Looking for a 4 jaw self centering lathe chuck

RadDavis · Post by **RadDavis** » Mon Aug 23, 2004 1:30 am

I'm looking for a 4 jaw self centering chuck for my lathe.

Can anyone help?

Thanks,

Rad

Post by **KurtHuhn** » Mon Aug 23, 2004 11:20 am

Rad,

What's your budget? What lathe have you got? I'll ask around at the local machine shop to see if they have anything.

Failing that, I've found that the OneWay chuck is bulletproof. I haven't seen them for sale used very often, so that must account for something....

Kurt

RadDavis · Post by **RadDavis** » Mon Aug 23, 2004 1:12 pm

Hey Random,

I know what Ken Lamb's chucks go for. It's more than I spent for my lathe!

I've got a used 9 x 20 chinese lathe. It's basically the one you see in Grizzly and Harbor Freight. I've got an extra backing plate for it, and the chuck bolts on to that, then screws on to the spindle.

I'm using a 3 jaw right now to turn tenons, which works fine for round stems, but for square or oval, it's tough to get them centered on three jaws.

I'd also eventually like to get a 4 jaw modified to hold briar blocks, so I can do some "machine assisted" stummels, like bulldogs, etc.

And Kurt, how's the pricing on Oneway? Do they have a web site?

Thanks, guys,

Rad

joshl · Post by **joshl** » Mon Aug 23, 2004 1:59 pm

Rad,

I purchased my talon chuck directly from Oneway. They were the cheapest I could find and their price included the adapter. Also, since my order was over 200 they shipped for free. I ordered my chuck on a Friday and had it the next Thursday. They are very fast and friendly and I highly recommend dealing directly with them.

Thanks,
Josh

joshl · Post by **joshl** » Mon Aug 23, 2004 2:00 pm

BTW their website is www.oneway.on.ca

Best of Luck,
Josh

RadDavis · Post by **RadDavis** » Mon Aug 23, 2004 4:38 pm

Thanks Josh and Kurt. I looked at Oneway's site.

I guess I forgot to mention that I'm looking for a chuck for a metal lathe.

Rad

Post by **KurtHuhn** » Mon Aug 23, 2004 6:41 pm

Rad,

I was out running some errand this afternoon and stopped by the local machine shop - just in case. They didn't have anything they were willing to part with. Not that I expected they would, but it never hurts to ask....

Have you looked on eBay?

RadDavis · Post by **RadDavis** » Mon Aug 23, 2004 9:37 pm

Thanks for that, Kurt!

No, I haven't looked on Ebay lately, but I have in the past, and have only found 4 jaw chucks that have independent jaws.

I keep checking every now & then.

Thanks again for checking at the machine shop!

Rad

Progcat · Post by **Progcat** » Tue Aug 24, 2004 8:30 am

I believe Grizzly sells a four jaw self centering chuck www.grizzly.com. You should also check out MSC International www.mscdirect.com. Production Tool Supply www.pts-tools.com is another possibility.

Progcat@msn.com

RadDavis · Post by **RadDavis** » Fri Sep 24, 2004 3:54 pm

Hey Guys,

I was looking around on Ebay and found this:

http://tinyurl.com/4dcgv

Seems like a fair price, right?

Then I just thought I'd do a google, and guess what?:

http://tinyurl.com/673df

Rad

JMB · Post by **JMB** » Fri Sep 24, 2004 8:55 pm

Looks like the same chuck to me. A lot less from, H F. If I remember right anything over 50$ ships free.

pipemaker · Post by **pipemaker** » Fri Sep 24, 2004 11:14 pm

Here isa link with all kinds of good info:
http://www.mini-lathe.com/Mini_lathe/Chucks/chucks.htm

Mike

Post by **KurtHuhn** » Sat Sep 25, 2004 4:09 pm

RadDavis wrote:Hey Guys,

I was looking around on Ebay and found this:

http://tinyurl.com/4dcgv

Seems like a fair price, right?

Then I just thought I'd do a google, and guess what?:

http://tinyurl.com/673df

Either the seller is a fool, or the buyers can't be arsed to research first. Either way, that's quite a profit margin - even if the seller bought it at full retail price. Gotta love eBay!

JHowell · Post by **JHowell** » Sun Oct 03, 2004 11:50 pm

RadDavis wrote:Hey Random,

I've got a used 9 x 20 chinese lathe. It's basically the one you see in Grizzly and Harbor Freight. I've got an extra backing plate for it, and the chuck bolts on to that, then screws on to the spindle.

Rad

Rad, how do you like the lathe? I've been watching for a used South Bend, which is what I really want, for a couple of years. Whenever I see one in the paper, it's been sold by the time I call. The Chinese stuff always seems like a lot of machine for the money, but my friends who know machine tools tell me NOT to buy one, to wait for the South Bend. Getting kinda tired of waiting . . .

RadDavis · Post by **RadDavis** » Mon Oct 11, 2004 8:04 pm

Hi Jack,

So far, so good! The guy I bought it from is a gunsmith, and he was selling it to get a bigger lathe. I've only used it to turn tenons on stems so far, but it's very accurate, and moves in much smaller increments than Mark's Atlas, which took a little getting used to this summer.

If this chuck works out, I may order another, and have some work done to make it a two jaw that will hold a briar block. I'll let you know if that happens.

I watched the papers for about six months before this one showed up. I was looking for a South Bend or Atlas too, but I also got tired of waiting.

Rad

JHowell · Post by **JHowell** » Thu Oct 14, 2004 2:12 pm

Yeah, I've been watching the papers and going to auctions for a couple of years -- bought a Delta wood lathe to tide me over. But, FINALLY I found an old Hardinge second operation lathe, 5C collets, that I bought this past weekend. Here's the real kicker: the seller used to repair old meerschaum pipes and has a stock of stems/material/*synthetic amber* that he'll throw in as soon as he finds it. I still need a screw cutting lathe one of these days, but the Hardinge will do nicely for stummel and most stem work.

JHowell · Post by **JHowell** » Thu Oct 14, 2004 9:04 pm

Random, the screw-cutting lathe would be mostly for non-pipe stuff. And I haven't cut threads on a lathe since college -- taps and dies are generally sufficient. The screw feed is necessary (or at least very helpful) for a good finish on turned objects with any length of a single diameter, and with the second operation lathe I'm limited to about 4" of travel for a given setup. Plenty for pipes. Right now I use a Delta midi wood lathe for drilling and an old, old Atlas 6" for stems. The Hardinge will do everything I need to do for pipes and fly rods much better than either of my other lathes, and will give the Atlas enough of a break for me to rebuild it. It's been a mess for years, but I use it almost every day and haven't had the courage to take it apart. But your point is well-taken; with a couple of extra chucks I could do everything needed to make a pipe on my wood lathe. Machined tenons would be tricky without the tool carriage, but Delrin tenons could be done without too much trouble.

max · Post by **max** » Sun Oct 17, 2004 4:11 pm

Rad
Both KBC and Enco tool suppliers have great universal 4 jaw chucks. They come with flat backs and you order the mounting plate for your lathe. I have a TOS brand which is an excellent accurate check. They also have lots of tooling much cheaper than any one else.
I use my 4 jaw (the individual and universal) with two jaws removed to cut stummels.
max