I now have a used taig with a new frog attachment that I purchased locally. It came with the three jaw self centering chuck. I now want to buy a four jaw chuck. Which should I get, the four jaw self centering or the four jaw individual adjusting one?
bob gilbert
Finally Have a Taig/Question.
-
staffwalker
- Site Supporter
- Posts: 391
- Joined: Thu Nov 23, 2006 8:00 pm
- Location: USA, texas
-
StephenDownie
- Posts: 228
- Joined: Thu Nov 23, 2006 8:00 pm
- Location: Canada
- Contact:
I'm going to respectfully differ with Rad on this one. I have the 4 jaw independent and when working with rectangular Lucite it works great. It also has the advantage of making life easier for drilling off center which I've needed to do on a number of different occasions.
Stephen Downie
www.downiepipes.com
www.downiepipes.com
Bob.. if you're just starting off with the taig and/or making your own stems, I would suggest the 4-jaw self-centering chuck. While I agree with Stephen that the independent jaws are better for some operations, personally, I'd have thrown mine across the room early on if I didn't have the self-centering jaws. I would imagine that once you have the full process of making a proper stem down(which I don't just yet... not by a long shot) that moving to independent jaws would give you more creative freedom, but until then I would make it as easy on yourself as possible. Just MHO, obviously.. your mileage may vary.
Oh.. and out of curiousity.. since you got it used, was it already fully assembled for you? If so.. you missed out on all the fun!!
Matt
Oh.. and out of curiousity.. since you got it used, was it already fully assembled for you? If so.. you missed out on all the fun!!
Matt
-
staffwalker
- Site Supporter
- Posts: 391
- Joined: Thu Nov 23, 2006 8:00 pm
- Location: USA, texas
Thanks for the info it gives me food for reflection. I'll decide soon.
Yes the lathe was fully mounted and operational. The frog, however, is new in box with instructions. I will wait a while before trying to get it attached and working. The lathe came with lots of goodies including several tool posts, a 60 hole indexing plate, set of collets, lots of ground toolbits, and a thread making attachment, also new and in box. I bought the packet from a machinist who has a workshop with several lathes. He sold the Taig because he wants to buy some new kind of machine. He told me but I am so dumb in the lathe department I didn't know what he was talking about.
I love the little thing already.
bob gilbert
Yes the lathe was fully mounted and operational. The frog, however, is new in box with instructions. I will wait a while before trying to get it attached and working. The lathe came with lots of goodies including several tool posts, a 60 hole indexing plate, set of collets, lots of ground toolbits, and a thread making attachment, also new and in box. I bought the packet from a machinist who has a workshop with several lathes. He sold the Taig because he wants to buy some new kind of machine. He told me but I am so dumb in the lathe department I didn't know what he was talking about.
I love the little thing already.
bob gilbert
Bob,
You eventually may end up with both but for general work a four jaw self centering would be ideal. Not only can you center round stock like you can with a three jaw but with the four jaws you can easily center square stock as well (as long as it is square and not rectangular). And if its scroll is accurate and repeatable You should be able to take a peice out and put it back in and still be "on the spot".
If you need to bore or turn anything off center, Stephen is right, you will need an independant jaw chuck for that. For most people the need for that is the exception rather than the rule.
Centering is an independant chuck takes a bit to learn. THere is an art to it and it takes a bit of practice to get really good at it and it takes longer than just putting the peice in a scroll chuck. And if you have to take the peice out and put it back in on center for some reason it is aggravating to get things back the way you had it originally.
Ray
You eventually may end up with both but for general work a four jaw self centering would be ideal. Not only can you center round stock like you can with a three jaw but with the four jaws you can easily center square stock as well (as long as it is square and not rectangular). And if its scroll is accurate and repeatable You should be able to take a peice out and put it back in and still be "on the spot".
If you need to bore or turn anything off center, Stephen is right, you will need an independant jaw chuck for that. For most people the need for that is the exception rather than the rule.
