Sherline tailstock chuck

[MechanoMan]

OK so I want to use a drill bit in the Sherline tailstock.

I got this lathe with plenty of interesting odds and ends, but unfortunately no tailstock Jacobs. Looks like I've got that solid pointy-nosed center and a Sherline live center. I do have some miscellaneous Jacobs chucks in my garage from cordless drills and all, but they're not gonna mount themselves.

I did a little research and saw there's actually quite a confusing multitude of options here from Sherline.

Now the tailstock, this is a #0 Morse Taper, is that correct?
Is there any easy Harbor Freight Tools solution I can use? I saw some MT2 & MT1-arbor chucks, but no MT0. Well, I have HAVE a lathe now that might be able to turn that down but I'm not experienced with it yet.

I'd like to avoid ordering stuff, both the shipping cost and time issue.

[sergizmo]

You are correct, the tail-stock is Morse 0.

Ordering a 3/8" Jacobs chuck with 0 and 1 adapters from Sherline is $65 plus shipping.

I have no idea if a HF chuck would have the threads needed to install a Sherline adapter.

[MechanoMan]

Decided to grab a 1/2" 0MT jacobs off eBay for under $40, shipping included.

[MechanoMan]

The chuck I got was actually a 2-piece, a dual-tapered adapter and the chuck itself.

The 0MT taper was way too long for the Sherline chuck, but it was not hard to cut shorter.

The adapter places a little more space between the tailstock and the chuck. This unnecessary spacing does compromise the stiffness but probably not in any substantial way. In fact I've already realized there's an troubling alignment problem here anyways.

A notable problem is the 1/2" jacobs chuck is too big to overhang the crosslide! So it can only get so close to the motor with the crosslide in the way. The length of the drill bit itself usually doesn't require it to be so close that this comes up. I could always get a smaller jacobs chuck if need be, maybe with the same taper in back so I can reuse that adapter.

[sergizmo]

Yep, a 1/2" chuck is very large for a Sherline tail-stock and lathe in general.

What brand is the ebay stuff? If it's no name Chinese that could certainly explain the run out problems.

The Jacobs chuck with Sherline adapters is very nice. It would make more sense to buy that instead of spending more money on HF or ebay junk.