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lathe accessories

going to be getting a lathe to start on some wood turning, what accessories would you recommend to make turning handles easier. Also, any tips recommended?
 
I highly recommend a good chuck,such as a Barracuda four jaw chuck or similar. A chuck that will positively hold your work makes turning much more enjoyable.

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I've seen videos of people drilling the hole for the knot and then using the chuck inside of the piece so you can turn the bottom, does this chuck do that? typically use a 22mm knot
 
I've seen videos of people drilling the hole for the knot and then using the chuck inside of the piece so you can turn the bottom, does this chuck do that? typically use a 22mm knot
The chuck holds the wood firmly, so it won't fly off the lathe. It will let you work on the bottom if you have the right jaws on the chuck. There are thinner jaws that would work for this task.

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First accessory is a good face shield. Second is definitely a chuck. One like Chris mentioned is nice but if you’re not getting a fullsize lathe I recommend the Nova Precision chuck. Most if not all small lathes have a 1” x 16 tpi spindle so the chuck fits without an adaptor. It’s also smaller and lighter so it’s easier on the lathe and quite a bit cheaper than the larger chucks. Mine has performed flawlessly. It accepts all the jaws designed for the bigger Nova chucks although some aren’t recommended. I’d also get a jacob’s chuck, which is a drill chuck that fits the morse taper. It allows you to drill perfectly centered holes every time. Use it in the tailstock and keep a firm grip with one had while advancing the quill with the other and always when winding it back out. If not the chuck can be pulled out of the tailstock when winding the forstner bit out. It’s seems weird since the blank is spinning and not the bit, but the blank & bit don’t know that... You can cut the hole with a scraper, carbide, or parting tool, but for speed and accurate repeatability it’s worth the money. Also on the list is a can of WD 40. Keep the headstock, tailstock, and ways clean, lubed, and rust free!

Flipping the handle around to finish the bottom requires other things unless you can get small enough jaws that aren’t dovetailed, which I’ve seen in videos but haven’t been able to find. We can get into that if you want, but a jam chuck will work. I just hate using one unless absolutely necessary because I’ve had too many pieces fly off and get ruined.
 
First accessory is a good face shield. Second is definitely a chuck. One like Chris mentioned is nice but if you’re not getting a fullsize lathe I recommend the Nova Precision chuck. Most if not all small lathes have a 1” x 16 tpi spindle so the chuck fits without an adaptor. It’s also smaller and lighter so it’s easier on the lathe and quite a bit cheaper than the larger chucks. Mine has performed flawlessly. It accepts all the jaws designed for the bigger Nova chucks although some aren’t recommended. I’d also get a jacob’s chuck, which is a drill chuck that fits the morse taper. It allows you to drill perfectly centered holes every time. Use it in the tailstock and keep a firm grip with one had while advancing the quill with the other and always when winding it back out. If not the chuck can be pulled out of the tailstock when winding the forstner bit out. It’s seems weird since the blank is spinning and not the bit, but the blank & bit don’t know that... You can cut the hole with a scraper, carbide, or parting tool, but for speed and accurate repeatability it’s worth the money. Also on the list is a can of WD 40. Keep the headstock, tailstock, and ways clean, lubed, and rust free!

Flipping the handle around to finish the bottom requires other things unless you can get small enough jaws that aren’t dovetailed, which I’ve seen in videos but haven’t been able to find. We can get into that if you want, but a jam chuck will work. I just hate using one unless absolutely necessary because I’ve had too many pieces fly off and get ruined.
+1 regarding the face shield. I won't use the lathe without one.

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I found the beall IX collet which looks to be what is used for holding the piece to finish the bottom?

Not sure if you've seen them @CigarSmoka
 
I only have experience with metal lathes. "No sleeves, no jewelry" means just that. Rotating machinery can easily remove a finger when that little wedding band gets caught on something. A sleeve caught on the work will pull the whole arm in. If you have long hair, keep it under a hat. Obvious, I know, but it's easy to become complacent.
 
I found the beall IX collet which looks to be what is used for holding the piece to finish the bottom?

Not sure if you've seen them @CigarSmoka

I have a couple and used to use them but sometimes I would run into problems with the handle not running true after flipping it around. I now use a collet chuck and threaded bottle stopper mandrel which has been more accurate for me. I still use the IX collet if the handle is clear or translucent or you’d see the hole that is tapped for the mandrel.

