# Camlock D1-6 For A 6 Inch Chuck



## Flightmap (Jul 20, 2015)

I have a Pratt-Bernard (PB) independant 6 " chuck, and a Buck (B) 6" scroll chuck (self centering)


The Issue:  My new lathe has a D1-6 cam-lock face and I would like to mount the two chucks mentioned above to  d1-6 back plates (one each).  Since the commercially available back plates are usually pre-drilled, most vendors are advising me NOT to use these back plates on my chucks.  If there is material to mount the chuck to the back plate, why couldn't I drill the back plate to match the chuck?  Max RPM of the spindle is 2500 so I am not in a CNC environment.  

Question:  Has anyone done this? 
Any issues I should be aware of?


----------



## JimDawson (Jul 20, 2015)

As long as there is material to drill / drill & tap, I don't see a problem.  I think the most important is that there is enough material on the register flange to be able to machine it to size for your chuck(s).  The last one I did was pre-drilled, I just rotated the chuck to access the clean material for the bolt holes.

One note, be sure to check the fit of the spindle mount, it may also need some machining.  As least the one I got from the Peoples High Precision Chuck Factory needed a little fitting.


----------



## mksj (Jul 20, 2015)

I have known of a number of members that have redrilled/machined the backing plate to fit a new chuck without issues.  As Jim mentioned the new mounting holes were staggered from the old holes.

I purchased  a Feruda back plate that I machined to fit my 8" Bison 4J, was very happy with the quality (and price).  This was one of the few places that carried a wide selection and knew something of selecting the correct backing plate for my chuck if you need to purchase one. http://www.tools4cheap.net/fuerdabackplate.php

The backing plates come Semi-Machined,  I mounted it and took a surface skim cut. Then turned down the registration step to fit my chuck. I did not see any D1-6 backing plates in a 6" diameter, so an 8" will need more machining and you probably will want to turn it down to the chuck diameter if desired.


----------



## Doubleeboy (Jul 20, 2015)

I think Bison is only company making backing plates for D1-6 in 6".   To save money once I took a Bison 6" plain back 4 jaw and mounted it on D1-3 from CDCO or Shars, there was no way to mount all the screws with out running into a previously drilled and threaded hole partially so I mounted it with 3 out of 4 screws, made a real tight fit, used loctite green and it has worked well for a decade.  I do not take huge cuts or swing large objects in it, this was and is my baby chuck for Monarch 10ee.  I was pretty bummed at time but it has worked out fine over a decade.

michael


----------



## coolidge (Jul 20, 2015)

New England Brass and Tool have D1-6 back plates for Bison chucks as small as 5 inch.

http://brassandtool.com/Backplate-Adaptors.html


----------

