Recently, I purchased a PSI turncrafter mini lathe. The instructions weren't very good, at all. That was somewhat disappointing. I looked for something better on the website but didn't find it. I am coming to the realization that the chuck for holding mandrells doesn't come with it....and I will be forking over some more cash.The two black inserts aren't for spinning the mandrells from what I can tell.

I purchased this for the first intentention of using it for cork handels, then I may get into other things. I own a set of Mandrells, that I purchased from Lamar Manufacturing (Andy). I would like to know where I can buy (link me please) a good, reasonably priced chuck that I can use for holding mandrells. Also, will I have trouble if I don't own the bed extender. What can I say, I am cheap I didn't want to throw the extra $30.00 for the bed extender.

Thanks in advance.

One major issue with all these oriental tools, is that the instructions are rather short, crude and not always accurate.

Normally a spur bit ships with a lathe. This will hold turning stock, but not mandrels. Collet systems are great, but often expensive. I would recommend a decent scroll or keyed self-centering chuck plus a Jacobs type chuck for the tailstock. The TurnCrafter Mini, is a Carba-Tec in disguise. You don't have a lot of bed lenght so to do any longer mandrels you'll have to have the bed extension.

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I obviously do not know much about lathes. What is a Jacobs chuck?

Emory, the Jacobs chuck is the same type chuck you'll find on a hand drill. For lathe work, the lathe attachment end of a Jacobs chuck has a Morse taper bit of steel shaft to fit the tail (or head) portion of the lathe.

Stan

Thanks Stan. So a normal chuck has threads and a Jacobs chuck has a Morse taper??
I learn something new every day or at least on those days when I am not so hard headed and am willing to learn something new.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/23/2006 08:07PM by Emory Harry.

The headstock and tailstock of most lathes have the female morse taper. But the headstock, and sometimes the tailstock, are also threaded. Most lathe attachments are fitted with the male Morse Taper shaft. But most headstock chucks are threaded. Jacobs style chucks come both ways. Since they're usuallly employed in the tailstock where you may wish to repeatedly and quickly change between the chuck and a live center, the Morse Taper is the favored attachment style.

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OK, I thought that Stan had me squared away but now I am confused again. What is a Jacobs chuck?

"Jacobs" is actually a brand name but they've become synonomous with the type chuck you see on most electric hand drills. They're normallly employed in the tailstock of a lathe to hold a drill bit for center boring an item that is in the headstock chuck. You can also use them in the headstock, but would be limited to chucking round items of no more than 1/2 inch diameter, as that's about the max on most common Jacobs style chucks.

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Emory, I didn't intend to cause confusion. My reference points relate to the Jet Mini Lathe and don't suggest complete knowledge of the subject. Should have made that clear at the onset. Sorry for any misdirection.

Stan



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/23/2006 10:09PM by Stan Gregory.

Jeffrey, you mght wish you spent the $30 later. If you buy mandrels from Andy, make sure he knows the length between centers that you have. You will need a Morse Taper #2 Drill (Jacob's type) chuck and I would strongly recommend a 4 jaw self centering chuck. A decent reasonably priced one is the PSI Utility chuck [www.pennstateind.com] I'm pretty satisfied with it on my Turncrafter Pro.

I would very STRONGLY recommend that you get a copy of Andy Dear's (Lamar) great DVD on lathe turning for the rod builder. Worth every penny.

If you need any help, holler

Mike (Southgate, MI)
If I don't want to, I don't have to and nobody can make me (except my wife) cuz I'm RETIRED!!

Jeffrey,

I recently got a Jet Mini-Lathe which is very similar to your PSI model. I have not used mine for any rodbuilding tasks yet, but I can tell you that most of these lathes do not come already equipped with what you'll need for rodbuilding. They come with what you'd use to turn a spindle of wood. You'll neet to get chucks, which are not particularly cheap. I believe I paid about $36 for a keyless Jacobs-type chuck. More elaborate chucks can cost quite a bit more. I know this is not what you wanted to hear, but it's the reality of the thing. On a positive note, you have a nice lathe. (I use mine to make surf plugs.) I like turning my cork grips on the blank. I use my Rodsmith turning system for that.

Jeffery,

As Rob pointed out, you'll need a suitable chuck and decent turning tools. For a chuck, you might want to look at the Nova Precision Midi Chuck from WoodCraft. If you don't put the jaws on, it'll close tightly on almost all of Andy's mandrels.

Purchasing a lathe is just the first financial outlay. Save money by investing in a good chuck and tools at the start!

Stan

I also have the PSI lathe and have gone with a Nova Midi 4-jaw chuck (~$130) and a generic drill chuck from WoodCraft (~$35). As mentioned above, if you remove the jaws from the Nova midi, the slides used for mounting various jaws will hold mandrels from 1/4" on up to at least 1/2". You also need not worry too much about the length of the mandrels (within reason of course) because the chuck is open ended and any extra length can be fed into and even out of the lathe head stock if need be.

Click on either of the pics below to get a closer look at my current setup. The first pic shows the Nova midi w/o the jaws in place holding a 1/4" mandrel and the sec pic shows the chuck with a set of 50mm jaws holding a rubberized cork ring and the "jacobs" chuck holding a 1/2" forstner bit.

IF, initially, all you want to do is make cork grips, you don't need a scroll chuck, all you need is a Jacobs type drill chuck with a #2 Morse Taper. The absolute best deal on one is from Harbor Freight. That's where I got mine and it cost $9.99. It rock solid, has absolutely no runout problems and would still be a bargain at twice the price. I know a lot of serious woodturners who also use the same chuck. In addition, you will have a more solid setup if you get a live center with a 60 degree point. The live center that comes with the lathe is made for wood and has a shallower angle. I'm pretty sure Andy's mandrels have a 60 degree cup in the end. You can buy a live center with a 60 degree cone from The Little Machine Shop or from Grizzly Tools.

my my lathes are more complicated than women....



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/24/2006 07:13PM by Jeffrey Wolfanger.

Jeffrey Wolfanger Wrote:
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> my my lathes or my complicated than women....

They get even more complicated when women see what all can be made using them - fishing rods are not their priority I'm afraid.

Stan is absolutely correct. I have the Nova chuck he discribes and questioned it's ability to grip mandrels. But after removing the jaws it indeed does go small enough to grip down to a 1/4 in mandrell very tightly. Thanks Stan, I would never have tried it if you hadn't told me that.

Bill in WV