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I was trying to start off without spending more cash then I needed to. What I'm using is a face plate with a bolt through the middle.
I screwed a piece of plywood onto the face plate that came with my lathe. I then turned it round and slightly concaved the face. After that I drilled a hole for a 1/4" hex head wood screw. I put the big course screw through the back and tighten it into my work piece (with a pilot hole drilled close to centre line).

I drill the knot hole on the lathe, put in my tail stock and turn everything but the bottom. When I part it off I have a 1" stub of wood left attached to the face plate, you can turn this into a jam chuck to finish the bottom, oil, glue, sand ect.

Here's a link showing what I did Screw Chuck
 
so far I've gotten the Rikon 70-220vsr, nova g2 chuck, Jacobs chuck, face shield, and gonna try that IX collet, bought a cheaper set of tools (severely regret doing that). Tried turning a top and apparently, I am dumb because I was struggling. turns out my lathe goes in reverse (i assumed it only went one direction). once I got that figured out it wasn't too bad.
 
I got the IX collet as well but I kinda wish I hadn't now. I've almost exclusively been using the jaws with my chuck that expand outward into the knot hole to finish with handle/bottom. My drilled holes (forstner bit/jacobs chuck) and the expansion of the IX chuck aren't jiving, so if I'm drilling a 1 1/8 in hole, the corresponding IX collet won't expand/provide enough of a friction fit to hold it securely. I may have to try the suggestion earlier in this thread about holding on to the chuck as the drilling is happening to see if that helps.

I have a slight discrepancy between my chuck and tailstock/jacobs/forstner set up that causes me to have to flip the brush back and forth a few times to get it running true, but with more practice, that's becoming less of a hassle and knowing when to 'stop' with material removal and which direction to do it has helped (e.g. if I get too finalized of a shape going with the brush in one direction and flip it to focus on the other part, it will be out of round enough to make finishing a hassle).

I now drill the hole, do a little bit of rough shaping and turn it around to get a more finalized shape. I will then turn it finish the part around the knot hole as it's hard to sand and polish that part when it's mounted on the chuck jaws. A final turn will have the expanded jaws in the knot hole and I finish the handle with final cuts/sanding/polishing at that point. These jaws allow me to hold the outside of the handle with compression and expand inside the knot hole so I don't have to change anything up, just flip the handle around. It's not the hassle it probably sounds like in my explanation.

The jaws I'm referring to can be seen in this product link: Barracuda3 Micro Lathe Key Chuck System
The ones on the top right.
 
my problem isn't with the collet, but with the jacobs chuck on the motor side of the lathe coming loose. I have noticed I need to really crank down on the collet to get it to get anywhere tight (hold the collet with a pair of channel pliers while threading in the allen key)
 
putting the collet inside the chuck on the motor side of the lathe (not the tailstock side) not sure how else i could hold the collet in the lathe
 
Yep, I hear you. I couldn't figure out another way either, but mine seemed to hold OK. Do those smaller jaws on your G2 allow you to expand them inside a knot hole or are they too big?
 
I can try and get the 20mm jaws but mine didn't come with any extra jaws. The combo kits weren't available at the time
 
Ok... first off don’t use the drill chuck in the headstock unless it’s tapped for a drawbar, and only then if you actually use a drawbar. It’s too much mass for friction to keep it in the morse taper.

As for the IX collet, you see the problem I had. A wood lathe only runs so true, the IX collet has very little expansion, usually not enough to make up for the difference. It’s why I don’t use one anymore unless there’s no other way, although I prefer one over expanding mini jaws inside the hole. Try wrapping electrical tape around it and slice with an exacto knife/razor blade where the pieces of the collet are so it can still expand. If the hole isn’t too far off it will work just fine.

Are you using a skew to put a divot in the center of the blank before drilling? Try to match it to the angle of the “spike” in the center of the forstner bit, it should help a lot. Usually you’re drilling into endgrain for a brush handle and that causes all types of bits to wander. It doesn’t take a very big divot either, just enough to guide the bit at first. Drill low & slow, especially when the teeth of the forstner start to cut. I drill below 350rpm and take my time advancing the bit.
 
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