Chuck repair question (W.E. Whiton 4-jaw)

[thedarkknightt]

I hope this is the right place for this...

I'm trying to remedy a W.E. Whiton 4 jaw independent chuck for my SB lathe, and I can't find any information on the assembly of it, and most specifically, if the little pieces of what I think are lead or babbitt should be shaped.



My machinist friend said he'd never seen a set up like this- it must be far older than the lathe itself. We figure it has to be before 1947, as that's when the company changed it name.
It looks like these wedges (for lack of a better term) should be on both sides of the retaining shims.

If anyone has ever seen this type before, let me know. I definitely see some casting in my future!

 

[pontiac428]

Well, there's a new twist. I've never seen that before, most independent chucks just use machined and ground spacers. I imagine that pouring babbitt fills all available space, but it'll work loose eventually. Seems easy enough, but odd.

 

[matthewsx]

Hello and welcome.

What condition are the jaws in?

Some old chucks are worth reconditioning, others should be made into welding positioners. I have one that serves as a monitor stand on my shop desk. Just because you can repair something doesn't always mean you should, I'd evaluate what you have and compare with what you need and can find on the used market before digging further into it. 4 jaw independent chucks aren't rare or very expensive and this may be an opportunity to upgrade to something better than what was available 100 years ago.

If someone brought it over from a worn out machine to use on your lathe way back when it may have lived it useful life already....

John

 

[thedarkknightt]

Thanks guys.

I believe my best course at this time, will be to clean it, make it look cosmetically as nice as possible, reassemble and sit it aside as for when I have more experience.

The jaws and screws have little wear and fit nice and tight. It's the pieces that lock and keep the screws that need TLC to say the least. It was filthy and gummed up so bad it was hard to tell how bad the retention pieces were.

I'll try to remember to post an "after" pic when cleaned.

 

[piper184]

Not being the type of person who gives up and buys new at the drop of a hat, since it looks good it probably can be made to work well too. Sometimes things are just too worn to save but this doesn't appear to be that way.
Give the good people at Kalamazoo Chuck Manufacturing a chance to help you. They may not be able, but I bet they can if anyone can.
https://www.kzoochuck.com/
I think their main focus is old Buck Chucks, but I got the impression talking with Dawn Burrows that they support others as well and even can make custom items. Nice people and usually respond to emails in just a few hours.