# South Bend 4-Jaw D1-5 chuck from Grizzly?



## Splat (Apr 10, 2019)

So my 4-jaw that came with my lathe had me nervous the other day. I was turning some small diameter stock. Bringing the lathe up to speed it sounded like my work wasn't centered but I dialed it in. I think the chuck isn't balanced too well and two of the jaws are a little rough opening/closing. I was looking around and see Grizzly has a closeout  sale on *this* South Bend 4-jaw with D1-5 mount for $508.50.  Yes, I'd love a combo Bison or Rohm but they're outta my pay grade.   Anyone with experience or knowledge of this chuck or similar from Grizzly? Thanks.


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## darkzero (Apr 10, 2019)

Looks nice. Grizzly's SB branded.products are usually pretty good quality.

Here's another one to consider, $100 cheaper, Taiwan made offered by Precision Matthews. $399
https://www.precisionmatthews.com/shop/chuck4j-8d1-5/

Bison from these people is only $130 more than that SB. $632. I'm not familiar with the vendor though & their price is much lower than other vendors. Maybe too good to be true?
https://www.smalltools.com/bison-8-4-jaw-independent-manual-chuck-d1-5-mount-7-853-0835/

Same Bison is $665 from these people. A few here have purchased from them.
http://www.rlstephenstool.com/lathe_chucks.htm

Same Bison is $688 from MSC. I know I could get it cheaper from MSC though. 
https://www.mscdirect.com/product/d...35&pxno=1784905&refnum=1784905&rItem=08564353


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## MikeInOr (Apr 10, 2019)

Interesting that their closeout price is the same as their catalog price.   I am looking for a 4 jaw chuck for my South Bend 13".  That South Bend chuck kind of strikes me as an "any other Chinese chuck" with the South Bend name on it...  But I could be wrong!


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## Splat (Apr 10, 2019)

That one didn't come up in MSC when I searched. Interesting. Thanks for the links. Lemme check into these.


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## Splat (Apr 10, 2019)

Mike, you may be right. IIRC I've heard good things about the SB branded chucks from Grizzly but that was a few years ago. Not many results I'm finding of others' experiences these days.


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## Splat (Apr 10, 2019)

Never been to that Smalltools site. Got some good prices. They have a Pratt Burnerd D1-5 8" 4-jaw from their "value line series" that is $390. Hmmm.....interestingly Ajax has that model listed as an Atlas brand and more $.


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## MikeInOr (Apr 10, 2019)

Darkzero... What is the secrete to getting the Bison chuck cheaper through MSC?

Splat - that was just the impression it gave me, I don't really have anything to really go on other than my gut.


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## Splat (Apr 10, 2019)

Oh, I hear ya Mike. No worries. 

What's interesting is that Bison chuck comes up as disco'ed with a newer # coming back as TMX and for roughly $400 more.


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## Splat (Apr 10, 2019)

Seeing a nice Rohm chuck for $499. Don't know about their chucks but I've got some Rohm drill chucks and centers and they are very nice. I'm assuming made in Germany but....who knows. Gotta find out.  Geez, I didn't see much before for D1-5 and now I'm finding them. You guys bringing me some luck.


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## darkzero (Apr 10, 2019)

MikeInOr said:


> Darkzero... What is the secrete to getting the Bison chuck cheaper through MSC?



The secret is.... well it's a secret! 

There used to be a Rutland local to me that I used to buy from. They got bought out by MSC & moved the location a few blocks over & turned into a MSC location. The same salesguy that I dealt with at Rutland works at that MSC. I'm cool with him, been buying from him for years, & he always tries to give me the best possible deal for high dollar items.

For example, I bought a Bison 6.25" 3-jaw Set-Tru. List price is $1032. I normally bought chucks from Ajax as they have great pricing. This chuck is $740 at Ajax. MSC's "normal" price is $1106. My logged in price at MSC is $797. My sales guy gave it to me $550. I have to pay tax but still way cheaper than anywhere else & I don't have to pay shipping for anything I buy from MSC, even if they have to transfer it from NV. I love MSC.


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## darkzero (Apr 10, 2019)

Splat said:


> Seeing a nice Rohm chuck for $499. Don't know about their chucks but I've got some Rohm drill chucks and centers and they are very nice. I'm assuming made in Germany but....who knows. Gotta find out.  Geez, I didn't see much before for D1-5 and now I'm finding them. You guys bringing me some luck.



Rohm chucks are nice! They make good stuff!


