PM 4-Jaw Chuck

M

MWCurl

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Hey Guys

I have a PM 1340GT lathe. I need a 4-jaw chuck to do some close work threading a barrel for a suppressor. Does anyone have experience with the high precision 4-jaw chuck sold by PM? I will also welcome any other comments or advice regarding purchasing a 4-jaw. Thanks.

Mike
 
I cannot speak to their 4-jaw but I bought a 3-jaw set-tru (made by Chandox) from PM with my 1340GT. I later bought a Bison 4-jaw and Bison 3-jaw set-tru. I still do all my chambering and muzzle threading with the Chandox with no runout.

If their precision 4-jaw is like the Chandox it's a good chuck.
 
I have no experience with PM's chucks but since you have a D1-4 mount, any D1-4 chuck will fit and you have many options. I am partial to Pratt Burnerd chucks now and here is an 8" 4 jaw that the seller says was "recovered oiled in its wrappings". I take that to mean it is new and the chuck indeed does look new. It is a PB International so it was made in England. The mount is not specified but it is a D1 mount of some kind. I can't tell for sure but it is either a D1-3 or D1-4; you will need to contact the seller and have him measure the spacing on the pins to be sure. If it is a D1-4 then I suspect you can get it for a decent price but you'll have to bid on it. Currently, this chuck sells for $425.00 from PBAmerica and if it was me I would rather have the PBI chuck from ebay. You will need to factor in shipping from the UK but if you can get this chuck anywhere under $325.00 it would be a good deal.

Nice chuck and as good a lathe chuck as you're likely to find.
 
I prefer 3-jaw and 4-jaw chucks with 2-piece jaws to allow for the use of soft jaws.
 
I have the PM 4-Jaw chuck and have successfully chambered several rifle barrels with it. It works fine and I am able to get runout less than .0002".
 
I have the PM 4-jaw and use it for holding full profile compensators for drilling, boring, and threading. For round/trashcan comps and turning/threading pistol barrels I just use my 3-jaw PBA setrite. The only complaint I had about the PM 4-jaw was the sharp edges of the jaws were leaving serious marks in whatever it clamps on. But that was a easy fix.
 
Winegrower said:
I don’t see what would be needed in precision for a 4 jaw chuck. Seems like it’s all up to the operator?
Click to expand...

I agree, accuracy lies with the operator. However, quality of construction counts. A good chuck will maintain its accuracy for a lifetime if cared for and used properly and it is wise to buy good chucks. Lathe chucks are the equivalent of milling vises on the mill; they are foundational to accuracy. Buy junk and you have to deal with it every single time you use the machine.

Not preaching at you, Winegrower. I know you know all of this. Just offering an opinion.
 
I have the PM 4J and recommend it over the other one mentioned. I had a Chinese one before it, could get it past 400 RPM because of balance issues and the grinding of the jaws was poor so holding power and skew was an issue. Many of the newer PBA are now made in China, so I would pass on their 4J unless someone has direct experience with it. I have the PBA 3J set-tru made in the UK and it is a very good chuck. I have gone through quite a few chucks to get to my current set which is the PBA, two Bison and the QMT 4J independent. I consider them all very good quality chucks that should last a lifetime, the Chandox setru is also a very good chuck that I have been recommending to many individuals as upgrade from the standard 3J. The QMT 4J is the only one that I have seen that uses balancing weights inside the chuck, this makes a big difference at speed with the lighter lathes like the 1340GT.
 
mikey said:
I have no experience with PM's chucks but since you have a D1-4 mount, any D1-4 chuck will fit and you have many options. I am partial to Pratt Burnerd chucks now and here is an 8" 4 jaw that the seller says was "recovered oiled in its wrappings". I take that to mean it is new and the chuck indeed does look new. It is a PB International so it was made in England. The mount is not specified but it is a D1 mount of some kind. I can't tell for sure but it is either a D1-3 or D1-4; you will need to contact the seller and have him measure the spacing on the pins to be sure. If it is a D1-4 then I suspect you can get it for a decent price but you'll have to bid on it. Currently, this chuck sells for $425.00 from PBAmerica and if it was me I would rather have the PBI chuck from ebay. You will need to factor in shipping from the UK but if you can get this chuck anywhere under $325.00 it would be a good deal.

Nice chuck and as good a lathe chuck as you're likely to find.
Click to expand...
That's a D1-3 mount.
 
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