LONGWORTH CHUCK UPDATE, IMPORTANT, watch before building

In this short video I explain what material you should use, In my construction video I advised the wrong material, since then it has exploded when I did something I should not have done. I am showing the replacement one I made with a different material. These are still very good chucks and very easy to build, I would not want to be without one.

[@bm3823]

Thanks for the update. I’m glad you weren’t injured.

[@rroe5718]

Just my take on cutting the Dovetail for holding a rough turned bowl in your chuck......... mount the roughed out bowl between centers when doing this operation for safety sake. Soft jam chuck on the headstock side and live center on the tailstock. This will never fly off and you will get a perfect dovetail. I only use my longworth for finished bowls that are round and stable for turning the very bottoms. Accidents on the wood lathe can happen in a split second and extreme caution should always be used. Your video on construction of the chuck was very good by the way.

[@clarencegreen3071]

I've made and used several LW chucks and find that 6 slots instead of 8 work just fine. You can then make all the slots the same length. Having fewer slots also means that you're not reducing the amount of wood holding it together as much as when you use more slots. Most importantly, keep the RPM down! I would not run a LW chuck of the size you have at more than 800 RPM. (Read that again!) The centrifugal force tending to blow it apart increases rapidly with RPM. I have made smaller-diameter LW chucks for use with smaller bowls. That way I don't have to run the slots on the larger chucks in as close to the faceplate. You can run a smaller one at a higher RPM, maybe up to 1200, but no more. And as you suggest, always use the tailstock for support. Thanks for the videos - they are very good. -old woodturner from NC, USA.

[@brianprocter6191]

Thanks for the reply,,, We learn from the mistakes we make and council and advise of others, I like the idea of using less slots, and also of using a smaller one as well. I would like to make a smaller chuck as you say and quote your reply with credits, if that ok with you. Hope to come to NC some day as I have a friend there. I live in BC near Alaska, a world apart.

[@clarencegreen3071]

@@brianprocter6191Hey Brian, I don't think I can claim any originality on either using only six slots or making a LW chuck of smaller diameter. Therefore, no granting permission or crediting is called for. Hope you make it down to NC some day. It's really not such a bad place after you get used to the black widow spiders, rattlesnakes, and the occasional mad dog. It would be nice if we could meet up and maybe even stand in front of a lathe for a spell. ~Doc Green . . . as I am known in the woodturning community.

[@jsteifel]

so, what I also notice is that your chuck loosens under torque. The swirl should tighten under torque. if you catch it will try to open and let loose. you want it to tighten and if anything crush vs just let it loose.

[@brianprocter6191]

I made this the same way as I seen others are made. One fellow said they should go the other way as his friend had one that loosened, then they made it the opposite way, then he came back later and said he was mixed up, this is the correct way. I examined it on the lathe and the resistant to motion and cutting tightens, that's what you want, right. However when all the stopper are tight it will not move anyway. I did turn it on once when they where not tightened and the stoppers came out to the outer edge. That was caused by centrifical force of the stoppers. I have found that this chuck is very easy to use, adjusts quickly to bowl sizes, no need to setup equipment. only drawback is one needs to use the tailstock when doing any cutting.

[@lightdark00]

I had the exact same thought. When looking at the side that grips the item should be going clockwise. The mirrored pattern would be for the counter-clockwise spin I think is always used for turning wood.

[@loucinci3922]

Lucky. Happy to hear you were not injured. What dimensions do you have on the stoppers? 1" diameter x 1.25" tall? Thanks for sharing