First time disassembling an Albrecht chuck

I tore apart one Albrecht 1/2" chuck in preparation for putting on my drill press. For some reason, I dropped all the ball bearings on the garage floor. It took over an hour to find all of them and I was ****** at myself. Then I moved to my shop and during the course of cleaning and reassembling that chuck, I dropped all 25 bearings three more times - three - for a total of FOUR times!

I did this before writing that article on rebuilding Albrecht chucks and now you know why I said to be careful and work over a shop towel. Spending hours trying to find that last ball bearing is enough to make you say colorful words!
 
You can also use two dowel pins and a vise to get certain arbors out, MT5's and maybe 4's.
 
mikey said:
I tore apart one Albrecht 1/2" chuck in preparation for putting on my drill press. For some reason, I dropped all the ball bearings on the garage floor. It took over an hour to find all of them and I was ****** at myself. Then I moved to my shop and during the course of cleaning and reassembling that chuck, I dropped all 25 bearings three more times - three - for a total of FOUR times!

I did this before writing that article on rebuilding Albrecht chucks and now you know why I said to be careful and work over a shop towel. Spending hours trying to find that last ball bearing is enough to make you say colorful words!
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I was lucky... (knock, knock, knock on my wood desk) and didn't drop any balls. It certainly helps when you've been given a heads up on what to expect. I lifted the shell off keeping the body upright and they stayed in place. There was also enough residual grease to help hold the balls in place. I then flipped the piece over and tapped it on my shop towel and the balls came out without bouncing all over the place.

Putting them back in with a pair of large tweezers was a piece of cake. The new grease held them in place like glue.

It sure helps when you do some searching on-line to find resources like mikey's post and there are also some decent YouTube videos as well.

I wouldn't hesitate to take another one apart now after seeing how easy it is.

Ted
 
The integrated shank Albrechts have I believe 42 balls.
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mikey said:
Please don't do this. It isn't necessary to spray anything inside the chuck. Mineral spirits may leave deposits inside and you want the spindle threads clean and dry. If you did spray WD-40 in there or if the chuck malfunctions, take it apart. As Bob says, not hard to do.
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The chuck hasn't malfunctioned as yet. I have sprayed the outside with wd40 and Fluid Film to prevent rust and knowing me I may have sprayed inside. (My shop is uninsulated and drafty as an old barn). Looks like I'll learn to service an Albrecht chuck soon. Thanks again.
 
Nah, as long as the chuck works well, just use it. When it starts to act up, take it apart at that time. Oil on the outside is fine. You might give Camellia Oil a try. It was used to preserve fine Samurai swords for hundreds of years; should protect an Albrecht chuck in Texas!
 
What is the procedure to disassemble an Albrecht chuck with the integrated arbor? I know that the knurled top ring presses off and from there, I imagine that the narrow section underneath this ring can be clamped with an aluminum clamp. I think these integral shank chucks require a bearing
clamp. The automotive two piece type. We have one at work (integral R8 Albrecht 1/2") that I'd like to put new jaws in.
 
A bearing clamp sure would make it easy. I made my own out of an aluminum piece, then just tapped around and slowly tapped it off. After that mostly the same. The spindle assembly will slide back off past the R8 collet. This is where you'll find the 42 bearings.
 
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