Making and Using a Drawbar for Morse Tapers

I show why you need to use a drawbar for Morse Tapers on some woodturning operations. I also show how to easily make one. This video shows how I made a drawbar for my wood Lathe.
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[@AlbeTurner]

Very helpful video Mike. Great tip on the groove for the chuck too. I don't quite follow why, how or where the rubber ring is used but I'm glad that no calves were harmed in the process.. Thanks Mike.

[@MikePeaceWoodturning]

I had a bunch of the rubber rings so I figured why not put them on the rod so I would not here any metal scraping inserting or removing the drawbar. Total unnecessary but I had them.

[@peterparr3003]

As a new turner, I appreciate all the tips and advice thank you.

[@chucksmith9633]

Great tips. Experienced a drill chuck coming loose yesterday with a buffing wheel in it. Love the blooper at the end!

[@diydarkmatter]

good stuff mike . your the man . i use your tip on holding the jacob chuck all the time . and it dint take long to see why to do it and i was glad i was .

[@bertdelisle393]

Great video Mike, quick and easy to make and it works. As others has noted I use a piece of clear plastic tubing instead of o-ring for centering and thread protection.

[@garythomas6866]

Thanks for your good tips Mike , very helpful.

[@alanmullock381]

Good tips Mike,and a good laugh!👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@walterperrault]

Great video Thank you

[@mitchellmanning7887]

👍thanks for sharing

[@homemadetools]

Nice job!

[@MikePeaceWoodturning]

Thanks you!

[@woodturningguru8857]

Great tip and video take care. Y.N.W.A.

[@monophoto1]

Great video Some additional thoughts - 1. I chose to make my drawbar handle by embedding a nut in a recess between two bits of wood that were glued together (I could have used a threaded insert and avoided the glueup). The result is that the handle can be adjusted to whatever length is required by the tool it is being used with. The downside of that approach is that it leaves the cut end of the threaded rod exposed at the outboard side of the handwheel - and that's dangerous (DAMHIKT). I solved that problem by drilling and tapping a scrap to fit over that end, and then turning it down to make a rounded protective cap. This scrap could be wood, but I chose to use HDPE. Of course, a simpler solution would be to round over the end of the rod using a grinder or file, but turners always have to turn something! 2. I either read or saw somewhere that the threads on the drawbar potentially can foul the female morse taper in the headstock as it is inserted for use. A solution for that is to use 2-3" of heat-shrink plastic tubing on the drawbar, leaving 1/2" or so to screw into the fixing it is being used to secure. 3. Some (many) Jacobs chucks actually consist of a mandrel with a morse taper at one end, and a different taper that fits into the chuck body (typically, a JT-33 taper). The good news is that if you are upgrading from a minilathe with an MT-1 taper to a larger lathe with an MT-2 taper, it costs less to replace that mandrel than it does to replace the entire chuck. But the bad news is that vibration can cause that JT-33 taper to come loose, and in that case, a drawbar won't hold the chuck in place since it only attaches to the mandrel. This is another reason why it is better to use the Jacobs chuck in the tailstock for drilling - holding the chuck with your left hand will prevent the chuck body from separating from the mandrel.

[@MikePeaceWoodturning]

Good tips! Thanks for sharing, Louie. I especially like the heat shrink tube idea. Probably work better than my castration rings but not as good a story!

[@jeffoldham3466]

mike any ideas if the morse taper does not have threads on the ends,,only flat spot

[@MikePeaceWoodturning]

Do not use it in the headstock or cutoff the flat and drill and tap for 1/4x20 threaded rod.

[@johnwallace4408]

NICE video, Mike. Did you drill the hole the same size as the o.d. or did you drill the hole smaller and thread the rod in? Tks! SAFE TURNING, John

[@MikePeaceWoodturning]

Same size. I tried a smaller hole first but found it too hard to thread it into the hole. But that is an option if you add a couple of nuts to grab on to with a wrench and only make the hole myabe a 1/32" smaller. You could skip the epoxy. The epoxy holds it fine in the same size hole and was less effort.

[@johnwallace4408]

Thank you!

[@TheSafecrkr1]

I really like your videos, but l wish you would show more of the out-takes. ;-)

[@MikePeaceWoodturning]

I appreciate your feedback. I have been thinking about this and will probably start adding more at the end of the video to encourage folks to stay till the end!

[@curtisbrock4868]

Thanks for the tip on the little groove to use in jaw.