# Jacobs 14N 0-1/2" Super Chuck , made in USA vs made in Spain?



## Ken from ontario (Nov 18, 2018)

I'm looking for a replacement chuck for my Ridgid drill press , (5/8'' x JT3 Jacobs Taper Drill Chuck Key Type), I thought I'd get a Jacobs super chuck and be done with it until I saw their prices, there's a huge price difference between made is Spain and made in USA . eBay sells the genuine (14N super chuck)  new old stock (made in USA) around $120 -$150,  OTOH  the ones made in Spain go for ~$70  or so , now I'm wondering if  it is wise to save money here , or not. 
Has any of you  ever compared the two ? 
There are a few used chucks for sale there also but I can not verify the condition of the jaw/internal parts so NOS or new is what I'm after.

Please let me know what you think.


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## mikey (Nov 19, 2018)

Ken, I only have experience with the US-made one. Its a good chuck, good enough that I actually paid retail for it from Enco a long time back. Thing is, it mostly sits and my Albrecht is on the drill press, mill or lathe the vast majority of the time. I think a Super Chuck is great for bigger drills but I rarely use those; when I do have the need, I have morse taper drills that I use instead. My vote goes to a good Albrecht chuck.


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## ddickey (Nov 19, 2018)

Or buy my Spiro for cheap.


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## Ken from ontario (Nov 19, 2018)

mikey said:


> My vote goes to a good Albrecht chuck





ddickey said:


> Or buy my Spiro for cheap.


Thank you guys for chiming in,
I didn't bother mentioning the reason for looking at Jacobs chucks ,the only reason is I know it'll work reliably for years, no more uneven gripping by the jaws, less chance of bits slipping , I've never owned one so I rely on others who swear by it being a well made chuck , in other words I do not have a brand loyalty to any of the chuck manufacturers.

The main thing for me is if the chuck  is a good quality and has a JT3 taper mount, and based on how I use my drill press I have had better luck with key type chucks. other than that, any top brand will do.
Duane, I have not heard of Spiro before, maybe I'll need to expand my research.


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## Bob Korves (Nov 19, 2018)

The Jacobs super chucks and the Albrecht keyless chucks are both very high quality chucks, and both are worthy of consideration.  I think the thought for choosing between the one style and the other is how much heavy work you do, how many times you change the bit, and how big are the bits you use, on average, relative to chuck capacity.

Heavy work, leave the drill in the chuck for a lot of holes, use big drills (relative to the chuck size) a lot, choose the Jacobs super chucks.

Lots of drill changes, mostly lighter work, mostly smaller drills than the chuck capacity, choose the Albrecht.

Or, just get both, in all sizes and with tapers to fit all your machines... $$$$$$  

I am lucky enough to have multiples of both, in various sizes. with multiple shank sizes, so I am also 'lucky' enough to spend way too much time choosing one for a given job.  I have put together that collection over many years of biding my time and waiting for the right deals to come along.  Patience, grasshopper.

With Albrecht chucks especially, I would stay away from one that has been really beat up and/or has marks from pipe wrenches and stuff from loosening the drill.  Nice ones are nice, problematic ones can be problematic.  Many issues with them are addressable by rebuilding the chuck, usually with the original parts, but you need to rebuild it properly.  Mikey posted an extremely good 'how to' for rebuilding Albrecht chucks long ago on a different forum.  It is the best one out there, better than Albrecht's instructions.

With Jacobs super chucks, again look for abuse and damage.  They are damned stout, but not bomb proof.  Only the Jacobs chucks that have the word "Hartford" stamped in them were made in the USA.  Some others just say USA, but they are not...  The "real" USA chucks are very nice, but the kits to rebuild them with are obsolete and getting hard to find and pricey, so watch out.

Buying used chucks off eBay or similar makes me cringe.  I want to inspect a used chuck way better than that before buying it.  Do you feel lucky?

The best thing is to mount the chuck and test it for runout on an accurate machine with multiple sized gage pins.  I have never been able to do that until I got home after buying it.  Dirty and/or dry chucks will not test at their best until they are cleaned up and properly lubed.

If I had to buy a new chuck today, it would be difficult to choose.  Prices are quite high on the good ones, and quite low on Asian imports.  I have a few imports that are decently good, and had others that have gone away.  Do you feel lucky?

Edit:  I also have two sizes of "Supreme" chucks, a 23T3 and a 14T33, made long ago in the USA that are very nice, high quality.  The ones I have are in new condition.  The 23T3 is about double the size of the 14T33, and is ball bearing,  Both are 1/2" capacity.


