How to change the chuck jaws on a metal lathe

One for beginners. Shows how to number and correctly fit scroll chuck jaws.
Camera: Nikon Coolpix L820

[@user-jx3kw1zx7p]

Thank you Rob! Newbie here that took his jaws out of my Chinese lathe I just received to clean it all up and didn't realize there was an order. You saved me a lot of time.

[@Xynudu]

Glad it was helpful. Cheers Rob

[@EddieTheGrouch]

Hey Rob. I am a firm believer that presentation is the key to sharing knowledge. I can watch a hundred vids on the same subject but their will be that one that makes the mental light bulb shine. Many, like I, don't watch everyone else. We watch YOU for quality vids, ideas, presentation and wit. You go right ahead and cover the basics - there are many un-lit bulbs out here! Cheers.

[@Kyokunek]

No .. this is not boring.. that's the type of informatorom beginners are looking for and cant find it cause more experienced thinks that everybody knows it.. the same stuff is with taps and dies basics and more.. reading that information from the book charts may be easy for someone who knows it.. that sort of video's many people are looking for 👍 maybe its time for newbies line of video's🙂

[@bmwinfo7764]

Thanks for the video. I knew there must have been a better way than the trial and error method. After watching yoru video it took me all of 20 sec to get it done correctly.

[@Xynudu]

Glad it helped. Eazy as. Cheers Rob

[@colinwarner7762]

Well done Rob, new at this, took out jaws to clean and grease, a good idea I thought, but going nuts try to figure out how to refit, (2 days) just looked at this video, and put them straight back. as you lot say good on ya mate. many thanks. Colin U.K.

[@vikinginfidel4293]

Man you are a life saver. No one ever shows how to do this in all the beginner videos I've watched. Once I got them set I grabbed my triangle file and made my marks then used a center punch to make dots on the head.

[@Xynudu]

The way to go.

[@maxtrac1]

thanks a lot,i backed mine out to far a 2 of them fell out i fought it for about an hour until i found you on youtube.that fixed it thanks again.

[@Xynudu]

Your welcome. Rob

[@richardalston3887]

Was about to be carried off in a small green van,then along comes a kind person to save my sanity. Big thankyou.

[@gilelicyd]

Thank you,every word spot on,I struggled for an hour changing jaws until I figured it out.Wish I watched your video first.

[@Gentle195]

Hi Rob! Even though you posted this 3 years ago, I just used it today. I would have had NO IDEA what to do without this. Many, many thanks for your excellent video. I'm a home hobbyist and very new to lathes. I tried to open the jaws too wide and dropped one out the bottom. uh-oh. But this got me all fixed up. Again, many thanks. I'm very grateful. (and this is bookmarked..lol). Cheers!

[@Xynudu]

Thanks for the feedback. Often this simple stuff gets over looked, and newbies have trouble. Glad it worked out. Cheers Rob

[@vidozgeorge]

Thank you so much - the best explanation. Saved me from hours of frustration trying to re-assemble my chuck. Luckily, I found numbers on the jaws while cleaning which I had not seen previously. Brilliant.

[@Xynudu]

Thanks for the feedback George. Much appreciated. Cheers Rob

[@SDPickups]

Your video helped me figure it out, but on my Cummins 7x12 Chinese lathe, even though the manual says assemble in CLOCKWISE numbering, its EXACTLY OPPOSITE! I spent half the darn night trying to figure out why nothing was working. I ended up looking inside the housing and watching which way the flat threaded plate was rotating when I turn the T handle in the tightening direction. I could see it was moving anti-clockwise, AHA! So I numbered them according to the threading on the chuck jaw that was going to grab first into the start of the threading on the plate, which meant I had to put 1 in, then anticlockwise 2, then 3. That worked! I notice yours are also installed anticlockwise numbering. I hope this helps somebody, what a waste of time, and I do thankyou for helping me look in the right direction.

