Modern Machine-Shop Practice Part 62

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 852.]

The Judson patent chuck is designed to overcome this difficulty, and is constructed as shown in Figs. 851 and 852, the former being a face view and the latter a sectional edge view of the chuck.

The jaws A of the chuck are hollow, and the nut instead of being solid in the jaw is a separate piece, having two wings, the outer of which bears upon a pin in the jaw, while the inner bears upon an inclined surface as plainly shown in the cut, so that the pressure of the screw is distributed equally upon the pin and the inclined surface. The nut B being below the centre of the pin and inclined surface causes the pressure to throw the jaw fair against the face of the chuck, hence the faces of the jaws will serve (equally as well as the surface of the chuck) as a guide to set the work against.

From the short length of gripping surface on the jaws of jaw chucks, they are incapable of holding work of any greater length than, say, about 6 inches, without the aid of the dead centre at the other end of the work; but if the dead centre be used in this way the work will be out of true, unless the jaws of the chuck be quite true, which is not always the case, especially after the chuck has been much in use.

Furthermore, it is at times a difficult if not even an impracticable job to set work quite true in this way.

For special work made in quant.i.ties the form of the chuck may be varied to conform to the special requirements of the work. The variety of chucks that may thus be formed is obviously as infinite as the variations in form of the work. Thus threaded work may be screwed into threaded chucks, or cylindrical work may be driven into bored blocks forming chucks, or a ring may be chucked and then used as a mandrel to drive the work by friction.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 853.]

An excellent example of special chuck is shown in Fig. 853, representing a chuck for holding piston rings. It resembles a face plate s.c.r.e.w.i.n.g on the live spindle at B, and having 8 radial dogs or jaws A, let into the face D, and secured thereto, when adjusted by the bolts and nuts E. A mandrel is fast in the centre of the chuck carrying the cone C, upon which rest the cone surfaces on the ends of the dogs A, so that s.c.r.e.w.i.n.g up C, by means of the nut shown, throws the dogs A outwards, causing them to grip the inside of the piston ring as shown in the face view of the chuck.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 854.]

In Fig. 854 is shown Swazey's expanding chuck. B is the body of the chuck driven on an arbor A. The hub of B is turned taper to receive a disc C, which is split partly through in three places, and wholly through at Z. By means of the nut and washer D E, the disc is forced up the taper hub and caused to expand in diameter and grip the bore of the work, or ring R, the face of B serving to set the face of the ring against to hold it true sideways.

The chucks employed by wood workers for driving work without, the aid of the back or dead centre of the lathe are as follows:--On account of the fast speed at which the wood-workers' lathe revolves, it would be undesirable to have their chucks of iron, because of the time it would take the lathe to start them to full speed, and also to stop them after s.h.i.+fting the belt from the driving to the loose pulley of the countershaft, and further because of the damage the tool edges would receive if they accidentally came into contact with the face of the chuck. For these reasons wood workers' chucks are usually built up upon small iron face plates.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 855.]

Fig. 855 represents a cement chuck, consisting of a disc of hard wood A, screwed firmly to the face plate B; at C is a round steel point located at the axis of the chuck.

This chuck is employed to drive very thin work by the adhesion between the surface of the work and that of the chuck. The surface of the chuck is coated with a mixture of 8 parts of resin to one part of beeswax run into sticks. The chuck is waxed or cemented by rotating it at high velocity while holding the sticks against it. The whole surface of the chuck being thus coated, the centre of the work is forced on the steel point C, and the lathe is kept running until the surface of the work nearly touches that of the chuck, when the belt is pa.s.sed to the loose pulley overhead and the work forced against the chuck surface until it stops or else revolves the work against the hand pressure, the friction between the surfaces having melted the wax or cement, and cemented the work to the chuck. This leaves the face and the circ.u.mference of the work free to be operated upon. The work is removed from the chuck by the gradual insertion between the two of a long thin-bladed knife.

