# Changing From D1-4 To D1-5 (or D1-6)



## jaychris (Dec 15, 2016)

I'm looking at a lathe upgrade.  My current lathe (and all associated chucks) are D1-4.  The lathes I am looking at are all D1-5 or D1-6.

For the most part, it's not a big deal for me to just buy a new 3-jaw or what-have-you, but I have two chucks in particular that are difficult to replace easily (or cheaply) and of course, I use them more than any other.  The nuclear option would be to just suck it up and buy new ones, but that would cost me near to $1500.  I *might* be able to offset that a bit by selling these along with my current lathe, or separately.

It seems like there are a couple different ways I could go (adapter plates, modifying the chucks directly, etc...) and I'm just looking for some thoughts or ideas on how this might be best handled.

EDIT:  I guess in one of the cases, it just uses an adapter plate so I can just swap that out.  So the question really only applies to the ER collet chuck I use that has the cams directly mounted to it.


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## talvare (Dec 15, 2016)

I think you answered your own question about the chuck with the adapter plate. That ER collet chuck is probably best replaced. I've never seen an adapter to convert from one D1 size to another and it seems that it would be pretty thick, extending the chuck quite a bit farther from  the spindle nose. One recommendation I  would make concerning your new lathe purchase, is to get one with the  D1-6 spindle mount. My lathe is a D1-5 and I have found that the selection of D1-6 accessories is MUCH greater than the D1-5.

Just some food for thought.

Ted


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## jaychris (Dec 15, 2016)

Thanks!


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## mksj (Dec 15, 2016)

If your chucks have a back plate, then just switch out the back plate from D1-4 to whatever size you need. If you have a direct mount D1-4 ER chuck, there would be a big demand for it, so you could sell it with no problem. I have not seen anything other then a D1-3 or D1-4 ER chuck direct mount, but they do make a 125MM ER-32/40 chuck version which attaches to a back plate with a little machining. I am not aware of any adapters that would work for a direct mount D1-4 to a larger D1-X, nor would it be practical to use one.


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## jaychris (Dec 15, 2016)

mksj said:


> If your chucks have a back plate, then just switch out the back plate from D1-4 to whatever size you need. If you have a direct mount D1-4 ER chuck, there would be a big demand for it, so you could sell it with no problem. I have not seen anything other then a D1-3 or D1-4 ER chuck direct mount, but they do make a 125MM ER-32/40 chuck version which attaches to a back plate with a little machining. I am not aware of any adapters that would work for a direct mount D1-4 to a larger D1-X, nor would it be practical to use one.



It is a direct mount - I guess I was thinking that I could simply machine the bolt circle pattern for a D1-6 or D1-5 and address it that way... but after looking at the dimensional differences, I'm not sure it could be done (easily).  So I guess I'd be selling it and looking for a replacement.


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## Glenn Brooks (Dec 16, 2016)

Yes, what Ted said.  D1-5 is one step away from unobtainium. d1-6 lathes, chucks, collet chucks, and don't forget faceplates, are much more prevalent, both used and new.  Plus, if you want to sell your new lathe in the future, it will be harder to find someone intersted in the D1-5 setup.  (I have a d1-5 lathe and it's been a battle tooling it up)

Glenn


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## arvidj (Dec 16, 2016)

Add me to the list of D1-5 lathe owners who is finding D1-5 "anything's" difficult.

I find this to be a really strange situation because D1-5 seems to be the standard for many of the 12 to 16 inch imported lathes, yet finding anything new or used is difficult.


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## British Steel (Dec 18, 2016)

D1-5 has always been rare compared to bigger and smaller - though there is a D1-2, proper rocking-horse droppings they are!
The dimensions of D1-5 are standardised though, apart from the taper seat it's not difficult to machine your own backplate from a decent slab of 1" or so (and you can pick up the right taper from your spindle nose). The camlock studs are available, but not exactly cheap, or you *could* make your own, heat treat and polish up? I struck lucky, got a job lot of backplates and faceplates for scrap price a few years ago 

I'm trying to work out how to make a "dummy" spindle nose with the camlocks to pop onto my rotary table, looking like quite a job... I might just buy another chuck and bolt it down - If anyone has links to construction of a D1-xxx spindle nose, please share!

Dave H. (the other one)


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## mvray (Dec 22, 2016)

Several decades ago I ran into a problem where I needed a 4 jaw independent chuck on a Clausing Colchester that belonged on a Monarch. Now granted the chucks just happened to be the correct size for this to work; but it is something to keep in mind. All I did was pull the cam lock pins out of the 4 jaw and reverse the chuck jaws on the 3 jaw on the Clausing and chuck the 4 jaw in the 3 jaw. It was for a short run of parts, probably a repair job of 1 and the fact that the 4 jaw was independent meant that run out was a non-problem. 

Cheers

Marcus Ray


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## jbolt (Dec 23, 2016)

I have a D1-5 spindle and have not found a problem finding chucks. What can't you find?

South Bend has D1-5  back plates for a reasonable price.


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