Using a 4 Jaw Chuck When Turning a Bowl

Woodturning is a blast, and we at WWGOA love to make videos that cover lathe techniques. But like anything worthwhile, there is some setup involved before the real fun can begin.

With woodturning one of the key steps is to get your work piece mounted securely on the lathe. There are numerous ways that this can be done, but one of the quickest and simplest approaches is to use a 4 jaw chuck.

A 4 jaw chuck enables you to quickly mount a project onto the lathe by cutting a recess that will accept the check, and inserting the chuck jaws into the recess. Once the chuck is bottomed out in the recess, you will expand the jaws of the chuck until they apply a firm grip onto the project.

There’s a bit more to it than this, so you’ll want to watch the video for all the details, but essentially you can go from zero to turning in a fraction of the time that other methods might require. Then, as you work on your project, you will prepare another mount point for the chuck, and after you’ve completed the first side of your project, you’ll simply flip the workpiece around and mount the other side. You’ll then have access to the remaining surfaces where you can complete the project.

Not your machine shop’s chuck

If you are familiar with chucks found in a machine shop, these are different in that the four jaws work in unison rather than independently.

Innie or outie

A modern 4 jaw chuck has the versatility to mount in a recess or onto a tenon, and woodturners have differing preferences on this. It’s nice to have options.