For work of large diameter, however, a mere disc of wood will not answer, it being too weak across the grain: and here it may be remarked that the work often supports the chuck, and therefore we should always, in fixing, make the grain of the work cross that of the chuck, because the centrifugal force due to the high velocity is so great that both the chuck and the work have before now been rent asunder by reason of the non-observance of this apparently small matter. When it is considered that the chuck has not sufficient strength across the grain, battens should be screwed on at the back; but a chuck so strengthened will require truing frequently on account of the strains to which its fibres will be subjected from the unequal expansion or contraction of its component parts. Fig. 856 shows the back of a chuck strengthened by the battens A, A, A.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 856.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 857.]

Another and superior method of making a chuck suitable for work of about the same diameter is shown in Fig. 857. Its construction enables it to better resist outward strains in every direction, while the strains to which it must necessarily be subject, from variations of temperature and humidity, are less than in the former. It will also be found that it can be trued with greater facility, especially on the diameter, as the turning tool will not be exposed to the end grain of the wood.

The crossed bars at the back of the chuck are half checked, as shown at A, so that both pieces may extend clear across the chuck and not terminate at the centre. They are fastened together at the centre by glue, and also with screws. Upon these bars as a frame, the four pieces composing the body or face of the chuck are fastened by both glue and screws. These pieces need not extend clear to the centre, but may leave an open square as shown, because the centre of a large chuck rarely requires to be used.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 858.]

For very large chucks a cross of this kind would not afford sufficient strength, hence, the form shown in Fig. 858 is employed. The arms are bolted to an iron face plate, as shown, their number increasing with the diameter of the chuck. To keep the chuck true, the arms should have a level and fair bed upon the face plate, the segments composing the rim being fairly bedded to the arms and well jointed at the ends. They should be both glued and screwed, care being taken that the points of the screws do not meet the face of the chuck, in which case they would damage the turning tools used to true the chuck.

As wooden chucks are liable to warp and become out of true it is requisite to test them on each occasion before use, and true them if necessary. The work is fastened to these chucks by means of screws whose heads are sunk beneath the work surface a sufficient depth so that there is no danger of their coming into contact with the turning tools. In other cases the work is glued to the chuck, a piece of paper being interposed between the work and the chuck, which, by being damped, will enable the more ready removal of the work from the chuck.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 859.]

Another form of chuck used by wood workers is shown in Fig. 859. It consists of a disc of wood A; screwed to the face plate and carrying the two pieces B, B. The pieces C, C are wedges which slide endways to grip the work. This chuck is especially handy for small work of rectangular form.

From the shape of some work, it cannot be chucked in jaw chucks of any description, and this is especially the case with work of large diameter, hence, large lathes, as, say those that will swing more than three feet, are not usually provided with universal chucks, although sometimes provided with independent jaw-chucks. So likewise in small lathes there are many forms of work that cannot be chucked in jaw chucks, and yet other forms that can be more conveniently held or chucked on face or chuck plates, &c.

If, for example, the surface of the chuck requires to be used in setting the work, the jaws will often be in the way of the tools or instruments employed to set the work. Again, there may be projections on the work which will require the body of the work to be held too far from the face of the chuck to enable its jaws to grip the work.

To meet the requirements of these cla.s.ses of work chucking devices, which may be cla.s.sified as follows, are employed:--

1st. Chucking by bolting work to the face plate or chuck plate with bolts and plates.

2nd. Chucking between dogs movable about the face chuck plate, and holding the work from that plate.

3rd. Chucking with the aid of the angle plate, or with the angle plate employed in conjunction with the chuck plate.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 860.]

The chuck plate is simply a face as large in diameter as the lathe will swing, and is sometimes termed the large face plate. Chuck plates for smaller lathes, as 30 inches swing, or less, are sometimes provided with numerous round or square holes to receive the bolts which hold the work, but usually with slots and holes as in Fig. 860. The larger sizes of chuck plates are similarly formed, but are sometimes provided with short slots that meet the circ.u.mference of the plate as in Fig. 861, which represents a chuck plate of the Whitworth pattern. The face of the chuck plate must be maintained true in order that true work may be produced, and it is necessary when putting it upon the lathe to carefully clean its threads and those of the live spindle, as, on account of its large diameter, a very little dirt between it and the live spindle will throw it considerably out of truth at the circ.u.mference.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 861.]

