# Evaluating A Used Lathe Chuck?



## Splat (Apr 23, 2015)

I have a few ideas but I'll defer to the experts here. How do you evaluate a used lathe chuck? What does one look for? Thanks.


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## kd4gij (Apr 23, 2015)

If the jaws are sloppy in the slots, You may have a junk chuck
If the jaws are sloppy in the scroles, You may have a junk chuck. 
If the scrole isn't smooth,You may have a junk chuck 
If you turn a pice of round stock and it looks like a morse taper, you may have a junk chuck. 


 I think that about covers it.


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## 4GSR (Apr 23, 2015)

One more,  if you tighten up on a piece of bar stock and you can grab it by hand and move it around.  You have a worn out chuck!

A couple of things I look for in a chuck, 1) dings, gouges, broken out places, drilled holes that shouldn't be there.
2) how shiny is it?  Is it freshly ground all over? Been polished with a buffing wheel? Bead blasted? Electrolysis used on it?


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## 4GSR (Apr 23, 2015)

Here's a couple of pictures of a 4-jaw chuck I purchased earlier this year.  The chuck looks a little rough on the outside but on the inside, it's brand new.  I doubt it's ever been put on a machine in it's past lives.
I was able to look at the pictures by zooming in to look at detail.   The jaws were sharp with no wear.  The outside of the chuck look good except for the rust.  That's minor detail.  On the backside of the chuck, the L-0 register look good, too. 
The main reason for buying this chuck, it is a steel body chuck.  Not a deal breaker for most, but it is for me.



Most of the time, you gamble and take a chance, and if your lucky, you wind up with a nice chuck!


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