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  #1  
Old 2010-10-09, 5:12pm
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Default The short saver - my new favorite homemade tool

I don't know that the tutorials section is exactly the right place for this, but I guess at the end, you have learned how to make one of these tools, so it seems as good a fit as any.


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I was walking through the hardware store today when I got an idea.

I picked up an all metal keyless drill bit chuck and a handle meant to mount files in, and $7.97 later I had my new favorite tool.



The 1/4" hex shaft of the chuck will force fit into a type C file handle with no problem, but I might disassemble it later and bond them together with JB cold weld or something, just so they don't start moving off axis on me if things get too hot.


The chuck will open up to a hair over 7mm, but bottoms out when trying to fit 8 mm rod. The 8mm will fit in the bore, but the teeth of the chuck won't open far enough. A different brand might be able to do it, or even if you filed a wee bit away on the teeth, but it's handled most of the shorts I've stuck in it.


The other nice thing about it it, after you've melted down the short so low that it's too close to the face of the chuck for comfort, you can just punty up to the short, and then release it from the chuck so you can still use that last few centimeters of glass.



I especially like using this to apply stringer, as the added weight of the chuck at the front seems to steady my hand a bit more.



An unexpected surprise is that I can mount borostix in it. They don't spin absolutely on center, but it makes puntying up to them to mix them up is a bit nicer.

Anyway, I'm sure I'm not the first to think of this, and chances are I'm just late to the game and you all already have one of these lying around your shop. But if you don't, I figured that this thread might help you build an inexpensive tool that turns out to be incredibly useful.
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  #2  
Old 2010-10-09, 5:19pm
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I'd say that tutorials is a pretty good place for this to be posted. There is also a thread of hand made tools around here somewhere. GREAT IDEA!!! Thank you for sharing it.
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  #3  
Old 2010-10-09, 5:24pm
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Cool idea! Thanks for sharing.

Patsy
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  #4  
Old 2010-10-09, 5:29pm
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Default Home Made Equipment

The thread to post this in might be this one: Home Made Equipment
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  #5  
Old 2010-10-09, 5:45pm
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Cool!! Thanks for sharing
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  #6  
Old 2010-10-09, 5:55pm
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How hot does the chuck get? Can you touch it to loosen it to get the glass out?
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  #7  
Old 2010-10-09, 7:23pm
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I only used it for a bit today, but I had absolutely no issues with the chuck getting hot. In some instances I was holding the chuck like I was holding a big pencil and just letting the handle act as a counter weight. I imagine for sustained work it might become an issue though.
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  #8  
Old 2010-10-09, 7:31pm
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What a great idea! Thanks for sharing.
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  #9  
Old 2010-10-09, 8:53pm
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How clever is that! I love it, thank you!
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  #10  
Old 2010-10-11, 9:41am
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Thanks for the tip ... sounds like a great idea!
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  #11  
Old 2010-10-11, 2:07pm
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Thanks! That looks really useful!
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  #12  
Old 2010-10-12, 12:53pm
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Not being much of a beader, I didn't even think of this at first, but this thing holds mandrels really well also. The tapered handle makes it a little harder to spin, but you could always just mount it in a straight dowel.

As for the person that had the question about the heat, it takes a lot to get this hot (that being said with the caveat that my main torch is a lynx, so I don't experience as much ambient heat as say a Nortel or the like), but I've been in full icicle production mode lately, and burning my shorts down to less than a 1/4" about the top of the chuck, and it still says relatively cool. The other great part is, the chuck acts as a heat guard, so if I'm starting to work so close that my fingers are starting to get warm, I just move my fingers from the chuck to the shaft holding it onto the handle, and all of a sudden, I don't experience the burning fingernail pain anymore.
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  #13  
Old 2010-10-12, 1:38pm
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Thanks for the update. You might have sold a problem with a new item that I wanted to start selling. I couldn't figure out a way to hold it though. If it works out for me and I start selling them, I will send you one FREE.

