4 months by cncdivi
The 4-Jaw Chuck stands out as one of the most flexible workholding tools for turning, even though it’s often daunting for novices. Many get intimidated as they feel it’s too fiddly to get the 4-jaw aligned so the work is centralized. However, once you master this crucial machinist’s skill, they’re surprisingly uncomplicated to set up. Still, it doesn’t harm to make the setup process even quicker and simpler.
I got a nice letter from Aaron Gough, who had just watched a video he found on CNCCookbook’s Lathe Workholding Page by David Lemeris:
David’s method is the one I use and it is super fast and easy. If you were afraid of the 4-jaw, there’s no need to be, they’re easy to set up and extremely accurate once you know how. One of the things Aaron noticed in the video was the very nice indicator holder that goes right into the QCTP (Quick Change Tool Post) on the lathe–very convenient. So, he wanted to pass along his very nicely executed version in this drawing from his own blog:
Click the image for the full-sized drawing…
Thanks Aaron, for contributing to the cause!
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Recently updated on July 26th, 2024 at 05:35 am
Bob is responsible for the development and implementation of the popular G-Wizard CNC Software. Bob is also the founder of CNCCookbook, the largest CNC-related blog on the Internet.
I do have to admit, I have feared away from the dreaded 4-jaw chuck in the past for this very reason. Thanks so much for posting this. This just gave me a hug boost of confidence. 🙂
Now I understand why I recently saw a surge in YouTube subscribers to my videos.
Next time when I make a video, I’ll try not to mumble so much 🙂
David Lemereis
I could understand you just fine. Thought it was an awesome video. Great job!
By the way, it’s not just the dedicated indicator holder that makes this quick, but especially the extra miniature chuck key which allows you to align using both hands at the same time, nudging the workpiece back and forth. Without the extra key it would take much longer to align.
David