Woodworker's Journal 2008-32-1, страница 19

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Chuck It!

By Betty Scarpino

Investing in a good quality chuck will increase your options for making bowls, especially with all that free wood available from friends and family. Have fun, and remember... keep your tools sharp!

from green wood. Once the bowl is roughed out, it can be set aside to dry, then re-chucked later for finish turning. This process takes very little time, so you can process a large amount of wood before losing it to decay.

What Chuck to Buy

Some chucks come with jaws as part of the package, while others require the purchase of jaws separately. If you will be turning large-diameter bowls, buy a larger capacity, heavy-duty chuck. Smaller capacity chucks are, of course, for smaller turnings. For bowls, you will need either jaws that compress onto a tenon or ones that expand into a recess. I've used the compression method for the photos in this article.

Chuck manufacturers make chucks to fit almost any lathe's spindle size and thread count, so buy the chuck that fits the spindle of your lathe. If you have an unusual spindle size and/or thread, you can have an adapter made.

Chucks range in price from about $170 for the basic body and one set of jaws to about $300 for a chuck body and several sets of jaws. Teknatool makes several models of chucks, including the SuperNova2. I mentioned the Axminster. Oneway Manufacturing makes the Stronghold and Talon chucks, and Vicmark has a basic body. All these brands are excellent, and all have a variety of jaws available.

The author's Axminster chuck now serves her well for holding wood in spindle, bowl or re-turning applications.

19 February 2008 Woodworker's Journal

Chucks for holding wood on a lathe have been around for many years, and the designs of the new models are much improved. While chucks are certainly not "must-have" accessories, they are handy for a variety of holding options, including bowl turning.

Years ago, I was the lucky winner of an Axminster chuck, complete with a variety of jaws. After it had served far too long as a heavy paperweight, I dusted it off and put it to its intended use. I now primarily use it for holding cylinders for spindle turning, but occasionally use it to attach a bowl to the lathe.

Chucks Are Useful for Bowl Turning

Bowls can be attached to the lathe in two primary ways: glue block method and chucks. One method is not necessarily better than the other; however, when you understand the usefulness of both, you can choose the one best suited for what you want to turn.

Chucks are great to use for roughing out a bowl