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## MikeInOr (Apr 10, 2019)

darkzero said:


> The secret is.... well it's a secret!
> 
> There used to be a Rutland local to me that I used to buy from. They got bought out by MSC & moved the location a few blocks over & turned into a MSC location. The same salesguy that I dealt with at Rutland works at that MSC. I'm cool with him, been buying from him for years, & he always tries to give me the best possible deal for high dollar items.
> 
> For example, I bought a Bison 6.25" 3-jaw Set-Tru. List price is $1032. I normally bought chucks from Ajax as they have great pricing. This chuck is $740 at Ajax. MSC's "normal" price is $1106. My logged in price at MSC is $797. My sales guy gave it to me $550. I have to pay tax but still way cheaper than anywhere else & I don't have to pay shipping for anything I buy from MSC, even if they have to transfer it from NV. I love MSC.



Cool!  Will you take PayPal.. or would you prefer I send you a check?


LOL!


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## darkzero (Apr 10, 2019)

MikeInOr said:


> Cool!  Will you take PayPal.. or would you prefer I send you a check?
> 
> 
> LOL!


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## mksj (Apr 10, 2019)

Looked up the Pratt Burnred, and made in China. I also saw this with a few other chuck makers, but their name on a cheap chuck and charge 2X as much for the name. 

I had the same problem with a Chinese 4J years ago, anything past 325 RPM and I though the machines was going to shake apart. It got replaced with the PM 8" Taiwanese 4J and it is much better made and even has balance weights on the inside. Smooth to 1000+ RPM. Rohm is also very good, but these days more people know about them and the prices have gone up.


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## Splat (Apr 10, 2019)

Wow! Abrasivetool.com has that Bison for $486.90. I tried buying it online but I'm not getting a secure ordering page and the certificate ain't kosher either. Gonna call them tomorrow and see what's the deal.


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## darkzero (Apr 10, 2019)

Splat said:


> Wow! Abrasivetool.com has that Bison for $486.90. I tried buying it online but I'm not getting a secure ordering page and the certificate ain't kosher either. Gonna call them tomorrow and see what's the deal.


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## Splat (Apr 11, 2019)

OK. Called Abrasive Tool and they're OOS and it'll be about May when they get more in from Bison. They know their website is not secure and recommend calling to place orders. (no kidding). The price on website is not valid. The udpated price is $590, which is still cheaper than what I've seen yet. Oh, and I called Precision Matthews and spoke with a wonderful lady who advised they will be getting that chuck back in stock in about 3 weeks.


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## Splat (Apr 11, 2019)

See a nice Gator/Fuerda chuck for $517 total but it's got solid jaws. This is pro'lly gonna be my go-to chuck for most non-collet work hence my thinking of going 2-piece jaws. What say ye? Solid or 2-piece jaws?


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## darkzero (Apr 11, 2019)

Splat said:


> See a nice Gator/Fuerda chuck for $517 total but it's got solid jaws. This is pro'lly gonna be my go-to chuck for most non-collet work hence my thinking of going 2-piece jaws. What say ye? Solid or 2-piece jaws?



I don't see a need for 2 piece jaws on a 4-jaw indy chuck. Solid jaws on 4-jaw indy chucks are reversible anyway. 2 piece jaws would be good if you need to make soft jaws but again I don't see a reason to make custom soft jaws on a 4-jaw.

With that said, I do have 2-piece jaws on my 4-jaw chuck but not by choice. I would have been perfectly fine with solid jaws. Not once have I ever unbolted the top jaws, I can't think of a reason why I would need to.

I have the 8" Fuerda/Gator direct mount 4-jaw w/ 2-piece jaws. Only reason I didn't recommend it is because of what they cost now. I'm happy with it but at $500+ these days not worth it IMO, for a bit more you could get a Bison or similar.

I got the chuck for $350 shipped years ago from Ajax when the Gator brand was failry new. They have just been going up in price over the years. Had the PM Taiwan 4-jaw been available back then I probably would have got that or the Bison if it was in my budget at the time.


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## jbobb1 (Apr 11, 2019)

Check out Globalindustrial.com. I just bought a Bison 10" for 768.00. Of course there's shipping and taxes also.


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## mksj (Apr 11, 2019)

I have only seen 4J independent with solid reversible jaws. Only seen two piece with the scroll chucks. The Gator is a direct copy of the Bison, for the price difference I would go with the Bison. In a direct mount D1-5 not a lot of options that are decent. I am more leary of some brands like Buck, BTC, etc. as many are made in China and just rebranded.


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## Splat (Apr 11, 2019)

Oh snap! MSC has discount code Ship199H for 25% off and free shipping. So the Bison comes out to $688.31 shipped but they're not in stock. Waiting on MSC to get back to me with ETA.  That code is last day today. OK, MSC rep says they might be able to get it direct shipped from Bison. ETD would be about a week. Smalltools price with shipping is still cheaper at $655.24, but I've no dealings with them. MSC has always taken care of me.


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## Splat (Apr 11, 2019)

Found *this* little vid about Bison's then-new 2017 factory opening in Poland. Guess they like Okuma machines.   Happy to see my Polish brethren making world renown quality products.


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