Does anyone know of a collet chuck and back plate for a Smithy 1440 lathe? Smithy does not make one. The lathe is great, just would like to have a collet chuck.
Thanks.
Does anyone know of a collet chuck and back plate for a Smithy 1440 lathe? Smithy does not make one. The lathe is great, just would like to have a collet chuck.
Thanks.
Time to make your own backplate. Cast iron is the best material if you can find a slice
There are a couple of ways to do this and I've done this before. The first step is to machine a recess fits the boss on your faceplate. The hard bit is to get the dimensions exact before removing the backing plate or you are no longer concentric.
So I decided to make a pattern piece by holding a slice of 160 mm dia cast iron in a 4 jaw chuck, machined a boss and testing the fit on the back of my 3 jaw. Once I had an exact fit, I chucked up the second piece and repeated the exercise but this time machined a recess that was an exact fit to the boss I had machined. Then marked the bolt positions and drilled and tapped some holes so I could mount the part to the lathe.
Sort out some mounting holes
So now we can mount the part and machine it while its attached to the face plate
So now you can machine the mounting plate to suite the back of your collet chuck
And finally mount the chuck which should have perfect alignment
Rod Webster
www.vehiclemods.net.au
Thanks so much for this tutorial on how to do it. Much appreciated.