[Chucks.]
No lathe can be considered well fitted until it is supplied with a large number of chucks, by which strange term are signified the various appliances for fixing to the mandrel the article to be turned. When it is considered how varied are the forms which present themselves to the turner, it may readily be conceived that much ingenuity has to be exercised in contriving methods for mounting his work in the lathe; and when in addition to variety of form, variety of size has to be taken into consideration, it is plain that a large assortment of chucks is a necessary item in the workshop of the turner. A vast number of these chucks are of necessity made of wood, as required, and such wooden ones are altered from time to time to suit different-sized work, till they eventually become so completely used up as to be only fit for the fire. In addition, however, to these, there are certain chucks of metal (chiefly brass or gun metal) which should always be ordered with a lathe, or fitted to it before any work (even the making of wooden chucks) can be satisfactorily accomplished. The first of these, is represented in [Fig. 20], the part A, screws to the mandrel; while the work is attached to the taper screw B. The use of this chuck is to hold short pieces or flat discs, which allow of a hole in the centre and require to be turned on the face. It is only used for wood-work. This is the chuck to be selected when it is desired to make a wooden chuck. A piece of sound wood being chosen of the requisite size, and roughly rounded by the axe or chisel, a hole is made in one face by a gimlet rather smaller than the tapering screw. The piece is then firmly screwed to the latter, the opposite end dressed with gouge and chisel, and the rest being placed across the end, a hand-drill for wood is brought to bear upon the piece. The hole thus made in the centre is then enlarged by any convenient tool until its diameter is only a little less than that of the screw cut on the lathe mandrel. An inside screw tool is then made use of to cut a thread of the same pitch as that of the mandrel, or a tap of similar size and pitch screwed into it (the former is the best but most difficult method to a novice), the piece detached from the taper screw chuck, which is removed, and the wood attached to the nose of the mandrel on which it may now be accurately fitted and finished to the requisite form and hollowed out or otherwise, as may be necessary. Numberless articles may be in a similar manner turned upon the above chuck such as the bottoms of candlesticks, ring or other stands, bread-platters, small wheels, and so forth; it may therefore stand as number one of these adjuncts to the lathe.
Fig. 20.
[Fig. 21] is the face plate, another most serviceable chuck of almost universal application in such work as surface-turning and boring, and where a hole in the centre is inadmissible. To this belong various dogs or cramps, a few forms of which are shown at [a, b, c, d]. These hold the work firmly down to the surface of the plate, being tightened from behind by screw nuts. It will be seen that there are four slots and numbers of holes in the face plate, some of the latter being tapped for screws. These slots and holes may be increased in number, and some of the latter may be square instead of round, and the cramps may be of all shapes and sizes, because sometimes it may be required to hold down a flat piece of brass the eighth of an inch thick only, and the next job may be to hollow an irregular block of wood of three or four inches in thickness, or it may be necessary to bore out the boss of a wheel, or to turn the rim—all of which, and a hundred others, are cases in which the aid of the face plate will be in requisition.
Fig. 21.
[Fig. 22] is the chuck specially used for turning rods of metal. It consists of two parts, the body A, which screws to the mandrel, and the piece B, which passes through a slot and is clamped by a small screw at one side c. To these must be added the carrier which is of such forms as [A1], [B1, C1]. Above is shown a rod of metal to be turned with this chuck in position for use. Of this we shall have to speak again when we arrive at the subject of metal-turning. There should be several sizes of carriers kept in stock, from ¼in. in the largest part of the ring to 2in. or 3in., or even much larger for heavy work. The amateur will, however, scarcely need these larger ones. The usual method of making the wood-holding chuck for work that is to be also supported by the back centre, is to have a socket cast like [Fig. 23], C, with a central hole to take the fork A, which is held in place by a set screw. This socket is useful for other purposes as it will hold short pieces of iron to be turned, but the fork is far inferior for general work to the piece b; this is made of iron, and the end of the cross (against which the wood to be turned comes) is sharpened but must not be too sharp. The end of the piece of wood has then two saw-cuts made at right angles to each other into which the sharpened edges of the cross fall, [Fig. 23] D, and the whole will turn together without any chance of slipping. It often happens, when the ordinary fork is used, that if the tool chances to hitch in the work, the latter is either thrown quite out of the lathe, or the centre of the fork retains its place, while the other two points slip and score the work. This can never happen with the form B, which is the most reliable pattern that can be devised for work of this nature.