Centering is an independant chuck takes a bit to learn. THere is an art to it and it takes a bit of practice to get really good at it and it takes longer than just putting the peice in a scroll chuck. And if you have to take the peice out and put it back in on center for some reason it is aggravating to get things back the way you had it originally.
Ray
Ray Cover
School of Fine Art Engraving
School of Fine Art Engraving
-
pierredekat
I personally have a small three-jaw scroll chuck that centers round stuff very well and a 6-inch four-jaw non-scroll, non-self-centering chuck for stummels, etc.
Now I don't know a lot about the Taig, but assuming it's big enough to turn, say, a two-inch piece of wood, you might want the option of chucking up an odd shaped block and turning a stummel out of it. That's where the non-centering chuck will come in handy.
And I know the "square" stock that I've used so far is pretty far from square. So I'm not sure how well you can center stock that may be 1/16 inch off of square. You might find yourself only snug on two sides with a scroll chuck.
Something else worth considering is the fact that you can always use a four-jaw independent chuck to get odd-shaped stock started, turn one end round, and then use the round side in the three-jaw scroll chuck -- assuming it's not terribly difficult to swap chucks, and assuming you want that repeatability of a scroll chuck.
But if you really wanna do it right, buy both chucks. My motto is: you can never have too many tools.
Now I don't know a lot about the Taig, but assuming it's big enough to turn, say, a two-inch piece of wood, you might want the option of chucking up an odd shaped block and turning a stummel out of it. That's where the non-centering chuck will come in handy.
And I know the "square" stock that I've used so far is pretty far from square. So I'm not sure how well you can center stock that may be 1/16 inch off of square. You might find yourself only snug on two sides with a scroll chuck.
Something else worth considering is the fact that you can always use a four-jaw independent chuck to get odd-shaped stock started, turn one end round, and then use the round side in the three-jaw scroll chuck -- assuming it's not terribly difficult to swap chucks, and assuming you want that repeatability of a scroll chuck.
But if you really wanna do it right, buy both chucks. My motto is: you can never have too many tools.
I haven't tried it yet and really don't plan to, but I don't know that you'd want to try to drill any briar blocks on a Taig. If you're drilling a hole for a shank extension or ring, that may be one thing, but to drill a tobacco chamber is quite another. I just don't think there's enough lead in the Taig's rear end to get that job done without hurting something.
independent vs. scroll
Here's my two cents, about what it's worth, but...
If you got the Taig for doing stems, then self-centering is really what you need. Though I don't yet own a little Taig, Hazmat is probably right that drilling chambers in wood on it is not recommended. I have an independent 4-jaw and a self-centering 4-jaw for my mini Jet. I started out with the independent jaw and was able to drill chamber and airway/mortise with same alignment quite easily. Take 2 opposing jaws off the chuck, they'll just get in the way and don't really help in gripping the stock. Center your material between the two jaws and clamp down for drilling the airway/mortise and drill. This takes a little more time than with a self-centering, but once you're set, you are aligned for the chamber too, if you only loosen one jaw (remember which one!) and keep the same block side on the same jaw. Reposition the block for the chamber and re-tighten that one jaw and drill away. You should keep the same alignment as the airway, as long as your block sides are parallel to one another. Now that I have the self-centering chuck, set up is much easier. Again, I removed two opposing jaws, but now I don't have to fuss with trying to center the block with independent jaws, nor do I have to remember which jaw I loosened and which side of the block goes where. On the other hand, trying to center rod stock on independent jaws is damned near impossible.
Hope that makes sense.
If you got the Taig for doing stems, then self-centering is really what you need. Though I don't yet own a little Taig, Hazmat is probably right that drilling chambers in wood on it is not recommended. I have an independent 4-jaw and a self-centering 4-jaw for my mini Jet. I started out with the independent jaw and was able to drill chamber and airway/mortise with same alignment quite easily. Take 2 opposing jaws off the chuck, they'll just get in the way and don't really help in gripping the stock. Center your material between the two jaws and clamp down for drilling the airway/mortise and drill. This takes a little more time than with a self-centering, but once you're set, you are aligned for the chamber too, if you only loosen one jaw (remember which one!) and keep the same block side on the same jaw. Reposition the block for the chamber and re-tighten that one jaw and drill away. You should keep the same alignment as the airway, as long as your block sides are parallel to one another. Now that I have the self-centering chuck, set up is much easier. Again, I removed two opposing jaws, but now I don't have to fuss with trying to center the block with independent jaws, nor do I have to remember which jaw I loosened and which side of the block goes where. On the other hand, trying to center rod stock on independent jaws is damned near impossible.
