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tailpipe expander as a pin chuck

I made a decent expanding pin chuck for my Jet mini from a 1" tailpipe expander. See it or a pic at H.F. It is inexpensive ($9.00), has a very positive grip and is easy to remove. There are no lost pins, and it employs a simple reliable mechanism. The expanding staves are robust, but the thin closing bolt and captured nut on the 1" size would be iffy for holding large heavy out of round stock. It seems adequate for mini-lathes.

The closing bolt is made from hex stock and about 2,5" is left hex as a shaft for adjusting the circumference with a wrench. The shaft is a tad too large to fit into a 1/2" Jacobs chuck and 4 jaw chucks mismatch the

6 sides. No problem for those who can make it round to fit the chucks, or turn it to a partial MT2 and tap a hole for a draw bar or weld it to or screw it into a disc welded to a 1x8" nut.

Not everyone has the equipment or even the inclination to make these adaptations. Can any of you suggest a simple way for them to attach a tailpipe expander to a 1" or 1.25" headstock spindle? Farming out to a machine shop would abort all the fun of a bargain. :) Arch

Fortiter,

Reply to
Arch
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Hi Arch

You sure can come up with some real dandies

But I'll take the challenge,

Get yourself a piece of pipe (not thin wall) that is just undersized for the hex shaft, as you said the hex rod was just to large for a 1/2" Jacob's chuck, probably 1/2" pipe, cut a piece off, the length to fit your 4 jaw chucks depth, slit one side and force the pipe onto the hex shaft, now install into your 4 jaw chuck and put on the blank. One thing though as you are aware this is a expander and it might expand your blank so that the pieces are chasing you down your deck

Have fun and take care Leo Van Der Loo

Arch wrote:

Reply to
Leo Van Der Loo

A good idea , Leo. Thanks. I checked with our local H.F. today. Lo, the expanders are on half price sale. $4.85. We don't realize the power of rcw posts! :) I hope some others will try one as a pin chuck and report here. Regards, Arch

Fortiter,

Reply to
Arch

Arch, I don't have one of these (yet) but I wonder if the hex bolt could be replaced with a drawbolt through the headstock. If so, that leaves only the problem of securing the expander body to the headstock spindle. I see by the catalog picture the one short section of the body at the end, towards the headstock, is a solid piece--if I had no metal lathe, I'd probably turn a recess in a piece of dense material such as MDF to give a close fit for that section, and securely epoxy it into the recess. The piece of MDF or whatever would be attached to a dedicated faceplate (preferred for more strength), or held in a scroll chuck (less secure but an easier solution). Alternatively, I'd make the whole thing from MDF if a 1" x 8 tpi tap was available, or use a captured nut epoxied into that. I may even try to use a piece of aluminum for this, and turn it with handheld tools. All this is dependent on the drawbolt idea, whether a standard threaded rod can be used that will fit through the headstock spindle. The hole in my spindle is 3/98". Does this sound feasible?

Ken Grunke

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Region Woodturners of Wisconsin
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Reply to
Ken Grunke

That's a tiny hole. :)

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Gerald Ross

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