A wood lathe chuck is a clamp used to hold wood pieces on a lathe. It has adjustable jaws to hold irregularly shaped pieces and can have three to six jaws. Chucks are specific to lathe models and mandrels for metal may not be suitable for wood. Some chucks use collets and are tightened with a chuck wrench.
A wood lathe chuck is a specialized type of clamp used to hold pieces of wood as they are turned on a wood lathe. Such a chuck is designed to hold the ends of the workpiece and also mount it on the lathe itself. A wood lathe chuck is roughly disc-shaped with adjustable jaws arranged radially around the center, allowing it to hold irregularly shaped workpieces.
A lathe is a machine that holds a work piece and spins it, allowing it to be carved or otherwise shaped while turning by holding any of a wide variety of tools against the workpiece. A lathe is actually a type of lathe. A wood lathe is designed to hold a work piece at both ends, which is often cylindrical or a regular rectangular shape. A wood lathe chuck is used to hold the workpiece and secure it to the lathe.
An experienced lathe will choose a mandrel or set of mandrels that are best suited for a particular job. A wood lathe chuck has adjustable parts called jaws that can be individually tightened to hold perfectly cylindrical or irregular parts. Most chucks of this type will have three jaws arranged in an equilateral configuration around a central point, but chucks can have four, six, or even more jaws. Different jaw configurations on a chuck allow the operator to clamp a wide variety of stock shapes on a lathe.
Most manufacturers that make lathes also have a line of chucks made specifically for their machines. Other companies sometimes make chucks for popular lathe models. Chucks designed for other types of lathes are not usually interchangeable with wood lathe chucks. Mandrels for use with metal may not be suitable for use with wood and vice versa.
While most chucks work with a jaw system, some incorporate advanced design features such as collets, which are a type of sleeve that fits over the chuck. This is the type of chuck used on most power drills. Most wood lathe chucks are tightened with a special tool called a chuck wrench, and normally each jaw must be tightened separately. Some types of chucks are designed to be tightened by hand rather than with a chuck wrench, but a hand-tightened chuck often sacrifices holding power for convenience.
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