Making The Most Of An Old Chuck

Eric Clarke finds redundant drill chuck makes a versatile dti base.

I have both standard size and mini type magnetic bases for supporting DTIs used on the lathe or other machines. They are not always very convenient to use however as they often take up space in the immediate work area and can sometimes be inadvertently displaced without this being apparent. This short article describes a simply made alternative to normal magnetic bases that takes up less space and cannot be accidently moved during use. It has the attraction of being very quick and cheap to make in fact I found most parts in my scrap box. It is also ideal for a beginner who may not yet have a magnetic base.

This article includes a mixture of imperial and metric measurements as some of the components Chuck and T nut have existing imperial threads, however where I have made new items normal metric dimensions have been used.

Making the drill chuck base.