Replies

1. 
   user-1119429039 | Jul 07, 2008 06:10pm | #1

   Dear Boss Hog,
   You have a couple of options. One, buy a second set of jaws for your chuck, ones that will hold small-diameter pieces. Two, buy a Jacobs chuck, which is designed to fit in the headstock. It will hold small-diameter pieces just fine. Third, make your own: Attach a piece of scrap about 2 in. thick to a faceplate. Turn it round, then hollow out the middle until it's about an inch deep and slightly smaller in diameter than the pen stock you wish to use. Turn the outer wall of the recess to about 1/4 in. thick. Remove the piece from the lathe and use a fine-tooth saw to cut slots in the wall of the recess. Then fit a hose clamp over the wall and reattach the piece to the lathe. Insert the pen stock in the recess and tighten the hose clamp. It should grab the pen stock tightly enough to hold it firmly. If it doesn't, either recut another homemade chuck or try wrapping the pen stock with paper towel or tape to make it thicker.

   Also, I would leave the stock longer than 3 in. If you want your fobs to be 3 in. long, then start with a piece that's 4 to 5 in. long; once you've turned the fob, use a parting tool to remove it from the rest of the blank. And, because you're working with a pretty short, small piece, you probably don't need to use the tailstock at all.
   Hope this helps,
   David Heim
   Managing Editor
   FineWoodworking.Com