Hope that makes sense.
continued
Oh yeah, I forgot to add that another advantage of a scroll chuck is that you don't have to remove the chuck from the lathe to reposition the block. At least on my independent jaw chuck I need to tighten the jaws on the back side of the chuck, so I need to unscrew it from the headstock to access the back. Also, it is easier to get repeatability with the scroll chuck if you have removed the material and have a drilling in the block by placing the appropriate drill bit in the tailstock and balancing the drilled block on the bit (keeping the block weight off the bit). Then bring the tailstock with the block on it right up to the jaws and tighten them. When you back the tailstock out, if drill bit slides out of your pre-drilled hole without catching, snagging, or scratching the hole, then you are aligned again. I think it would be darned near impossible to get that kind of repeatibility with independent jaws.
Again, I hope that makes sense.
Again, I hope that makes sense.
-
StephenDownie
- Posts: 228
- Joined: Thu Nov 23, 2006 8:00 pm
- Location: Canada
- Contact:
I find it really interesting that so many people are suggesting the scroll chuck versus the independent. The Lucite rod I get is usually rectangular, do you guys square off your Lucite rod before you begin work with it?
Stephen Downie
www.downiepipes.com
www.downiepipes.com
Steve,
Most of my stem material is round stock - cast acrylic - from
http://delviesplastics.com/
My more flamboyant material is usually retangular pen blanks and yes, the first operation is to turn it into a rod.
I have the 4 jaw self centering on the Taig if I need to do off set drilling I do it on a drill press - it is a PITA.
Most of my stem material is round stock - cast acrylic - from
http://delviesplastics.com/
My more flamboyant material is usually retangular pen blanks and yes, the first operation is to turn it into a rod.
I have the 4 jaw self centering on the Taig if I need to do off set drilling I do it on a drill press - it is a PITA.
-
StephenDownie
- Posts: 228
- Joined: Thu Nov 23, 2006 8:00 pm
- Location: Canada
- Contact:
Ahh! I see now. I buy a lot of my Lucite stock form Pipe Maker's Emporium and without fail it's rectangular.ckr wrote:Steve,
Most of my stem material is round stock - cast acrylic - from
http://delviesplastics.com/
My more flamboyant material is usually retangular pen blanks and yes, the first operation is to turn it into a rod.
I have the 4 jaw self centering on the Taig if I need to do off set drilling I do it on a drill press - it is a PITA.
Stephen Downie
www.downiepipes.com
www.downiepipes.com
-
staffwalker
- Site Supporter
- Posts: 391
- Joined: Thu Nov 23, 2006 8:00 pm
- Location: USA, texas
After reading and pondering all the responses I received to my initial post on chucks for the Taig I ordered a 4 jaw self centering. I would have also ordered an independent jaw chuck at the same time but I though I had found one much cheaper elsewhere. Only later did I find it would not fit a taig without an insert which would have brought the price up to about the Taig chuck price. Oh well, I'll order one soon. I do feel there is a need for both self centering and independant actions ones.
The 4 jaw chuck arrived today. After playing around with it for a bit I am now prompted to ask another question. If a 4 jaw will hold both round and square stock what is the purpose of owning a 3 jaw? It appears to me to be something I might as well sell on ebay. Or am I not seeing the big picture?
bob gilbert
The 4 jaw chuck arrived today. After playing around with it for a bit I am now prompted to ask another question. If a 4 jaw will hold both round and square stock what is the purpose of owning a 3 jaw? It appears to me to be something I might as well sell on ebay. Or am I not seeing the big picture?
bob gilbert