Axminster K10 Chuck Jaws question

[artanddecco]

I have an Axminster K10 Chuck Package including Screw Chuck, Faceplate and C Dovetail Jaws. Because my lathe is the Jet 1220VS I will mainly be working on a variety of small size projects. I plan to make a plate (6 to 8 inch diam) , convex on both sides, and fit a mini clock in centre drilling the recess with a 35mm forstner bit. When I turn it over on its second side, after drilling the the first side with forstner bit, I thought that apart from a jam chuck, for holding it in the headstock, a set of small BF Gripper Jaws would be ideal. When I mentioned this to my class instructor, he asked if I had considered the O'Donnell Jaw Set, although more expensive, maybe more useful for a variety of other jobs. He had not used them but heard good reports, and likewise, checking back on this site, some of you do most of your work on them. My questions are (1) There are three different size jaws in the set, does this mean unscrewing the dovetail C jaws each time and replacing them with either of the three O'Donnell jaws or the BF Gripper Jaws if I decide to order the latter. (2) I think the BF jaws will be ideal for the job mentioned above, but will the O'Donnell Jaws be equally as good and more usefull ? what other applications can they be used for. What do Axminster mean when they say they are spigoted together. They do not say if they are gripper jaws, ie for non dovetail work, or dovetail jaws or both. Advice and suggestions welcome.
Have only had my lathe for a week, so have a lot to learn
John

 

[jpt]

I have the set THIS ONE and use them for about 90% of all my work. The large jaws fit on the jaw carriers and then the 2 inserts fit in the top of them depending on the size you require.

If you are making a clock this is how I do them http://woodturned.co.uk/html/freestanding_clock.html

john

 

[jumps]

The answers to your questions are -
1. yes and no; as jpt highlights there is one set of jaws (50mm) which are located on your chuck, each of the 2 jaw inserts locate and are retained with a single machine screw to that set if required. The point is that you wouldn't use your c jaws, or need the BF ones - you would simply leave the base jaws on the chuck for anything that the others could handle.
2. there will be situations where the gripper jaws will provide a more secure hold, but generally this is associated with needing to clean up, or remove entirely, the area that was held - the security comes from 'bite'. Green wood spigots being the obvious eample. Most of the time the dovetail jaws will provide the necessary grip, especially if the bevel and diameters are a match with the piece (arguably they provide the ultimate holding on hard wood in this situation). The O'donnell's other trick is to support long spigots very well inside the main throat of the jaw.

The BF is obviously the cheaper option, but once you move away from the optimum 36mm recess, 20mm spigot, any holding advantage from the gripper style is compromised to a degree (as with any chuck)

 

[woodturnerEric]

if you buy a set of mounting jaws,that the gripper/o`donnel jaws fit onto,for each set of jaws you buy,you won`t have to unscrewing and doing them up each time,the amount of time this saves will pay for them in no time,regards, Eric.

 

[Jonzjob]

This is a bit late for me, but here is me tuppence worth.

I have had a K8 chuck and a set, the 3 sizes, of O'Donnel jaws for years now and they are almost the only jaws that my lathe sees for faceplate turning. I also have a little Bosch electric screwdriver with the correct allen bit mounted for the set screws in the jaws. As and when I want to change the jaws it takes but a few minutes to do so.

The largest set of jaws are mounted directly onto the face of your K10 and if you want the medium set they are mounted inside the largest jaws with a single set screw for each. To mount the smallest you remove the medium and remount the small ones. Like all jaw sets it is importaint that they are mounted in the correct order and they are numbered. The jaws are dovetailed, but in the years I have been using them I have not had them let anything go unless I have been stupid

I have no idea what 'spigoted together' means, but I do know that I would be lost without mine.

I have used them to turn everything from the tiny 3mm spigots that I have in me 'wrist watch clock' to a 10" off ballance English elm bowl. The only thing that I would change if I were to buy it all again is to get the K10 chuck, the precision chuck seems to have vanished?

You can hold either internally or externally on the dovetail grip or you can use the actuall barrel of the jaws to hold a spigot, which I think has been mentioned.

Apart from a glue chuck my tractor was done completly on the K8 and O'Donnel jaws.

A really cracking set of kit!

 

[artanddecco]

Many thanks for all your replies. You have convinced me that its the O'Donnel jaws I need. As soon as Axminster have them in stock again I will order them.Special thanks also to John Taylor and the photos and the link to his website, the glue chuck procedure is very helpful, and to John Jonzjob and your reply, I aspire to making a tractor one day, and yours I will keep looking at until I have the confidence to attempt one.
John

 

[knappers]

Try ringing your local store and ask if they have the O'Donnell jaws in stock - the website has been showing out of stock for the kit for months, but the Nuneaton store had the constituent parts in stock, and did them for the kit price.

Si.

 

[Jonzjob]

You are welcom John.

Don't get put off by the look of the tractor. The only difficult bit is the number of parts in it and once you get around that the rest is quite straight forward and the only real surprise is what you hold in yer mits when you have finished.

Honest! No big bits needed and when you decide to have a go then yell and I will give you some details of changes I made to the plans. I think it makes some parts easier and stronger?