Lathe chucks hold objects in place on a lathe for woodworking or machining. Different types of chucks, including self-centering, special, three-jaw, and four-jaw, are used depending on the shape and weight of the object and the required precision. Chuck jaws are clamped into place using a chuck wrench.
A lathe chuck is a special type of clamp used on a lathe. These chucks hold cylindrical, radial, or irregularly shaped objects gripped by what are called lathe chuck jaws. Used on woodworking lathes for woodworking or machinist’s lathes for machining, chuck jaws hold objects in place to work on. On some lathes, it is the spindle that does the rotation as a power tool is steadily applied to the object in its grip. Lathe chuck jaws are usually clamped into place on the object using a chuck wrench, a T-shaped wrench.
One type of lathe chuck is called a cylindrical self-centering chuck, with hoops on its faceplate that can be used to center a workpiece. The jaws of the lathe chuck open wide to accept the object and center it, then the individual jaws are clamped tightly but carefully so that there is no movement of the object once rotation begins. A dial gauge mounted on the lathe centers the object and measures to be certain that each of the individual jaws is exerting an equal grip on the object. Relatively large movements of the object eventually become just slight movements, as it is perfectly aligned and centered.
Another type of lathe chucks are the special chucks. These lathe chucks are available in two-, six- and eight-jaw configurations. The right choice of lathe chuck jaws for these depends on the type and weight of the objects to be handled, and how important perfect centering and grip hold will be. For example, six jaw chuck jaws are used for thin walled work pieces or for gripping finished edges of work pieces and the large number of jaws allows for less pressure per grip to protect a finish. Two-jaw chucks are available in a soft-jawed aluminum configuration to function more like a stop to hold custom fixtures for tooling. Most chucks have a resident jaw as the main jaw, but other lathe chuck jaws can be purchased or replaced separately at any time.
Three-jaw chucks have both inner and outer jaws with concave surfaces and are used for handling large diameter objects that are circular or hexagonal in shape. One type of three-jaw chuck is called a drill chuck, and is for special chucks to hold drill bits and other similar rotary tools. Another three-jaw chuck is the one colloquially called the Super Chuck, which uses thrust ball bearings, has high torque, and is used in high-precision work. Three-jaw chucks cannot hold irregularly shaped or square-shaped workpieces, however the variety of types of three-jaw chucks for different purposes keep them in use.
Another high precision lathe chuck jaw configuration are four-jaw chucks. These have time-consuming individually setting jaws, but they can turn in an offset position like when turning the cams. The four-jaw chucks can hold square, rectangular, and almost any irregularly shaped object for high-precision work. They also have more grip for handling round shapes or thin-walled workpieces that need more, more delicate grips to distribute tension against the surface.
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