3-jaw chucks: Who makes what?

I have a Shars 6" on my South Bend 9C. I have the scroll chuck that comes with 2 piece
jaws and a 1 1/2" 8 thread backplate, currently they sell for $160 plus shipping. You just
Have to mount the backplate and true it up on your spindle before mounting to the chuck.
They have instructions on how to do this to minimize your runout.

I think if I had the jaws opened really far it might be able to hit the arms of the carriage.
I just make sure I turn the chuck by hand before I turn on the power to make sure that
doesn't happen.

The thing I like about the 6" with the 2 part jaws is that I can put a cylinder 1 3/4" in
diameter over 4" deep into the chuck. The original 5" I had had a much smaller through hole
(1 1/4") and the jaws were not very long (a little over 2") and I never felt that I had a good hold on my stock.

Update: tonight I actually measured both chucks. The 6" is deeper but the through hole is
not quite as wide as I thought. Still much better than the 5".
 
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I forgot to mention that the jaws fall out of my 6" Shars before they collide with the ways, and they're only holding on by one or two teeth when they clear the saddle.
 
Keep in mind when looking at 6" chucks. They come in both 6.0"/152mm or 6.3"/160mm (sometimes called 6-1/4"). That difference may be enough to give you problems. Sometimes the vendor doesn't specify exactly, they just say 6".

I have a 12x36 import lathe & I'm used to having the 6.3" size. I purchased a 6" Gator 3-jaw that was the 6.0" size eventually it bother me so I got a 6.3" size, well that and I got a good deal. That reminds me, I need to post that Gator chuck for sale

Not sure how much you want to spend but Gator makes some pretty good chucks. They're made in China but they're better than any other China chuck I've seen. I own 2 & I'm happy with them. My other most used chucks are Bison, made in Poland. Pretty nice chucks but a lot more than an Asian chuck but the quality shows. And if you really want to get something nice, Pratt Burnerd chucks are very nice, made in England! I had a TMX chuck once, made in China, it was garabage for the price, I returned it. I hear TMX has recently moved their chuck production to Poland, I guess they realized too.
 
Wow - what a fountain of information. Thanks, All - this is what I needed.

DZ, i know Pratt Burnerds well - I have a Myford in the shop as well and its chucks (all ex factory) were Pratt Burnerds. Lovely things, but not seen a vendor of them here.

SO, what do you want for that Gator? :)
 
Grizzly sells Pratt burners on their website. Pricey, but they do look great, probably looking to get one myself.

Rich
 
just old al said:
DZ, i know Pratt Burnerds well - I have a Myford in the shop as well and its chucks (all ex factory) were Pratt Burnerds. Lovely things, but not seen a vendor of them here.

SO, what do you want for that Gator? :)
Click to expand...

There's a few PB dealers but none that I know of that gives discounts, pretty much have to pay full price on them.

I didn't want to offer my Gator since it has a D1-4 backplate. It's an adjustable chuck so you can dial it in to get under .001" TIR. It's the semi steel version so it's more affordable than the forged steel models. You'd have to buy or make a new backplate for it to fit your lathe. I'm not willing to sell the chuck seperately from the backplate. It is pretty much brand new though. I figure it might be cheaper if you went a different route since I have the D1-4 backplate already.

But if you are still interested anyway, PM me. The chuck is 1-901-0600 & the adapter for 1-1/2 - 8 is FLE-160T2 . The adaptors were usually around $125 but AllIndustrial recently changed their website & Gator products are currently not listed. I'm not sure who has the best prices on Gator stuff now.
 
I have the 6" PBA Setrite that I purchased from Grizzly 4 years ago, Bill (wrmiller) has the 8", very nicely made chucks and slightly more expensive then the Bison equivalent. They are beautiful chucks, but pricey. I had a discount coupon for Grizzly which helped. http://www.hobby-machinist.com/threads/pm1340gt-with-a-3-jaw-pratt-burnerd-6-setrite.30758/

If you do not need a set-true type and don't want to bust the bank I would recommend looking at the Shar's FS series http://www.shars.com/fs63-6-1-4-3-jaw-forged-steel-self-centering-scroll-lathe-chuck , they also have a set-true type. I also have Bison chucks and I have not been disappointed. Not sure on Kalamazoo chucks, when I was looking at chucks several years ago it seemed like there where a number of posting discussing quality issues, and Gator seems to be hit or miss. http://www.practicalmachinist.com/vb/general/kalamazoo-chuck-co-207822/
 
I have read a number of posts about problems with the newer Bison scroll chucks. Most common complaint is slippage of the part in the jaws. I have a Bison adjustable 5C collet chuck but almost never use it unless I need to use a special collet or have a part not suited to a 3-jaw. My Gator adjustable 3-jaw holds its centering position over a such a large range it is my preferred chuck for most work.
 
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