Need Ideas - Chuck Storage - My Solution

Paul Douglass

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I'm trying to come up with a organized and neat way to store my lathe chucks and chick jaws. I have been keeping them in a box but would like a nice way to keep the jaws together and easily accessible and not take up a lot of room. Anybody got good ideas, pictures?
 
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Where did you find those lathe chick jaws I'm sure there are those that would like to know as well as those looking for someones sister that is just as pretty & talented as her already married sister.

You could build something like this cabinet with MDF blocks made to fit the drawers to set the chuck & extra jaws down into.

When I get a new lathe I plan on doing this & making it the right height to fit underneath the lathe when It's not being used.
 

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I agree with Bart. Building a set of drawers with adjustable dividers to suit your specific requirement is always a good solution. That being said, dad and I built a couple sets of drawers that fit under the lathe. The two bottom drawers IIRC were sized for chucks. Butter tubs make good isolators for the chucks themselves. Jaws and other goodies could fit in divided areas.
 
Hi,

Here is the cabinet Glenn mentioned above. This is an old pic. It is just a little neater now and the DC duct is not hanging down that way. I could not get new pics. They are installing new wood floor and carpet in the house and all of the junk (valuable ((ha ha)) furniture, knick-knacks, etc. are shoved into the shop).

Enjoy,
JimB
 

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My Solution

Okay, this is my simple solution. I don't have space for any more cabinets. I don't have a lot of chucks and chuck jaws. So I build a board that fits up under my hanging cabinets that is hinged so I can put it up when I don't need access and bring it down when I do. I still have to get a chain or something to hold it up and down. But I think this will work, at least for now.

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At school I have two plastic dish pans that I put a board across like Paul shows. I also have holes drilled for the handles and assorted items that go along with them. So a student "borrows" the whole pan and keeps it at their lathe while using that tool. I stole the idea from the woodworking class I took. I am not that creative.
 
Just as a general note, I've had lathes with and without storage underneath, and much, much prefer to not have things under the lathe. Obstructions under the lathe really limit where my feet an be positioned when I'm turning.

My chucks are typically on a bench next to the lathe. (My bandsaw extension table, actually.) Spare jaws are in a nearby drawer, loose, but grouped as sets. I wouldn't want individual lidded tubs or boxes for the jaws...just one more step to do when I want a set of jaws. Despite being loose in the drawer, the jaws don't get mixed up. On the relatively rare occasion when I need to clanks jaws, I just open the drawer and grab the jaws I need. :thumb:
 
I have a separate tool cart that is, of course, covered with shavings. In the drawers I store chucks and I put the jaws (chick jaws?) in tuna cans. They hold all but the largest jaws and can be stacked when smaller jaws are within.
 
Just as a general note, I've had lathes with and without storage underneath, and much, much prefer to not have things under the lathe. Obstructions under the lathe really limit where my feet an be positioned when I'm turning.

My chucks are typically on a bench next to the lathe. (My bandsaw extension table, actually.) Spare jaws are in a nearby drawer, loose, but grouped as sets. I wouldn't want individual lidded tubs or boxes for the jaws...just one more step to do when I want a set of jaws. Despite being loose in the drawer, the jaws don't get mixed up. On the relatively rare occasion when I need to clanks jaws, I just open the drawer and grab the jaws I need. :thumb:

Vaughn you better watch out & not clanks jaws too much they may not continue to work properly.
 
Vaughn you better watch out & not clanks jaws too much they may not continue to work properly.

Ha! Dang auto correct...that should read change jaws.

That drawer might get opened once or twice a month (when I'm actually in LA using my shop.) And the drawer is heavy (it's in a heavy government surplus steel cabinet) so when I do open and close the drawer, it's done pretty gently. There's no real degree of clanking and rattling going on. Definitely not enough to ding up the important surfaces of the jaws.
 
I honestly can't think of anything innovative that might be able to help, but the most organized way to do it would be installing some shelving of some sort I should think! You might want to cushion the drawer a little though in case (like me) you have the habit of just chucking up in there when you're done with them at the end of the day!
 
I also store my chucks and jaws in drawers in the cabinet on which my midi lathe sits. Plenty of foot room under that cabinet so I can position anywhere I want for turning. Whenever I store a set of jaws, I link them together with a large zip tie through a screw hole in each in order to make it easy to find the whole set when I need them.


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