Chuck removal - Henry Milnes 1940s lathe

Is anyone old enough to remember - how do I remove the chuck from a Henry Milnes lathe? No model number shown, but about 360mm swing and 1m length, gap bed, whitworth sizes. The chuck is bolted to a backplate with three socket screws, chuck diameter is about 14 old fashioned inches (350mm)

I've looked at Lathes.co.uk and the history is all there, but no clue about my question.

Hope you can help - regards, Tim

Edited By Tim Stevens on 02/06/2018 18:28:05

Lathesdotco mentions, in para 2, a 2 1/2” 4tpi threaded spindle. So it likely unscrews?

Edited to add that pics of the 13” lathe clearly show a threaded spindle.

Edited By not done it yet on 02/06/2018 19:01:12

Tim,

You said "14 old fashioned inches(350mm)" Which? Off top of head, 14" = around 551mm. I take it the 350mm was a typo?

I would think that it's very likely to be a TH thread. Try using some sort of penetrating oil or concoction, such as 50% acetone and ATF which I understand is excellent. Leave jollop to soak in for a while then use whatever you can to lock mandrel while levering on the chuck. Bar of steel across the jaws or better, a big strap or chain wrench around circumference.

HTH

John

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Edited By DMB on 02/06/2018 20:21:55

According to my calculator, 14 inches = 355.6 mm

OK, I did wonder about it unscrewing, but it seemed such a 'professional' machine that I had ruled out a thread as 'not good enough' - mainly on the basis that it can unscrew. But now we know, how do I lock the spindle to do the unscrewing?

Regards, Tim

Anything except putting in back gear! Loads of ideas on the ongoing Drummond thread on chuck removal. Just need a much longer lever and bigger persuader!

You have my sympathy, I have not got the chuck off the little Boxford A yet, same problem. Yes don't do what the Boxford instruction manual say's, engage back gear, put key in the chuck, bump firmly with your hand. The four jaw that is stuck on the Boxford has 3 out of 4 of the chuck screws with a side broken out, fortunately the back gear seems OK.

If I can borrow one, a heat gun is my next weapon.

Ian S C

I bought a Loughborough training lathe with a 3 jaw chuck fitted. The previous owner said that he had never tried to remove it. I was very pessimistic of my chances of removing it. Inside the headstock the spindle has a tommy-bar hole, I put a length of bar sideways in the chuck and heaved on it. Guess what? It came off first try! I couldn't believe my luck, I was expecting to have to turn the back plate off. I have always been lucky.

I hope that you get it off without having to machine it off.

Oops! It wasn’t Drummond - it was Ian S C’s thread re the Boxford A.

Hi Tim,

Seems like we went to the same school,since I also calculated that 14" worked out at 355.6mm.

Are we both wrong,or just thick? I need to know !

Regarding using the back gear !!!!!!!!! NO WAY !! I speak from bitter experience !. One Member mentioned that his machine has a hole for a tommy bar through the spindle,to hold it,that,s what I did with my lathe,for the same reason.

tomorrow's job is to find out how to get at the innards of the headstock, in the search for a tommy-bar hole. But meanwhile I have made up a stub-mandrel (or what I would call a snog) so we can use the three jaw without worrying too much about concentricity. It was not clear, in any case, that the four-jaw lurking among the spiders in my mate's workshop would be right for this lathe, (he has two, the other is driven by flat belts ...) so I may well have saved a further wasted effort.

Thanks everyone - problem not sorted exactly, but swerved round.

Regards, Tim

I've had a concerned message from Stub Mandrel.

While he has no objections to a snog now and again, he's rather worried about being one...

I would shoot out and get a lottery ticket, you might be on a roll.

Mike