by John Valencic
At 67 years old, lifting and aligning the lathe chucks on my Pratt & Whitney lathe can be quite daunting and at times finger smashing. My solution was to make chuck cradles for both the three-jaw and four-jaw chucks.
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The cradles ride on the V-ways and the chuck is straddled by two opposing boards with their ends cut at a 45° angle, leaving enough wiggle room for the chuck to move a bit. When removing the chuck, the cradle is slid under the chuck, the chuck is released, and then the chuck and cradle is slid away from the spindle.
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To install a chuck, place the appropriate cradle on the ways, lift the chuck onto the cradle, slide it up to the spindle, align, and tighten. This has made chuck replacement much easier for my aging body. I hope it will be as good for you as it is for me.
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