Thanks,
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  #14  
Old 2010-10-12, 3:16pm
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You got yourself a deal! Good luck on it.
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  #15  
Old 2010-10-12, 8:47pm
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this is a "duh" moment for me! my hubby has two chucks in his wood shop. I wonder if he'll notice a few burn marks? thanks, great suggestion,
adrian
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  #16  
Old 2010-10-13, 9:52am
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I was in the Home Depot store yesterday and remembered the chuck idea so thought I'd check it out. All the chucks they had, and Lowes across the road, had plastic coatings around the grip area and started at $24.00 and up. Not a good candidate for hot glass work.
PJH
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  #17  
Old 2010-10-13, 10:39am
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Yeah, that's what I was finding at Home Despot. Do you have Menards in WA? That's where I picked up mine. Might be able to find them on Amazon also. If you look at the first picture you can see the name of the manufacturer and what the packaging looks like. That might help identify.
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  #18  
Old 2010-10-13, 11:55am
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I built something similar a year or so ago and it works great. I don't use it for rods but for keys and holding copper washers. I'm on a Betta and the chuck part does get pretty hot when making keys. I never put the chuck part in the kiln I just give it a little twist while holding onto key and put just the washer or key in the kiln. Here are a few pictures. I used an magnetic piece to hold it on. Great minds think alike
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  #19  
Old 2010-10-13, 6:51pm
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No Menards up here that I know of. Will try the net.
PJH
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  #20  
Old 2010-10-13, 7:41pm
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cheng076 View Post
No Menards up here that I know of. Will try the net.
PJH
Let me know if you can't find one. I would be willing to check at my Menard's to see if they have them and send you one.
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  #21  
Old 2010-10-13, 9:15pm
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What a great idea!! Thanks so much for sharing! I wish it wasn't so late at night- I'm ready to go huntin'!
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  #22  
Old 2010-10-14, 6:03am
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Deb Hopeful Journeys View Post
Let me know if you can't find one. I would be willing to check at my Menard's to see if they have them and send you one.
Deb, if you do go to Menards, they're in the aisles with the drill bits and accessories. The closest stuff to them will be hex extensions, drywall dimplers, magnetic bit holders, etc... They're not too hard to find, but once you get to the drill section, you may just need to look around for a bit.
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Old 2010-10-14, 6:20am
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Here's links to an amazon search for them. The $11.xx ones are 3/8" chucks. Had that been an option at Menards , i would have totally went with that as that is 9.5mm (so it might actually open up to 10mm). That would make it start to be useful for murrini application. The 1/2 ones would be even cooler, but I imagine they're pretty heavy (and at $40 this is turning into quite a bit of cash).

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_no...+chuck&x=0&y=0

Also, a search for keyless chucks provides more results:

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_no...+chuck&x=0&y=0


Also, a search on Harbor Frieghts site for "keyless chuck" turns up one thing. 1/2" chuck for $5.99 but it's plastic sheathed. Of course at $5.99 it might be worth buying, and seeing what's below it if you take off the plastic housing.

http://www.harborfreight.com/1-2-hal...huck-2820.html

Also, if you don't mind it being a keyed chuck, HF has a mini lathe one that goes up to 1/2 and is all metal construction for $9.99

http://www.harborfreight.com/1-2-hal...uck-42340.html
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Last edited by Icarus; 2010-10-14 at 6:22am. Reason: Wanted to add keyed chuck.
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  #24  
Old 2010-10-14, 9:42am
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I have a couple of old wornout drills in the shop that I might be able to rob one off of but haven't checked if they are suitable yet.
PJH Thanks for the follow up info Icarus.
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Old 2010-10-17, 3:43pm
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Love it! Thanks for sharing!
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  #26  
Old 2010-10-18, 4:29am
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And now here's its big sister.

1/2 keyed chuck from harbor fright tools, and a 3/8" extension for a socket set.
Total cost was about $11 or $12, but had I been able to just pick up the socket extension as one piece instead of a varied length 3 pack, it probably would have gotten below $10


Took an angle grinder and ran two lines along the top of the socket extension (where it would fit into the socket) so the JB Weld would have something to lock into.

The keyed chuck turns out not really be a problem, as you can tighten it by hand.

The last pic is a piece of 12 mil rod chucked in it. It's still got some room to spare, possibly 1 or 2 mm. The next size up that I have is 16mm OD tubing, and that definitely does not fit.

This is not exactly practical for using shorts up, as the chuck is pretty freakin heavy, but more its intended use is for holding murrini for stick and snaps. That and, well, I thought it would be cool to make, and I'm sure it'll come in handy at some point.





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Last edited by Icarus; 2010-10-18 at 4:30am. Reason: Even characters from Greek mythology need to be mindful of their spelling and grammar.
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  #27  
Old 2010-10-18, 9:27am
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Shopped around the net and that led me to a local hardware chain that's a real hardware store and found the same chuck sold under the Skil label for $8.95. I already had a file handle so I epoxied it into the handle and voila! I find it a bit heavy and awkward to use but it just takes getting used to.
Great tip and fun little project, thanks
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  #28  
Old 2010-10-19, 6:19pm
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Great idea!! Thanks for sharing!!
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