Tip #32
Turning with A Lathe Chuck
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For many, Lathe Chucks are the most convenient way to turn bowls, plates and similar objects. Your workpiece doesn't have to be screwed solidly to a faceplate. No more screws going through the bottom of your turning...or gluing “scrap” blocks to your blank then screwing them to the faceplate.

You'll save a lot of time and once attached to the Chuck, your turning may be removed then re-attached again and again...quickly and with automatic self-centering.

There are many different types of Chucks to choose from. Collet Chucks and Spigot Chucks for externally grasping small to medium turnings; Three or Four-Jaw Chucks for externally grasping larger turnings; Expanding Dovetail Chucks that grasp the inside surfaces of a shallow, dovetail-shaped recess turned on the bottom of a workpiece; and more.

Of these, 4-jaw, self-centering variety is the most popular because it will either grasp the object around its outer circumference - or expand against its inside edges or against a shallow, tapered hole that's been turned on the object's bottom.

All three Oneway Chucks offered by Shopsmith are of the Scrolling variety. Each features a geared Scroll which moves all four Top Jaws simultaneously when it's is turned by a geared Key (Talon & Stronghold) or by twin levers (Original Oneway).

Continue to Ways to grip a project with chucks