My Chuck, And The Saga Continues...

Sorry to hear your frustrations. Trying to save a worn chuck will typically not yield results that are rewarding. A chuck with a worn scroll or bell mouthed jaws for example is typically restored by grinding on the jaws? I will not get into it but just think about it. Are you fixing the root of problem or just a Band-Aid fix? The chuck is the heart of the lathe. I would get the best new chuck you can afford. I would get a 3 jaw with the set true feature. And like mentioned, having two chucks, one for the precise work and one for the dirty jobs is an excellent idea. Putting a part in the lathe and having it run within say 0.001” makes life much easier. Get a good chuck…Good Luck, Dave.
 
Enco's Interstate chucks are not bad, and if you get a lame one the return shipping is free, no problems. Not the quality of Bison but likely less than half the cost. There was a time when Bison was only 10 or 20% more than the Chinese stuff, sadly those days are gone. I would avoid Gator at all cost, rubbish IMO. I have a 8" 6jaw Set Tru from them that makes my no name Chinese budget 4 jaw look like a bargain.

michael
 
Thanks Chips &more, yes, I have been messing around with this chuck a lot. I am considering getting a new chuck

Joe
 
Thanks Michael, I am looking on ebay and there is a Bison 6" new, I will also check out the Enco chuck you recommend.

Joe
 
Joe, in fairness to any of the import chuck manufacturers, its a crap shoot, this week good, next week maybe not so much. My enco branded set tru 3 jaw for my 10ee is great, very close to Bison, only costs me 300 dollars 1o or so years ago. The Gator, looked okay, but one top jaw took hours of my fiddling to get to remove and reinstall worth a damn. Grit everywhere inside of chuck. Like I mentioned before if you get crap from Enco, if you call and explain nicely the situation, they will have UPS come and take it away and in a week or so your money is refunded.

I also have a variety of small to medium size Bison chucks, they are great but have doubled to tripled in cost in last 12 years. I would be hard pressed to buy another. Luckily given my age I will not have to buy another.

cheers
michael
 
A scroll chuck will not give the same TIR at all work diameters even when new and much less when worn.
Have you tried each of the key pinions to see which one gives the best TIR?
Chuck run out is not always an issue. As already mentioned if you can do all the turning without removing the work it will be fine.
What practical limitations have you encountered so far with the chuck you have?

Joe Pitz said:
Thanks Tozguy, Since the jaws are soft I did turn the jaws with several clean up cuts. Greg indicated that the jaws would be true at the given diameter. When I changed the diameter to check the TIR, that seemed to change the TIP again.

Joe
Click to expand...
 
Thanks Michael, I made an offer to a guy on ebay for a new Bison 6" 3 jaw scroll chuck for $400. He accepted. I had to swallow hard when I made that payment. But hopefully my chuck troubles are behind me
and I can continue getting my lathe up to speed for turning.

Joe
 
Tozguy:

"Have you tried each of the key pinions to see which one gives the best TIR?"

Not sure what that is?

If you are talking about the steps on the outside of the jaws. my current chuck does not have any. I was going to mill the slots but now I do not have to. Will keep the soft jaws for special projects.

Thanks

Joe
 
Michael, when I get ready to purchase the 4 jaw 8" I will more than likely try the Enco that you recommend. but that will be a while.

Thanks

Joe
 
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