# bent axle, bad chuck, or what?



## tymann09 (Mar 4, 2011)

So this is a bit of a tricky question. I've got an older craftsman lathe with a tube bed. I've been trying to turn a bowl. First off let me say i purchased a barracuda chuck system Amazon.com: PSI CSC2000C Barracuda Wood Lathe Chuck System: Home Improvement this one. The first bowl, i mounted useing the screw chuck method, turned the outside and turned a mortised foot to do a reverse chuck mount, turned the lathe on, got a pretty substantial wobble, remounted it a few times. same thing. i thought maybe it was something with the screw. so i did another bowl, drilled a hole using a forstner bit, and then chucked it inside the hole, turned the outside and again did a mortised foot. and the same thing happened, substantial wobble. I don't exactly have access to another chuck and don't know anyone in the area who would have one i could try. any ideas on how to find out if it's bent without spending a fortune? unfortunatly i also don't have any spur centers, just the chuck. I'd rather not have to buy centers because they are a no. 1 morse and i'll be looking to uprade to a larger lathe in the near future which is a no. 2 morse. any suggestions would be great.


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## Gary Beasley (Jan 21, 2009)

Make sure your bowl blanks are parallel front and back. I can chuck my screw up with the short 50mm jaws on and seat the blank against the jaws when I tighten it up so it stays square. Turn your tenon and when you reverse the mount you should still be pretty square.


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## robert421960 (Dec 9, 2010)

turn on your lathe without anything in the chuck and see if it wobbles.
i bet your blanks are just out of balance


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## tymann09 (Mar 4, 2011)

ok so, i don't want this to come out the wrong way, but i've turned over 50 bowls on 4 different lathes using similar methods wihtout fail. I rarely joint and plane both sides of my blanks prior to turning, it shouldn't matter if they are parallel or not (i don't use the tailstock) as long as i true up the bottom where the tenon or mortise is for the chuck to grip, it should be fine. like i said, i usually use the mortise and expand the chuck, i only go about an 1/8 deep sometimes 1/4 so the chuck bottoms out and squares itself out. it does appear the chuck wobbles slighty when there is nothing in it, but does this mean axle or chuck? i also feel that it's probably exagerated once there's a large piece of wood on it.


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## Gary Beasley (Jan 21, 2009)

Probably either the bearings or the axle then. Have you tried grabbing it and racking it back and forth to see if theres any play?
Another thing to try is to form the bowl bottom then unchuck it and rotate the bowl 90 or 180 and remount. If it's all square you will not see any wobble, if not it will exagerate the runout by double at the 180 position.


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## tymann09 (Mar 4, 2011)

gary, i will give both of those things a try. i didn't think to try racking it to see if there was play. I'll let you guys know.


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## tymann09 (Mar 4, 2011)

alright. played with the lathe a little. there is a slight slight wobble to the axle shaft. i'm not sure if the slightness is enough to throw it off or not. as far as shifting 90 degrees, the wobble is all the same. i turned the end true, and shifted it and it was fine, reverse the chuck and it wobbles. i'm actually contemplating a new lathe. the Jet 1442. just trying to decide if i can justify buying it right now.


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## Gary Beasley (Jan 21, 2009)

Maybe you can find something good on Craigs list. Even that $200 lathe that Rockler sells is pretty solid, I bought one when I first started turning, bought another for my son, then got a Delta 12" midi. Still have the Rockler lathe as a backup.


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## tymann09 (Mar 4, 2011)

interesting about the smaller lathe. maybe i'll look into it for a temporary lathe. thanks.


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## robert421960 (Dec 9, 2010)

buy the delta 46-460 its well worth it and wont break the bank


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## tymann09 (Mar 4, 2011)

well, i don't WANT a mini/midi lathe i'd rather a full size one right now. i've got 2k that i can spend. my dilemna is that i'm moving around alot right now and a small one might be good for temporary use. if i got a small one, it would be a cheap one.


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## Gary Beasley (Jan 21, 2009)

Both mine have the extension beds on them so they can do a 39" long turning just like many other full sized lathes. How big a turning you have a hankering to do? Main think these lack is horspower for chewing off large amounts of wood.


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## tymann09 (Mar 4, 2011)

interesting. i like to turn live edge, square bowls and other funky things. i've also done several 14" bowls. I've turned on 3 full size lathes and 1 bench top lathe, a nova which was a dream but i can't remember which one it was. I was figuring that the bigger lathe would be better suited for me but perhaps i'm wrong. i plan on turning alot too, not just every once in awhile. would a midi or mini lathe be able to get what i want done?


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## robert421960 (Dec 9, 2010)

tymann09 said:


> interesting. i like to turn live edge, square bowls and other funky things. i've also done several 14" bowls. I've turned on 3 full size lathes and 1 bench top lathe, a nova which was a dream but i can't remember which one it was. I was figuring that the bigger lathe would be better suited for me but perhaps i'm wrong. i plan on turning alot too, not just every once in awhile. would a midi or mini lathe be able to get what i want done?


 the bigger lathe is meatier and will move around the shop less lol
you said you had 2 grand to spend so yea i would go for a full size lathe
the delta 46-460 is great for us on a smaller budget


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## tymann09 (Mar 4, 2011)

yea, i wouldn't mind having a nice benchtop/midi lathe. i just figured that i can afford it right now (might not be able to in a few months) that perhaps i should go with a larger one so i can have more capabilites. i'll keep on thinkin


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## Gary Beasley (Jan 21, 2009)

So if you get a full sized with outboard turning capability you will have the ability to turn most anything.


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## tymann09 (Mar 4, 2011)

good point.


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