# Rockwell Beaver 3400 lathe, drill chuck



## vhs27

I recently bought a Rockwell 3400 lathe and trying to find out if I can get a drilling attachment for the tail stock.
Someone told me the live center in the tail stock could be taken out. There is a hole in the end shaft and I put in a screw driver (small) to drive out the I believe you call it live center but it won't budge with an good hit from a mallet. Don't want to break any thing so didn't wack it too hard. Could it be a one piece? or will it come out? Very small hole (1/4 inch maybe) and I don't have the original knock out bar for it. 
Do I dare put a propane torch to heat the outside up a bit?
What do I need to be able to set it up to drill holes in something I have turned?
Vic


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## MrUnix

It has a MT1 taper in the tailstock, so it's probably just stuck in there pretty good. If you don't want to beat on it while it's in the tailstock, you can eject the quill and try working on it in a vice or something. I wouldn't use a screwdriver or anything made of hard steel, as it might damage things. The headstock should have a 7/8-14tpi thread, so I would suggest getting a tap to make your own faceplates, threaded glue blocks, jam chucks, mandrels and other stuff (can all be done with scrap wood for cheap). Drill chucks for the tailstock can be found all over the place for not a lot of cash.

Cheers,
Brad


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## vhs27

Thanks Brad. I am from Canada so not sure about ordering from Penn due to customs issues and shipping. Going to try and find a rod that fits and hit it firmly after pouring in a bunch of wd40. 
Ordered some face plates but they wobble real bad so leveled out the plywood but think I should have used solid birch for faceplate. 
Going to try your idea of a wooden hub and face plate. The threading will be tricky but will give it a shot.
Vic


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## Bmezz

Hi Vic. Drill chucks can be had at Lee Valley and Busy Bee. However, a lot of Beaver lathes had fixed dead centres in the tailstock. If that's the case it won't hammer out. You could try taking it apart to find out. Go to Vintagemachinery and look under Beaver for a manual and parts lost. Maybe put up a picture of your tailstock. Also Canadianwoodworking.com has many threads on that lathe with lots of knowledgeable people to help. Cheers


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## vhs27

The tailstock has a 3/16 hole in it so I thought it should come out. Here is a snapshot of it.


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## vhs27

The wrong photo got uploaded.
...Vic


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## MrUnix

It comes out… here is the parts diagram:










Diagram can be found at the VM site.
Pretty sure they shipped with both a live and a dead center. Yours has most likely been in there for quite a while, so it's just being stubborn.

Cheers,
Brad

PS: The drill chuck I linked to was only to provide an example of what it looks like… you can get them pretty much anywhere, even Canada


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## Bmezz

Hmm. Does the large end turn independent of the spindle? If so that is a live centre and it is, indeed, stuck. Lots of things to try. Wd40, heat and sometimes putting in the freezer overnight. Try not to hammer to hard or you will risk mushrooming the end. Good luck and let us know how you make out.


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## vhs27

Brad are the taps for 7/8 by 14 readily available?
Yes the large end turns freely it has a bearing in the hub.


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## MrUnix

> Brad are the taps for 7/8 by 14 readily available?
> - vhs27


You can get them all over the place… at least here in the US. A quick search shows that you can get them from Amazon in Canada, but can probably find one cheaper at a local auto parts or hardware store… just look around… I don't really know what kind of sources you may or may not have up there, and it doesn't need to be anything fancy - just plain steel works fine (that one on Amazon is HSS, which is nice but not necessary for wood).

Also, forgot to mention - about using the tap… it's super easy to do. Take a scrap piece of wood (I can get gobs of scrap 2×4's out of construction site dumpsters for free) and drill the appropriate sized hole in the middle of it. Doesn't have to be perfectly up and down or centered, but try to get it close. Once you have the hole drilled, run the tap through it. It will thread easily - it's only wood  Once you get the hole tapped, screw it on to your lathes headstock and true up the face and make it round. Then flip it around and do the other side. Before you know it, you have a threaded glue block. Or glue on another piece of wood, and turn it into a jam chuck. Or drill a hole and put a bolt into it to make a great mandrel for turning wheels and stuff like that. Or make it a cone, which allows you to put a pipe between it and a center on the tailstock for polishing. Lots of possibilities:










The blank on the lathe above is glued onto a wooden faceplate/glueblock and threaded onto the spindle. It later became two lidded boxes 

Cheers,
Brad


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## vhs27

Wow thanks will check home depot to see if they have taps.


