The Coil Chuck for the Woodturning Lathe

The Ultimate Deep Hollowing Chuck?

Well, it offers an extremely powerful grip for the price! The coil grip chuck was designed before its time. First made in 1972 it was superseded a few years later by expanding chucks for bowls. Now that "hollow vessels" are in vogue the coil chuck is staging a comeback. It could have been purpose designed for deep hollowing projects - it is quite capable of holding the largest projects that most lathes will handle. It is also very handy for small projects such as goblets and vase forms. The picture shows the chuck and a typical project which in this case is 14" high and 10" diameter. The chuck is 4,1/2" diameter.

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How does it work?

It is very easy to prepare the wood to fit the chuck. Make a spigot 3,1/2" diameter and put a groove in it. The chuck contains a coil spring which is forced into the groove when you tighten up. The spring pulls the wood firmly back into a 3,1/2" recess in the chuck to lock it rigidly in place.