[@Xynudu]

SDPickups The chuck body should have had some jaw numbers stamped into it. No numbers ? Cheers Rob

[@SDPickups]

No numbers, only the jaws were numbered but not in a real obvious way, they had a different serial number on each one and the last digit was the number of the jaw.

[@alanjames2333]

Very helpful. Bought a lathe & didn't know how to get the jaws in right. Have just put them in thanks

[@Xynudu]

+Alan James Hi Alan. Pleased it was helpful. Cheers Rob

[@makerlife4103]

thank you very much mate. I was trying to figure out how to put the jaws back in the chuck the whole morning and then I saw your video. for all those who use c0 baby lathe , identify the jaws as 1 , 2 and 3 and put no3 first , slide it inside the scroll turn to next chuck, insert no2, turn to next chuck and insert no 3. this is to be done because the jaw opening and closing mechanism is a bit more primal in the baby lathe . thanks a ton buddy it went in like a breeze after i watched your video.

[@Xynudu]

Thanks for the feedback Atul. Glad you got it sorted. They never include this stuff in the lathe user manual, and it can be a real head bang. Cheers Rob

[@tysons1075]

Thankyou, just bought a lathe and you just saved my day :)

[@ArjanKop]

Me too! I bought a second hand and it took me an hour to figure out why everything was all wobbly. The jaws didn’t line up, but from there, I got stuck.

[@qquarzwar]

Thank you. I couldn't figure this one out on my own. You saved my project today. :D

[@paulcolliton3511]

Thank you same here bought my first lathe and was very helpful 👍👏👏👏

[@Xynudu]

Glad it helped

[@FredMiller]

Thanks Rob... Like you I had no mentor or formal training when I bought my first lathe. It was the school of hard knocks.. These do help the new folks... Good job!

[@ArrowXDesign]

That sure simplifies things. Thanks for the great videos.

[@rustysanchezgarage]

Thanks for sharing I wish I watched this video earlier today. It took me 2 hours to figure out. Thanks again

[@bobcatt2294]

Great tutorial and much needed.

[@SuperMarcoArt]

Thank you! This was massively helpful. Great teaching.

[@Xynudu]

Glad to help Marcos. Should be in the user manual, but it never is. Cheers Rob

[@johnkinnane547]

G’day Rob thanks for the video on these chucks I have 4 jaw and one of the jaws will not go down with the other 3, your video helped me a lot thanks mate regards John

[@Xynudu]

Glad it was useful for your chuck John. It may be helpful to put a large heavy duty rubber band around all the extended jaws before turning anticlockwise and waiting for number one to click in. That way you are more likely to avoid a jaw not feeding. I think I remember one of my viewers suggesting that at the time. I have had the occasional instance where I got a non starter due to lack of hand grip/pressure on number 2 or 3 at the vital time ;) Overall it works extremely well on all of my scroll chucks. Cheers Rob

[@KayWhyTee]

great, picked up my lathe with the jaws out last night, this was helpfull

[@TwistedSisterHaratiofales]

OMG, TY, I had forgot about the Jaws having their own slot and took out the inners, to switch with the outers, and had a lopsided mess. I have thought about buying a second chuck to switch out for having one inner, and one outer, lol but once I get them right and marked. I should be good.

[@dwaine515]

Thanks for the break down...seriously, great vid

[@dme6991]

Thank you so much I spent ages trying to work this out all my numbers are worn of inner there was an order some how but I could not work out what order this helped a lot cheers

[@minskmade]

thank you for taking the time to this for us newbies :)

[@SuperHification]

It's only basic stuff if you already know it. Thanks just what I needed. Will save me hours of fiddling.

[@shawnmrfixitlee6478]

Thanks Rob , I Just had this vary problem with my new chuck .. EPIC AWESOME SHARE !

