Holding the wood or other material on the lathe is the first critical step to turning success and safety. Chucks, both hand made and purchased, are a good solution for many turners.
Lathe Chucks and Chucking
In this great 3-page chuck article, Bill covers all the things that you’d ever want to know about chucks.
He explains the different types of chucks, what they are good for, their advantages and disadvantages. He also has a great description on the Four Ways to Grip with a Four Jaw Chuck.
This is a wonderful resource and would be great printed out and hung on your shop wall.
How to Use a Wood Glue Block
There are lots of ways to hold your turning blank onto the lathe. Using a Glue Block is one of the oldest methods is still very useful today and a favorite of many turners. If you’re not familiar with using glue, check out this great article by John Taylor. He covers how to make a glue block and how to use it. This will give you the basics and hopefully get you started on using this tried and true method of work holding.
Getting a Grip on Four Jaw Chucks
This article provides a very good overview of the use of four-jaw chucks, with photos.
Making a Donut Chuck
A guide on making your own chuck, by Keith Larrett.
A Different Way of Jam Chucking
By Jim Meier.
Making Your Own Wooden Faceplates
By David Reed Smith.
All Wood Collet Chuck
By David Reed Smith.
Doughnut Chuck
By Art Liesman. Originally published in Canadian Woodworking.
Longworth Chuck
By Art Ustby.
Making Your own Jumbo Jaws
We’ve all seen how you can re-turn the bottom of the bowls using a set of plates with rubber bumpers on your scroll chuck. Now you can make your own jumbo jaws using this wonderful photo tutorial from Bill Nosie.
This photo tutorial is very detailed and shows each step of the process to making your own jumbo jaws!
Make Your Own Screw Chuck
In this article, John explains how he makes his own screw chucks and shows each step in the process. By following along and using the pictures as reference, you’ll be able to make your own screw chuck too!
Make Your Own Glue Chuck
There are lots of ways to hold your turning blank onto the lathe. Using a Glue Block is one of the oldest methods is still very useful today and a favorite of many turners. If you’re not familiar with using a glue block, check out this great article by John Taylor. He covers how to make a glue block and how to use it. This will give you the basics and hopefully get you started on using this tried and true method of holding your work on the lathe.
Making a Disposable Faceplate
By Dean Wilson.