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## janvlen

Hi there! How did this project turn out? I too have a 3400 and want to add a drill chuck to it. I'm in Manitoba


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## vhs27

Drill chuck works good. I had to put it in the tail stock. I do get some vibration so the hole is a bit bigger than the drill bit. Really short bits work best. I am from Saskatoon and enjoy using it.


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## janvlen

I have a live centre in my tail stock, and I was able to remove it with a brass drift rod and a hammer. I'm thinking that I could obtain a bolt with the same thread as the drill chuck, then have a machine shop cup a taper on one end of the bolt. This way I could install the modified bolt into the tail stock taper and then thread the chuck on the bolt. I'm making lathe carbide tool handles and so the holes for the tool in the handle have to be correct. Overall, I'm just a beginner at this but really do like the carbide tools. Expensive, but no sharpening down time!


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## MrUnix

> I have a live centre in my tail stock, and I was able to remove it with a brass drift rod and a hammer. I m thinking that I could obtain a bolt with the same thread as the drill chuck, then have a machine shop cup a taper on one end of the bolt. This way I could install the modified bolt into the tail stock taper and then thread the chuck on the bolt. I m making lathe carbide tool handles and so the holes for the tool in the handle have to be correct. Overall, I m just a beginner at this but really do like the carbide tools. Expensive, but no sharpening down time!
> - janvlen


If you removed your live center by using a brass drift to knock it out - then it was using a taper. So you just need a drill chuck with a taper. If you have a chuck that threads on (instead of the more common J33 taper), then just get an adapter. No need to make things more complicated than necessary.

Also - your tail stock should self-eject - just back the quill up far enough. There should be no need to use a brass drift unless whatever is in the taper is really wedged/rusted in place.

Cheers,
Brad


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## janvlen

Thanks Brad! I wondered about the tail stock ejection, but the lathe has been not used for many years so there was a lot of crud in there. I've never heard or seen an adapter like that for the chuck. Have you any suggestions as to where I can find one? I thought I would have to have one made.


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## MrUnix

> I've never heard or seen an adapter like that for the chuck. Have you any suggestions as to where I can find one?


All over the place. Most drill chucks use a female Jacobs taper (J33) to attach to the spindle… so you would just need a J33 to MT1 adapter, like this one on Amazon for less than $10. If your chuck screws onto the spindle, then you will need to find out what size threads are used and get an adapter for that… for example, here is one for a 5/8-16 thread. They are everywhere and most places that sell lathe accessories will have them.

Cheers,
Brad


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## 33706

*vhs27:*
I own a Beaver/Rockwell #3401. I bought an adapter at Lee Valley, so I could remove the live center and use a Morse taper #1 to Jacobs #33 with a Jacobs chuck. Unscrew the tailstock far enough, and your center should come loose by itself. Great for boring into stock mounted in your chuck. The drill you mount in your tailstock will not rotate.

You could use a 7/8" X 14 tap and make your own faceplates, but I'd recommend buying the pre-threaded hubs that Busy Bee sells. They have a bunch of faceplates and chucks which you can buy separately, and then you order the corresponding hub to fit your machine. This is the way to go, especially if someday you buy a lathe with a 1" spindle, you can keep using all of your tooling and just buy new threaded hubs to fit.

*@janvlen:* I'm in Manitoba too.

p.s. Busy Bee Tools sells a 6" faceplate threaded 7/8" X 14. Something else to consider. The Beaver 3400 series is a great lathe except for that dumb thread size.


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## janvlen

vhs27…are you close to Killarney? Did your drill chuck have threads? Mine does, but I think I found something on Ebay. All I have to do is determine the thread size on the chuck. Thanks…


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## vhs27

No I am in Saskatoon. My drill chuck has a Morse taper on it. I popped out the live center in tail stock. I bought a Morse taper to fit the 3400 and it fits into drill chuck. If your drill chuck is threaded you might be able to put a bolt into it. Then turn a piece of wood drill a hole in the center and mount it in your scroll chuck. If you don't have a scroll chuck mount the wood on face plate and find the absolute center and mount it to the head stock.


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## janvlen

Okay, thanks everyone. You've given me enough info to proceed!


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