[@Xynudu]

Hi Shawn, It's so easy when you know how. Problem is there are never any instructions with the chuck or lathe on how to do this ;) Cheers Rob

[@brandysigmon9066]

Very useful video, thanks for the time to explain. This is a breeze now!!

[@rikmeyer1469]

Thank you mate! I am new at this and I sincerely appreciate the tip. Well done video. Kindest regards.

[@Xynudu]

Rik Meyer You're most welcome Rik. We all start at the beginning and continue to learn. That's what makes life interesting. Cheers Rob.

[@halliwaxbasementbuilds]

Thank you very much! A life saver!

[@elliotkirk489]

thank you. great job

[@laurencepain4930]

Nice one. Fortunately the previous owner numbered my jaws and chuck. Cheap chinese lathe. Didn't know about setting no 1 at bottom and proceeding from there as shown. Thanks very much not a wasted video as far as I'm concerned. Have a great Christmas and New Year. Keep thevideos coming! Regards Loz

[@davidsamuel1304]

really helpful vid - thanks!

[@JoePCP]

I second what everyone else has said, with your video it took me seconds to put right what I had screwed up...:-)

[@perrylatham7007]

Thanks mate, really helped.

[@Fozzfreedommachine]

Thanks mate for that "basic" video, I've learnt more from your videos in the last couple of weeks than I've learnt in the last 4 years of owning a very similar lathe to the one in your videos. As you would be well aware the chinglish instructions that come with these lathes are not worth the paper they are printed on, so once again, Thankyou.

[@Xynudu]

Ross Gabriel Your Welcome. Chinglish manuals do make interesting reading. Cheers Rob

[@LOZBRY]

Hi thank god for you man I just got me a mini lathe and I unscrewed the jaws sow I took them out to look at them this where it all went pair shaped, and I just found this video thank I thought it wad broken ha I'm just learning,

[@Xynudu]

Just hang in there. We are here to help. Looks simple but can still cause grief until you understand what you are dealing with. Glad you found it useful. Cheers Rob

[@jaggaskully]

Saved my life 😌

[@billpackman3370]

Brilliant. Thanks very much.

[@gordonagent7037]

Great stuff for us newbies

[@Xynudu]

+Gordon Agent We all have to learn, and it's the small things that often help. Glad you enjoyed it. Cheers Rob

[@BrickTactical]

How do I put the jaws back in if I want to reverse them to allow me to turn larger diameter stock?

[@Xynudu]

Chuck jaws are only reversable on independent jaw chucks (eg. most four jaw chucks). Scroll chucks, as shown, have a separate set of external gripping jaws. The complete set of jaws to be used, has to be swapped over. Both sets of jaws are aligned as shown in the video. Rob

[@BrickTactical]

+xynudu so I can't flip these around to turn larger stock?

[@Xynudu]

Not if it's a scroll chuck. Rob

[@k5at]

Rob, another way of replacing the jaws is to look at the scroll. Position #1 at the top and turn the key anti-clockwise until you see the edge of the scroll appearing. Insert #1 Jaw and move to #2, and repeat. Same for #3.

[@Xynudu]

+Herb Blair Good tip Herb. I know this is a belated response, but I just had another look at the video and comments, and your point is very useful. Cheers Rob.

[@Kekoalane]

Helped me , thanks for the video i

[@Xynudu]

Glad it helped John. Cheers Rob

[@chummel123]

good on ya mate

[@sparkiekosten5902]

Thanks for that!

[@zeemanjr]

Hey Rob, Nice tutorial vid,I wanted to ask you where you purchased your lathe from as I would like to get one for my home workshop. Any info is much appreciated, Thanks in advance. Regards, Pete.

[@Xynudu]

Hi Pete. I bought mine from Paramount Browns Ltd in South Australia. Unfortunately they no longer sell that model. It was cheap but capable for $1100 AU. They sold heaps of them, but you rarely see one second hand as people tend to hang on to them. I don't think anyone sells them in Oz now. Rob.

