New lathe chuck key

I noticed as I was working on the new aluminum hammer end that the home made chuck key that came with the lathe...and had an original 'twist' to the end...was twisting even more. So I decided to order a new 1/4" chuck key on ebay...for the 1/4" chuck...but in this video found out (like a comment on the ebay listing) that I did need to grind some off so it would fit...as a 1/4 peg does not fit in a 1/4 hole...you need some leeway space for that to happen unless you want a press fit...which defeats the purpose of putting the chuck key in and out regularly.
So this was the first real bench grinder project...which made me realize that the tables on the bench grinder definitely either need properly adjusted, or replaced...as they are too wobbly to use. I also need more practice doing grinding like this, as I almost messed up the chuck key. Luckily I did not...and so this worked.

[@josephkrug8579]

I definitely needed the new chuck key to work with the stainless hammer head lathe project that I also worked on and finished this weekend.

[@benjaminarmstrong5550]

i have a craftsman quarter inch drive rachet with a extension that lives on my lathe bench saves a bunch of time. Somtimes ill even sin and put a quarter inch driver in the drill and really speed things up.

[@josephkrug8579]

Nice, I dont use it enough yet to warrant needing a drill for it, but that is a good reminder that it could work :)

[@user-sq2bt4ji8v]

I have the same problem BUT only on one of the chuck square drives. It fits one hole fine but not the other two 🙂

[@josephkrug8579]

@@user-sq2bt4ji8v Well if u decide to grind on it, make sure your tables in front of the grindstones are square and measure often vs doing what I did. 🙂 I took a bit too much off and the result was not square.

[@josephkrug8579]

And maybe carefully measure the hole it does not fit in...and make sure there is no debris in there. It could be it is slightly off in size in one dimension vs the other.