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## mmcmdl (Nov 19, 2018)

I have chucks coming out my butt ! What are you looking for exactly ?


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## GL (Nov 19, 2018)

Just bought a new Jacobs 14N JT3-MT3.  Made in China. Have not checked runout yet. Kind of disappointing.


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## Downwindtracker2 (Nov 19, 2018)

I remember reading a post on Canadian Woodworking, they have metal working section, about using various chucks in the machine shop he worked at. His recommendation was Rohm (sp) both for accuracy and durability.

On my Jet drill press I have Chinese Albrecht clone, one I picked up an sale no less, and have .010" runout. Every other chuck I tried has had more runout than that. . I would bet my spindle has .010" runout.


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## mksj (Nov 19, 2018)

As far as I am aware, the newer versions of the Jacobs super chucks are made in China, most of the reviews have been disappointing. I would not recommend a new one, and finding a NOS or one in decent condition can be pricey.  I would recommend looking at the Llambrich chucks which are made in Spain, I have a few of their integrated arbor chucks and very satisfied with them. The CBB-16 (5/8'' x JT3) is a ball bearing keyed chuck that I would look at. Vertex makes some decent ball bearing chucks that are less expensive. Some of these come up on Amazon, as well as other tooling at very low prices, example below. I would recommend the Llambrich if you can get it at a reasonable price.
https://www.amazon.com/Llambrich-Be...ie=UTF8&qid=1542647469&sr=1-5&keywords=CBB-16
https://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Vertex...1-32-to-1-2-Cap-14N-JT3-3193230-/332271467805


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## Ken from ontario (Nov 19, 2018)

Bob Korves said:


> The Jacobs super chucks and the Albrecht keyless chucks are both very high quality chucks, and both are worthy of consideration.  I think the thought for choosing between the one style and the other is how much heavy work you do, how many times you change the bit, and how big are the bits you use, on average, relative to chuck capacity.


Thank you Bob for your excellent post,  as you might remember I did receive my first Albrecht chuck as a gift from Bill(bfd) and later on bought a good used one also but since they both had JT6 taper, I've been using them on my lathe and mill, so far they have not let me down yet but for my drill press use  I think I am better off with a key type chuck for the same reasons you mentioned.


mmcmdl said:


> I have chucks coming out my butt ! What are you looking for exactly ?


Lol, good to know , what I'm after is a Jacobs 14N Super Chuck Ball Bearing Drill Chuck, but I'm open to similarly built chucks  preferably with Ball bearing construction. with JT3 taper key type.
Thank you for your help.


GL said:


> Just bought a new Jacobs 14N JT3-MT3.  Made in China. Have not checked runout yet. Kind of disappointing.


Hey GL, you don't know for sure whether you'll be disappointed with that chuck, after all it is a copy of good quality chuck , I hope you'll let us know it's pros and cons once you have used it extensively.


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## chips&more (Nov 19, 2018)

If you find a good used Jacobs key chuck made in the USA. It should last you a life time. Money well spent and should not need replacing if properly used. Be aware that if you do any power taping with a keyless chuck. The tap is likely to come loose when in reverse…Dave


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## mmcmdl (Nov 19, 2018)

I'll check my drawers and see what I have . It's that time of year for me to clean house again !  It's a beautiful day here in Md and I'm going to get the Shelties out for a walk , but I'm going to route thru the boxes later and see what I have left as far as un-needed tooling . My machines are long gone and I have what I need in at work .


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## ttabbal (Nov 19, 2018)

mmcmdl said:


> I have chucks coming out my butt ! What are you looking for exactly ?



I don't want one that's been in there!  

I might be interested in a good keyless with a straight arbor or that can take a JT6 as I have an arbor for that size. 

For the OP, I picked up a Llambrich keyed chuck a while back that has been excellent.


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## Ken from ontario (Nov 19, 2018)

mksj said:


> As far as I am aware, the newer versions of the Jacobs super chucks are made in China, most of the reviews have been disappointing. I would not recommend a new one, and finding a NOS or one in decent condition can be pricey.  I would recommend looking at the Llambrich chucks which are made in Spain, I have a few of their integrated arbor chucks and very satisfied with them. The CBB-16 (5/8'' x JT3) is a ball bearing keyed chuck that I would look at. Vertex makes some decent ball bearing chucks that are less expensive. Some of these come up on Amazon, as well as other tooling at very low prices, example below. I would recommend the Llambrich if you can get it at a reasonable price.


