I am new to turning and working with an old sears (Oliver?) lathe. I turned a couple of pepper mills and ended up in the final stages using a jam chuck(?) mounted on a faceplate. My problem now is the faceplate will not turn off of the spindle - it seems locked. How do I get it off. How do I avoid this in the future?
Many thanks for your help.
Hmm... this problem sound awfully familiar. I'm sure just about everyone here has come across this situation at least once.
Unless the faceplace rusted on the spindle, or someone came into your shop in the middle of the night and welded it on, it sounds like it 'simply' got too tight on the spindle. A couple of vise-grips or simular gripping devises are in order. There might (should) be a big nut on the extreme end of the spindle (twords the headstock). use one vise-grip onto this nut, and use the other visegrip somewhere on the faceplate. If the taper of the faceplace is flat, then grip there. Then turn each vise in the opposite direction. A hammer might be needed as well to get it started. DO NOT secure the visegrip on the threads of the spindle, as this will only ruin them (lesson well learned for me). Maybe some WD-40 or other liquid lubricant will aid in the attempt. See if there is a spindle lock somewhere on the lathe, ad this will make your job much easier.
If and when you do get the faceplace off, check the threads on the spindle and the corresponding faceplate. Some dirt or other object got lodged in them. If they are worn in some spots you might consider replacement.
As far as preventing such in the future, I take the same aproach to auto mechanics. Everything doesn't need to be tightened down with the strength of King Kong, especially in this case. Typically, just hand tightening the faceplace untill it won't go anymore with light pressure is sufficient.
I do keep a pipe wrench handy for those times when I can't armstrong the faceplate off. It isn't pretty, but it does work. I do use a plastic washer between the headstock and the faceplate or chuck. These are avialable from the catalogues, or you can make one from a plastic snap on lid. You can use 1/4 inch plywood, but it is a bit thick for my taste. Some plates have a hole for a bar to increase leverage. robo hippy
Only time this happens to me is when I didn't snug it, or it backed out and resecured itself forcefully.
A reasonably non-destructive method like a strap wrench should do. You can always escalate to the metal-movers if you need to.
Most old lathes had outboard-turning capability, which means a nut to use a double wrench setup, though yours may not. I liked the feature on the old Deltas. Now I have this little hand wheel which is great and slick for slowing the piece without backing off or getting splinters in my hand, but worthless for grabbing and loosening.
Yea - I didn't think about using the rubber strap wrenches. I would try using these before moving to the metal counterparts too. Maybe I haven't had enough practice at them, but I find using the strap wrenches a bit difficult, especially if you need a lot of torque.
Several ideas.
I use one of those strap wrenches for removing oil filters when I want to encourage a stubborn face plate. It can go around the project, the face plate, whatever, and it doesn't mar. So far works every time.
When you mount the face plate be sure it's tight. Otherwise when you start the lathe, the jerk that the motor gives the wood blank to start it turning will jam it in place. DAMHIKT.
Others have said it, a plastic washer, even a margarine top with a spindle size hole in it will keep this from happening again.
If you need something to turn against--I don't like to use the indexing pin--it could shear or bend. I would grab both sides of the belt and pull it tight to keep the spindle from turning. Works if you can get at the belt.
Hope something works--darn frustrating.
Walt C
Thanks for the ideas. i'll try some of them today.
I used to laugh at them, until I started turning bowls using a chuck screw... Some of those hardwood blanks seem to get really "attached" to the screw and chuck jaws and with a little practice you can get a lot of torque with a cheap strap wrench..
2 things I've learned about them.. use one that you think is too big/long and after you get a good bite, hold on to the loose rubber end to keep it from paying out more strap.. MacI have flats on my faceplate adapters and most of my faceplates for this purpose, a giant spanner that size, and mostly use a giant pipe wrench for the different sized faceplates, which works with or without flats.
Bill
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You're used to that big ol' lathe, Bill...
I can picture some poor soul spinning his mini around a few times with an impact wrench.. *rofl*
Mac
that is an amusing image. But, seriously, even on a mini lathe, I think it would work - put the lathe on the lowest speed range so the motor will provide maximum inertia - of course, the other part of my post, that you could have jumped on is --- how many folks with a mini lathe have an impact wrench and a suitable air supply handy (present poster excepted)
bill n
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