I finally got a little time to try and use the small Craftsman 109 lathe only to discover problems in the chuck.  I needed to remove the jaws in order to reverse them.  When I removed them, I discovered that the threads inside the chuck were crumbling and falling apart in little pieces.

Questions?
1.  What might have caused this to happen?

2.  Is it possible to install "heli coils" in the chuck as a possible solution to the problem?  Allen screws appear to be 1/2 inch.

Please reply to my e-mail address as I had to unsubscribe to the list because I didn't have time to keep up with the volume of messages while I was on vacation.

Thanks in advance for your help.

George
Columbus, GA