Completed a small pin chuck using an actual pin and not a ball bearing. I made the pin from a 4 inch smooth finishing nail and it is quite long at about 2 inches. So this is the next step to finding the ideal pin chuck.
I tested the pinchuck on a piece of Manitoba maple. Even with the hole drilled oversize by 1/32 of an inch the pinchuck held quite well. Pin chucks work better when the hole is a tight fit but this held well even though the wood was quite uneven when I mounted it on the lathe. I am happy with the results of this try.
The diameter of the pin seems to work better than when the pin has a larger diameter. (I am comparing this pin from a 4 inch finishing nail with a 1/8 inch diameter to another pin chuck that I use with a 1/4 inch diameter pin.)
In the picture you can see the pin and the top of a test tube which I used to make the small test tube vase pictured on the left.
