Source for small 4 jaw chucks?

The Sherline 3" chuck on a 5C mount is almost exactly the same size as the AA chuck.

don't know about the copies mentioned. Mine are Craftsman and Sherline originals.

The 5C shank is integral with the body so you'd have to cut it off, then turn a recess for the back plate and drill for the front-mounting screws.

jsw

Could one adapt a Taig chuck? They have a 3/4-16" mount. Could one machine an adaptor with the inside 1/2"-24 and outside 3/4"-16?

There were such adaptors in the chucks which I got with my Atlas/Craftsman 6x18" lathe -- except from 1" to 1-1/2" IIRC. The chucks with it appear to have been for the Atlas/Craftsman 10" lathe instead -- and were a bit big for the relatively small lathe.

Both the Sherline and the Taig (or Peatol in the UK) use the same spindle thread, so whichever you find most easily should work with an adaptor. If all else fails, bore the chuck out and re-thread it to allow it to use a meatier adaptor. 3/4-16 would have a minor diameter of something like 5/8 which might be enough meat on a 1/2" shaft.

I took one of the Taig/Peatol 4-jaw chucks and adapted it to my Emco-Maier Compact-5/CNC lathe and it worked well -- but that did not have a threaded spindle -- instead, it needed a precise 40mm diameter bore about 4mm deep (IIRC) for registration and was held on by four screws through the chuck body into the spindle face.

Good Luck, DoN.

Someone used to sell a replacement spindle with the 3/4"-16 nose.

jsw

Sherline has both a 4 jaw independant and a 4 jaw self-centering You will need an adapter to go from 3/4-16 to 1/2-24 Real easy to make adapter Or maybe they could thread them 1/2-24 for you as they are inhouse made

They also have 3 jaw self-centering

hope this helps willy

Chuck 1073 has a 1/2-20 thread, the same as the spindle on my AA lathe.

I found out the hard way that the AA's spindle isn't strong enough to turn steel. It was slightly bent when I bought it. I straightened it, then bent it again when the bit jammed. Now it wears a 1/2" Jacobs drill chuck with the 1/2-20 mount and I use it for grinding, polishing and drilling small deep oil holes, as it spins much faster than my South Bend. The drill chuck is safer if a file or finger brushes against it.

jsw

Stuart, have you looked at homeshopsupply.com? Bill Hardin offers a replacement spindle made to accept the more common 618 chucks. He also supplies a link to the machinist that makes them for him, and you can buy directly. Price is the same, but Bill is in ill health and sometimes hard to contact.

I actually have an AA 109-0701 lathe with a good 4-jaw. The lathe is a basket case awaiting reassembly and probable sale. Not sure I want to part with the chuck though, unless to trade for a 3-jaw?

Note that not all the 109s had the 1/2"-24 thread.

Sears used to sell such in their tool catalog, probably long gone. If you can thread a new backplate, Little Machine Shop will have stud- mount chucks about that size for the 7x and I've seen some in the various display ads in Home Shop Machinist. Your other alternatives in that size would be Sherline and Taig. You'd probably still have to make a backplate. There might be something that the various woodworking suppliers would have for their wood lathes, chances are they'd be a lot more than the metalworking suppliers would want.

Stan

Thanks, I lost that link.

jsw

That might even make the spindle a bit more durable. I understand that the AA (Craftsman 109) lathes were amazingly easy to bend the spindle nose on.

Enjoy, DoN.