It is better if there be any error in a chuck plate or face plate that it be hollow rather than rounding when tested with a straightedge, because in that case a given amount of error in the plate will produce less error in the work.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 862.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 863.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 864.]

In Fig. 862, for example, A represents a chuck plate hollow across the face, and B a link requiring to be bored through its double eye C, the centre line of the lathe being line E E, and the centre line of the hole in the hub D of the link being denoted by F, and as E and F are not parallel one to the other it is obvious that the holes will not be parallel. Suppose, now, that the chuck face was rounding, and the centre line of D would stand at G G, and the holes in C and D would be out of true in the opposite direction. In this case the error would be equal, but suppose we have a ring or disc such as B in Fig. 863 to chuck by bolts and plates C, D and it will be chucked true, notwithstanding that the face of the plate is hollow. But were the face of the plate rounding the disc may be chucked as in Fig. 864, the face F of the work not being held at a right angle to the line of centres E as it is in Fig. 863. The truth of the chucking in Fig. 864 depends upon whether the clamps C were screwed up with equal force upon the work. A hollow chuck plate will lose this advantage in proportion as the work covers more of one side of the chuck plate than it does of the other, but in any event it will chuck more true than a rounding one. Suppose we have, for example, a ring chucked eccentrically as in Figs. 865 and 866, the chuck being as much hollow in the one case as it is rounding in the other, and that shown in Fig. 866 will stand out of true to an amount greater than the chuck is in an equal amount of its radius. While that shown in Fig. 865 would be nearer true than the chuck is in an equal length of its radius, both amounts being in proportion to the length of the line A to that of line B.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 865.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 866.]

If the chuck plate is known to be either rounding or hollow, pieces of paper of sufficient thickness to remedy the error may be placed at C and D respectively. It is better, however, to true up the faces of plates so that the surface of the work bolted against it will be true and stand at a right angle to the line of lathe centres.

In truing up a face plate, the bearings of the live spindle should be adjusted so that there is no play on them, and the screw or other device used to prevent end motion to the live spindle should be properly adjusted.

A bar or rod of iron should also be placed between the lathe centres to further steady the live spindle, and the square holes or radial slots should have the edges rounded or bevelled off, as shown in Fig. 867, so that when the tool point strikes the sides A of the holes or slots it will leave its cut gradually and not with a sudden jerk or jump, while, when it again takes its cut on the side B, it will also meet it gradually and will not meet the sand or hard skin on the face of the casting, which would rapidly dull the tool.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 867.]

In facing or truing up a chuck plate, the feed nut should be put in gear with the feed screw or feed spindle, and the cut should be put on by revolving the feed spindle or feed screw. This will take up any lost motion in the feeding mechanism, after which the carriage may, if there are devices for the purpose, be locked to the lathe bed so as to prevent its moving.

It is better that the thread of the chuck be not too tight a fit upon that on the lathe spindle, the radial face of the chuck hub and of the cone spindle collar being relied upon to set the chuck true, because it is somewhat difficult to produce threads so true as to hold the faces true.

To preserve the threads both upon the chuck bore and the lathe spindle from undue wear, the chuck when taken off the lathe should be stood on edge so that falling dust may not acc.u.mulate in the thread. Before putting the chuck upon the lathe spindle the threads of both and the radial faces of the chuck hub and cone spindle collar should be carefully cleaned, because the presence of any dirt or dust on those faces will throw the face of the chuck plate out of true to an amount that may be of importance at and near the chuck's circ.u.mference.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 868.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 869.]

As an example of simple chucking on a face plate, or chuck plate, let it be required to bore, cut a thread in the bore, and recess the piece of work shown in Fig. 868, the radial faces being already true planes not requiring to be turned.