The NOS Jacobs chuck the piqued my interest  is in fact made in Spain and it is a ball bearing  key type chuck, I did bookmarked a Vertex chuck but wasn't sure of it's quality until you mentioned it.


mksj said:


> would recommend the Llambrich if you can get it at a reasonable price.


That's another one I wasn't sure ,but now it sounds like a decent alternative.
This is the one I am looking right now:
https://www.ebay.ca/itm/Ball-Bearin...acobs-Taper-14N-Size-Drill-Chuck/323161119675


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## mmcmdl (Nov 19, 2018)

ttabbal said:


> I don't want one that's been in there!
> 
> I might be interested in a good keyless with a straight arbor or that can take a JT6 as I have an arbor for that size.
> 
> For the OP, I picked up a Llambrich keyed chuck a while back that has been excellent.




LOL . Yep , I know I have plenty of Albrechts and Jacobs lying around . I'll get on it this afternoon . Dave .


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## Nogoingback (Nov 19, 2018)

Another chuck you guys might consider is from Glacern.  I have one of their chucks in the tailstock of my lathe and it's been great.
Though I don't normally use it in my DP, I did check it for runout once and the needle barely twitched when I rotated the spindle.   Glacerns are made with integral shanks in a variety of tapers including JT6, MT's, R-8 etc.  I believe that Glacerns are made from
Chinese parts, but final machining is done in the US, though could be wrong about that part.  My chuck looks like a keyless, but 
actually uses a hook wrench to tighten.

https://www.glacern.com/drill_chucks


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## Bob Korves (Nov 19, 2018)

Nogoingback said:


> I believe that Glacerns are made from
> Chinese parts, but final machining is done in the US, though could be wrong about that part.


From their website:

*About Glacern Machine Tools*
                                                Glacern Machine Tools is a manufacturer and distributor of CNC vices and tool holders located in Southern California. Our goal is to help businesses grow by providing quality            tooling at reasonable prices. Our high performance lineup of tools is designed to make tooling up easy without breaking the bank. You can place your order directly on our website            24/7 or if you prefer give us a call - our helpful customer support is available between 10-5pm PST.              We sell direct in order to eliminate distributor costs & delays and our global network of manufacturing partners in places such as the United States, Europe, and Japan make it possible to            combine high-grade precision tooling with affordability.            Processes such as cnc machining, grinding, heat treating, assembly and final            inspection are performanced locally. This allows us to maintain excellent quality control while reducing overhead.            Browse our entire catalog of CNC tools directly on our website.


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## pacifica (Nov 19, 2018)

Ken from ontario said:


> The NOS Jacobs chuck the piqued my interest  is in fact made in Spain and it is a ball bearing  key type chuck, I did bookmarked a Vertex chuck but wasn't sure of it's quality until you mentioned it.
> 
> That's another one I wasn't sure ,but now it sounds like a decent alternative.
> This is the one I am looking right now:
> ...


If you want a 3/16 to 3/4" larger chuck consider yukiwa:https://www.ebay.com/itm/YUKIWA-DRI...h=item3602812a54:g:dJkAAOSwt7pXLNy4:rk:1:pf:0.
I have one and tir is .003" with  3/4", 1/2" and 5/16" gauge pins. Holds extremely well, including end mills for light cuts. 
My 1/2" albrecht keyless is faster but _*much less*_ holding power.


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## Downwindtracker2 (Nov 19, 2018)

I bought a Glacern for my Jet DP hoping to cure my runout questions. I ended up with  runout that wasn't as good as the cheap Chinese keyless chuck.


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## mksj (Nov 19, 2018)

The eBay listing you linked to is not a Jacobs chuck, it is a Jacobs taper. The chuck is a Llambrich CBB-13, you can see the name is inked out on the box. I think they are very good chucks, I prefere a 5/8" for larger drills depending on the drill. My experience with their chucks has been great, at that price I would go for it. The eBay review was negative, maybe not experienced with rebuilding chucks. On the Glacern, I had one which eventually broke and I didn't care for the self tightening (keyless) operation, thus I have two Llambrich. one keyed, the other keyless. They work much better. There are a number of Asian ball bearing chucks, usually the nickle plated bodies and nitride treated jaws tend to be better quality.


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## Nogoingback (Nov 19, 2018)

Downwindtracker2 said:


> I bought a Glacern for my Jet DP hoping to cure my runout questions. I ended up with  runout that wasn't as good as the cheap Chinese keyless chuck.



Really?  Mine is excellent.  Did you contact Glacern about it?


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## pacifica (Nov 19, 2018)

According to yukiwa-seiko all chucks are made in Japan : _Yukiwa Drill Chucks are manufactured based on our standard which is higher than Japanese Industrial Standards (JIS) B4634_ . My most accurate and smooth operating is a Jacobs 8 1/2n made in USA stamped on chuck.


