Used Buck 4 Jaw Or New Gator?

[mattthemuppet2]

I've been looking around for a replacement 4" 4 jaw for my Atlas 618. I've seen enough of the cheap 4 jaw chucks to worry about oddly ground jaws or other quirks and i do use a 4 jaw allot so it's worth investing some money in. the choice has come down to either a used Buck which come up for sale in the $200 range, but may have issues that you can't see in pics, or a new Gator which I've heard good things about for similar money. $200 is about my limit as that's a bit less than what i hope to get for my old lathe whilst still leaving some cash for an igaging read out. whatdya think?

 

[TomS]

I've been looking around for a replacement 4" 4 jaw for my Atlas 618. I've seen enough of the cheap 4 jaw chucks to worry about oddly ground jaws or other quirks and i do use a 4 jaw allot so it's worth investing some money in. the choice has come down to either a used Buck which come up for sale in the $200 range, but may have issues that you can't see in pics, or a new Gator which I've heard good things about for similar money. $200 is about my limit as that's a bit less than what i hope to get for my old lathe whilst still leaving some cash for an igaging read out. whatdya think?

I have a Gator on my 12 x 36 and love it. Quality is very good.

Tom S

 

[darkzero]

I have a Gator 4-jaw & a Gator 3-jaw. Their not my most often used chucks though. I'm happy with them for the price, better than any other China chuck I have used. But I would go with a nice used USA Buck if you are able to score one.

New Bucks are made in China. May not mean a whole lot but the fact they still cost the same bothers me enough not to buy a new one.

 

[Doubleeboy]

I have a gator set tru 8 inch chuck and it leaves a lot to be desired. Grit everywhere, top jaws that are impossible to reverse without filing and stoning. I bought this chuck 2 months ago, seen use one time, it was a complete waste of money. I know suppliers change and what Enco had years ago could be different today, but their no name Chinese 6 inch set tru I bought for my other lathe has been fine for years and is worlds better than the Gator. If a Buck chuck is not wore out its way better than anything Gator could make based on my experience. My new lathe came with Asian no name chucks that are worlds better than the Gator I spent a lot of money on.

Good Luck
michael

 

[darkzero]

Db, have you tried contacting Global Tooling Solutions about your Gator? GTS was started by some fellows who left Bison. I've heard Bison is not the same as they used to be. Andrew who was the VP of operations left Bison & went to GTS, he's the head of operations there now.

I first saw Fuerda chucks in person at a Westec show years ago before the Gator brand name hit the market. I was really impressed by them for being made in China. The 4-jaw chuck that came with my lathe was crap. I replaced it with a Gator 4-jaw back before the prices went up. It was useable right out the box, the only issue I had with it was that I didn't like how much grease was packed in it. No grit, no reworking of the jaws needed. The first China chuck I ever had where I didn't need to spend a few hours reworking & cleaning it up. Of course the ground surfaces aren't nearly as nice as my Bison chuck or other high dollar chucks but it's to be expected given the cost.

This year I finally replaced the 3-jaw chuck that came with my lathe with a Gator 3-jaw. Bought it from a distributor. Again, useable right out the box, no reworking or cleaning needed (except again for too much grease for my liking). TIR was lower than spec. Well a couple of the jaws had some casting defects in them. Didn't affect functionality but it bothered me. Even though I was probably expecting too much of a China chuck I emailed GTS anyway. Andrew personally replied to my email & replaced my 3-jaw with no questions asked. He even told me to use the chuck until I received the replacement. The replacement took care of the cosmetic concerns I had & they took care of the return shipping as well. All without having to deal with the distributor I originally purchased it from.

I have no affiliation with GTS & Gator but I'll support any company with customer service like that & satisfactory products. I suspect their products will keep improving & their prices will keep rising. That's how Bison was too. The fact that Andrew took care of me personally surprised me. Just sharing my experience with GTS. YMMV or I just got lucky with 2 Gator chucks.

 

[mattthemuppet2]

huh, you guys are supposed to be helping, remember? Just after I posted this I found a used Buck on eBay for $129 which the seller (professional) didn't realise was a Buck. Asked some Qs about the jaws and slots, checked this morning and now it's $220 I can see that a good condition used Buck might be worth getting instead of a new Gator, but it's that 1st part that's the key and it's not something I can easily judge by pictures alone. At least with the Gator, if something's wrong with it I can send it back or get it fixed. I'll keep looking and come back to this again once I've sold my old lathe. Thanks all!