Stress Free Lathe Chuck Removal and Shop Chemical Warnings !!!

If you use CRC Evapo-Rust or Anchor Lube, you might want to watch this short video. I've also included a segment on removing a heavy lathe chuck with ease.
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[garyreisdorf]

Joe, You consistently demonstrate that you can teach an old dog new tricks! Thank you!

[raymondmarteene]

Thanks Joe,
When you have your chuck chocked on the “sled” use a small ratchet strap across the top to secure it to the sled, makes them easier to store on the shelf without rolling around.
Cheers

[TheUncleRuckus]

CRC really needs to put that info on the Evaporust bottle, so ppl are aware of this issue!!
I had no idea this was the reason why a bunch of the carbon steel knives I was refinishing for customers ended up turning jet black after soaking them in evaporust.
I was so pissed bc each one took over an hour to remove the black coating that had built up. I ended up taking a loss on those jobs, bc I couldn't see charging the customers for that time as it wasn't their fault the solution I chose to use to remove the rust ended turning them jet black.
I was so frustrated that I just stopped buying evaporust and switched back to using White Vinegar then CLR for rust removal and just dealt with the smell.

[bobwas]

Great idea for stress free chuck removal ! I had some scrap 2 x4's in the garage, 30 minutes later, I have a cradle for my chuck ! Thank You !

[garysgarage]

Hi Joe. I was helping a friend rebuild his old knee mill and he used Evaporust overnight on cast iron. I think cast iron is high in carbon content. What a mess it made of the castings. It appeared to be pitted where they previously didn’t! I’m a big fan of your channel, thank you so much for putting in the time and effort. Cheers from Vancouver BC.

[charlesspringer]

Evapo-rust always leaves whatever carbon was in the oxidized steel. Usually it washes off and is one of the cool things about it. It only removes the oxidized iron.

There is one serious mistake you can make. If you leave anything partially covered, you will get a cut-line at the air-liquid interface because the steel will keep oxidizing from the air and be removed by the Evapo-rust along that interface. Leave it overnight and you can get a pretty dramatic line and ruin a part. So remember it is submerge or don't try. You CAN use a pump and flood a part but don't do it for more than 20 minutes to an hour, depending on temperature. If you can use an oxygen free atmosphere like fill the container with nitrogen or argon, then you can flip parts over and so on for extended periods.

[JamesDStallard]

I see this a lot de-rusting parts for machine tool restoration. I have found that an ultrasonic cleaner with a water + detergent solution will remove most of it, but the stubborn stuff needs a VERY fine wire wheel. As you pointed out, if you knew about the staining, you'd just fine-wheel the rust off in the first place. I have to to find a chemical that just dissolves it, but i'm sure there's something out there.

Another tool I suspect you have available is a case tumbler. I have a very old lyman 1200 with fine walnut media and a liquid cutting compound as polishing liquid (called T-cut in the UK). Works a treat, but takes a few hours.

[michaelboyle]

Thanks, Joe!
God bless you, and happy Easter! Jesus lives!

[grahammorgan]

Thanks Joe there is not time enough for us all to learn from experience so these tips are gratefully received

[jdsstegman]

Been using evapo rust for years!! Thanks for the tip. It's hard now to trust it. As it has never failed me before but I believe you Joe.

Love the cleaning joke. I don't get paid to clean as I get paid commission in my line of work. So I don't clean. I do my work and get out as soon as it can.

[Rheasound]

Anchored lube is an amazing product. I am using thank you and make a huge difference cutting. Thank you, Joe!!!

[skylark]

It's a funny coincidence you post this, we just got rid of and old lathe we had for a long time at my work, it was a Chinese reproduction and we replaced it with a beautifully refurbed Hardinge, the guy who refurbs these machines has been doing this for quite some time and does incredible work, anyway the lathe looks like it's brand spanking new, the first thing I did was to make one of these because I would not be able to live with myself if I dropped it on these beautiful brand new looking ways! Happy Easter!

[colinweir]

I was working for a large engeneering company many moons ago, when during a lunch break the forklift driver decided to do a "foreign order" in the lathe. He put an eyebolt in the chucklift point and hooked up the hoist. At some point the lathe motor started, fortunately in low gear. You guessed it, the whole headstock end of the lathe lifted untii the chain snapped big time. Fortunately no one was hurt but the boss was not happy. 🐯

[charlesspringer]

Polishing as an alternative is unlikely to remove microscopic rust the way ER will. And it looks like those collets were blued or blacked before final polishing. ER will remove all oxide coatings like blueing and Parkerizing, etc. And it always leaves behind any carbon from the rust on parts. Usually it washes off but sometimes seems to be in the steel.

The much more serious mistake can happen if parts are left not completely submerged. Like cleverly soaking one end of a part then flipping it to get the rest. This will leave serious cut marks at the waterline. The water in the in the solution and the air will cause oxidation at the boundary, the chemicals immediately remove the oxidized iron and the cycle repeats. I sold ER when it was new and found a couple easy mistakes and the chemist who invented it had explanations for each one. They all came from ER doing what it is supposed to do and the user not quite grasping how it all works. The other major one is old parts with nickle plating. It depends on how the plating was done, but it CAN result on all the nickle sliding off like slime.

I usually leave these notes when I see a video about ER.

[bulletproofpepper]

Thanks for sharing. I knew evaporust doesn’t play well with chrome plating, I didn’t know about high carbon steels.

[robertoswalt]

I have wanted to make a cradle for my chucks and don’t have a way to make the curve. It never occurred to me to make a simple one out of a few pieces of 2 x 4 or 6. Thanks for that handy tip.

[richardhemmer]

Struggled putting my ten inch chuck on this morning. Not as young as I used to be. LOL Definitely going to make a saddle out of 2 x 6 when it needs to come off. this will be a little wider and more stable. Thanks Joe, simple and super useful!!

[theodoreshasta]

What a great approach to handling a chuck. No damage to the machine, and all fingers intact. Thank you!

[seanmcdonnell]

Had the same issue with some of my 5C collets in evaporust. About 30 mins would clean them nicely but longer started to blue them.

[Paul-FrancisB]

The other thing to be careful of is to fully submerge the part with Evaporust, otherwise it will etch a line in the steel at the tide mark between the liquid and air.