[@themaniacmower]

thank you so much

[@daveandersonangry]

would this video apply to a 4 jaw chuck as well please ????

[@Xynudu]

Yes. Any chuck that bolts up to a driven plate.

[@cri8tor]

I'm going to totally disassemble my chuck and clean it up, but don't know whether I should use oil or grease when I reassemble it. What do you think? Cheers

[@Xynudu]

Most definitely oil. I use plain car engine oil. You will never see grease in a new chuck. Only use a very small/light amount or it will spray from the chuck at speed. Cheers Rob

[@jackfromthe60s]

@@Xynudu Good video Rob. I'll be using your method in future. Note that Pratt & Burnerd recommend Molycote D paste or grease in their chucks.

[@minihotopp]

Thank you!!!

[@axolpolly3366]

hello xynudu.how you going? about changing the chuck 3- jaws,i did full out mine,but i did put it back together im not sure if i get right,and i did not put numbering on the 3 jaws,its my mistake i did not know,i manage to put it back after a long hours,and i check the run out using end mill 20 mm,there is run out about 2 thousand of an inch' i have a question'' 3-jaws chuck can i get zero run out?

[@Xynudu]

You can get zero run out, but you will need to grind the internal gripping jaw faces lightly with a tool post grinder. Sounds like the jaws are back in the correct slots if that is all the run out you have, This is why it is also important to put the chuck back on the faceplte in the same position. Cheers Rob

[@axolpolly3366]

Good day mate,my lathe lathe Chinese made,metal master AL-320 G and the 3 jaws i noticed there is no, numbering which one go back first,hehehe the reason i full out i want to reverse the jaws so that can hold bigger dia, but i noticed again the jaws is not reversable. and i look the box come with there is extra 3-jaws dedicated reverse only. any way im gonna try again this 3-jaws back in order,thanks your time Rob, fr:geelong vic,aust,Ben,cheers

[@Xynudu]

axol polly There should be a number stamped in each slot in the chuck body. Then it's just a matter of line up both sets of jaws as I show in the video. When you get them sorted, make sure to mark the jaws and the chuck slots with a centre punch. Then you will have no more problems. Cheers Rob

[@AXRV88]

Nice and quick technique, Rob! What is name of your lathe? Is it chinese?

[@Xynudu]

Yes it's a Chinese lathe. It is a CQ9325. It is also sold as a HBM450 in Europe. In the USA Bolton Hardware sell it with power cross slide.

[@AXRV88]

Can you filmed review of it? I think it would be interesting.

[@Xynudu]

AXRV88 I did a review of it a long while ago when it was in new condition. Chinese CQ9325 small bench lathe features Cheers Rob.

[@AXRV88]

Thanks!

[@wolfie666x3]

i tried following this but the jaws are still offset in the best orientation of the jaws, any ideas?

[@Xynudu]

+Wolfs Rangers What do you mean by "the best orientation of the jaws" ? Rob

[@wolfie666x3]

i put them in according to the way you did it and i kept moving them around clockwise on the chuck till they all aligned kind of meaning that the jaws wound in equally

[@Xynudu]

+Wolfs Rangers Align the chuck jaws using the scroll thread faces as a guide as shown to determine the jaw numbers. The jaws go in the chuck anti clockwise from 1 to 3. Rotate the jaws (in the same order) in either direction until you get the best fit. If you've done that and have a problem, then I don't know what is going on. Cheers Rob

[@JohnDoe-kt2ts]

Play the video and pause it at 0:48. Look at the edge of the jaw between his thumb and forefinger. It has 3 small notches on the edge. Now continue the video and keep your eyes on the other 2 jaws. One of them has 1 notch on the same edge and the other has 2 notches. Presumably the manufacturers put the notches there because, unlike numbers, they won't wear off. But, hey, what do I know, I'm only a "beginner." There's nothing like being given a lesson by a "master."