws frequently.

Addendum: I have used it for some time now. It works fairly well, though the holding power could be a bit better, any little catch will cause the work piece to fly right of the chuck. I am contemplating a couple of enhancements:

1. Some kind of grip or handle that would allow me to get a ‘tighter squeeze’. The problem is that it would need to be done in such a way that it does not upset the balance of the chuck, and it also should not have any protruding edges which would increase the risk of injury (the chuck alone is scary enough when it turns at any speed).

2. Use different feet, possibly a little bigger and softer so when they are tightened they would have a larger contact patch with the work piece.

But when being careful to take light cuts, this chuck is easy to use and has vastly improved the quality of my bowls bottoms!

This entry was posted on Sunday, March 27th, 2005 at 2:16 pm and is filed under Tools, Woodturning. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.