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## BaronJ (Nov 19, 2018)

Hi Ken,

My personal preference is for Jacobs, Rohm and Galcern, in that order.
But be careful as some are B16 taper, and possibly Chinese copies.


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## Bob Korves (Nov 19, 2018)

pacifica said:


> According to yukiwa-seiko all chucks are made in Japan : _Yukiwa Drill Chucks are manufactured based on our standard which is higher than Japanese Industrial Standards (JIS) B4634_


FYI, what you quoted does not say Yukiwa chucks are made in Japan.  Read it carefully.


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## Bob Korves (Nov 19, 2018)

BaronJ said:


> Hi Ken,
> 
> My personal preference is for Jacobs, Rohm and Galcern, in that order.
> But be careful as some are B16 taper, and possibly Chinese copies.


The quote that I posted from Glacern in post 17 above does not say that their tools are not made in China.  Read it carefully.  We all need to read things very carefully, lots of doublespeak out there.


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## Ken from ontario (Nov 19, 2018)

mksj said:


> The eBay listing you linked to is not a Jacobs chuck, it is a Jacobs taper. The chuck is a Llambrich CBB-13, you can see the name is inked out on the box. I think they are very good chucks, I prefere a 5/8" for larger drills depending on the drill.



I see, nice catch,, still it is a good price, slightly cheaper than Amazon, that Vertex is not too bad and it is available on Amazon Canada at a good price although it is temporarily out of stock.



pacifica said:


> According to yukiwa-seiko all chucks are made in Japan


It sounds like a good alternative but my heart is set on a chuck with ball bearing construction,although plain bearing chucks are not any cheaper . here's a link on why I insist on it:
https://www.newmantools.com/jacobs.htm


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## pontiac428 (Nov 19, 2018)

I have a half dozen Jacobs chucks, three are 14N from different years, including one 1970's vintage that I bought NOS in original box.  The quality varies, and the newer chucks (after the '70s or '80s, I think) feel quite a bit different (sloppier) than the earlier chucks.

I got tired of buying three Jacobs chucks to find ONE that ran well.  I spent more than I wanted to and bought an Albrecht, which is now my first choice.  The Shars integral shank chuck with the TiNi jaws and silver body are good too, but the Albrecht locks up better.


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## mmcmdl (Nov 19, 2018)

As it turns out , I have chucks . I opened a drawer and found these . A pic will be loaded soon . I don't need them and all will go . If you see something you like , shoot me a pm . These are all old time , made in the USA long before the influx of imports .


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## pacifica (Nov 19, 2018)

Bob Korves said:


> FYI, what you quoted does not say Yukiwa chucks are made in Japan.  Read it carefully.


FYI: their website: https://www.yukiwa-usa.com/products/drillchucks/index.php. This is the website for Yukiwa Seiko usa, inc and in the upper left  hand corner it says: all drill chucks are made in Japan. Not sure how to check if web site is lying?


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## pacifica (Nov 19, 2018)

Ken from ontario said:


> I see, nice catch,, still it is a good price, slightly cheaper than Amazon, that Vertex is not too bad and it is available on Amazon Canada at a good price although it is temporarily out of stock.
> 
> 
> It sounds like a good alternative but my heart is set on a chuck with ball bearing construction,although plain bearing chucks are not any cheaper . here's a link on why I insist on it:
> https://www.newmantools.com/jacobs.htm


MSC  sells an accupro made in Spain for  $84.84 if you can get the old Enco discount. JT6 , 1/16 to 1/2" ball bearing chuck.New. I've only used the accupro precision shanks- and they are excellent quality.


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## Downwindtracker2 (Nov 19, 2018)

No I didn't bother contacting them, my runout went from .010" to .011  1/2 ( .0015"), I think,which was likely within their specs. If you drilling a hole you don't expect perfection, but less than .010 would be nice.

The lesson here, it might not be the chuck, rather the DP.


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## Ken from ontario (Nov 19, 2018)

pacifica said:


> MSC sells an accupro made in Spain for $84.84 if you can get the old Enco discount. JT6 , 1/16 to 1/2" ball bearing chuck.New. I've only used the accupro precision shanks- and they are excellent quality.


That's another brand I didn't know about,  I just  went on MSC, read a few reviews,  not a bad chuck, I still like the Llambrich CBB-13,  price and quality wise , right up my alley.
Thanks for the link.


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## Bob Korves (Nov 19, 2018)

pacifica said:


> FYI: their website: https://www.yukiwa-usa.com/products/drillchucks/index.php. This is the website for Yukiwa Seiko usa, inc and in the upper left  hand corner it says: all drill chucks are made in Japan. Not sure how to check if web site is lying?


Works for me.  I was looking at a different site.


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## mmcmdl (Nov 19, 2018)

1 drawer . 28 chucks . Old crap made in USA . Jacobs , Albrecht , Wohlstrom , etc .  Ask and you'll receive .


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## PT Doc (Nov 19, 2018)

Stay away from the Spanish Jacobs chucks. These were made during the transition to chinese production. I spoke with a guy at Jacobs and he told me to stay away since they are not rebuildable. 

Get yourself a USA made or one made in China. I have used both and you should be happy with either but try to track down a USA made. Is your Ridgid a fixed jt3 taper? If so indexing the chuck will give different amounts of runout out. Go fully around and write the numbers down then spilt as many hairs as you want to get the lowest runout possible. I would guess you would get about 0.002 runout with a precision ground rod 1” down.

Hope this help?


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## Ken from ontario (Nov 19, 2018)

PT Doc said:


> Stay away from the Spanish Jacobs chucks. These were made during the transition to chinese production. I spoke with a guy at Jacobs and he told me to stay away since they are not rebuildable.


That's good to know, I'm sure that bit of info could help a few of us , the chuck that I was after was in fact a Llambrich CBB-13 but it's good to know there's a difference in quality between  the genuine Jacobs and the ones made in Spain.



PT Doc said:


> Get yourself a USA made or one made in China. I have used both and you should be happy with either but try to track down a USA made. *Is your Ridgid a fixed jt3 taper?* If so indexing the chuck will give different amounts of runout out. Go fully around and write the numbers down then spilt as many hairs as you want to get the lowest runout possible. I would guess you would get about 0.002 runout with a precision ground rod 1” down.
> 
> Hope this help?


The Ridgid DP does have a fixed JT3 taper,
 I found a great deal on a Vertex chuck and went for it, I'll soon find out how good it's going to perform. thanks for the heads up.


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## Ken from ontario (Nov 19, 2018)

mmcmdl said:


> 1 drawer . 28 chucks . Old crap made in USA . Jacobs , Albrecht , Wohlstrom , etc .  Ask and you'll receive .


mmcmdl, thanks for posting the pic of the chucks but as I mentioned in my last post I found a deal on a new chuck that I couldn't pass up.
BTW, you weren't kidding when you said yo had chucks coming out of your yen yang., I'm sure others will find a few good ones  from the pile.


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## PT Doc (Nov 21, 2018)

Ken from ontario said:


> That's good to know, I'm sure that bit of info could help a few of us , the chuck that I was after was in fact a Llambrich CBB-13 but it's good to know there's a difference in quality between  the genuine Jacobs and the ones made in Spain.
> 
> 
> The Ridgid DP does have a fixed JT3 taper,
> I found a great deal on a Vertex chuck and went for it, I'll soon find out how good it's going to perform. thanks for the heads up.



You should be very happy with the Vertex. They are known to be a very high quality and consistently excellent Taiwanese tooling manufacturer. Keep us posted.


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## ezduzit (Nov 21, 2018)

Just recently picked up a USA-made Jacobs 14n off eBay in like-new condition. While I was shopping for one I saw the new Spain and China made ones; didn't even consider them. You'll see they have the markings etched on, rather than engraved, like the US ones.


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## ddickey (Nov 21, 2018)

Us the china made ones have a rebuild kit number on them. Old ones don't


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## Ken from ontario (Nov 21, 2018)

ezduzit said:


> Just recently picked up a USA-made Jacobs 14n off eBay in like-new condition. While I was shopping for one I saw the new Spain and China made ones; didn't even consider them. You'll see they have the markings etched on, rather than engraved, like the US ones.


14N super chuck was my preference but the prices you see delivered to a US residence is a lot more reasonable than what we get up here, and with the exchange rate to Canadian dollar it'll cost over $300 CDN ,the shipping alone is about$60 , but this nothing new to me I still find some good deals here and there. in this case though , there were no deals to be had.


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## mmcmdl (Nov 21, 2018)

Ken from ontario said:


> mmcmdl, thanks for posting the pic of the chucks but as I mentioned in my last post I found a deal on a new chuck that I couldn't pass up.
> BTW, you weren't kidding when you said yo had chucks coming out of your yen yang., I'm sure others will find a few good ones  from the pile.


I have 27 spares for the 1 I never use !


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