Thinking of getting a 6 jaw.

[sanddan]

I have a PM1340GT lathe and have been thinking of getting a 6 jaw chuck for it. What are your thoughts on a "decent" quality chuck? Not necessarily the absolute best possible one out there (I can't afford that) but also not cheap Chinese junk either. I'm done buying Chinese unless it's intended to be a throwaway tool, one time use sort of thing. It would replace my 3 jaw for 99% of the type of work I tend to do.

Pic for attention

 

[darkzero]

I've been more than happy with the 2 Bison 6-jaw Set Trus I've had. If you'd like even better Pratt Burnerd would be my choice or a Rohm. I heard Rohm stopped making them though. Gator if you don't want to spend that much which are basically a copy of the Bison. They are made in China though. Buck chucks are made in China now IIRC.

 

[aliva]

My understanding is they are great for holding thin parts as the load is spread over more jaws, there buy reducing distortion. I would like to have one but I don't turn thin material very often, so its hard to justify the added expense. If your budget allows, by all means get one.
I noticed a few months ago Adam Booth got one from Shars, I'm sure he didn't pay full price for it, or may have been a gift. But he has a business to run and has to be equipped with a larger variety of tools to cover many different situations. He seems to be really pleased with his.

 

[ErichKeane]

I picked up a 6 jaw (Sanjou brand, so chinesium), and it has become my most-used chuck. It has completely replaced my 3 jaw. I find that a comparably sized 6 jaw will hold smaller things than a 3 jaw (since the jaws are narrower), holds just as well, and is reasonably accurate.

I haven't regretted buying a cheap one, though would consider doing a set-tru if I were doing it again.

 

[pontiac428]

I have a Pratt-Burnerd six jaw that I picked up used. It's my best chuck. I use it for everything that fits as far as scroll chucks go. I haven't used my 3-jaw in quite a while. I like the even clamping that the six jaw provides.

 

[JRaut]

I recently picked up four (!!!!!) 6-jaw chucks from an industrial auction. I'm keeping one of them. I absolutely love it and plan on keeping it forever. It's made my 3-jaw chuck all but obsolete.

The other three 6-jaw chucks will be sold off once I get them cleaned up. One is a 5" Buck Ajust-Tru, one is a 6" Buck Ajust-Tru, and one is a 6" import with three of the jaws missing.

I'm not sure what the H-M rules are regarding posting for-sale items. But I'd be willing to let one go to a fellow H-M user for a good price. If you're interested, shoot me a message and I can get you some photos.

 

[darkzero]

I picked up a 6 jaw (Sanjou brand, so chinesium), and it has become my most-used chuck. It has completely replaced my 3 jaw. I find that a comparably sized 6 jaw will hold smaller things than a 3 jaw (since the jaws are narrower), holds just as well, and is reasonably accurate.

I haven't regretted buying a cheap one, though would consider doing a set-tru if I were doing it again.

Depends on the size of the chucks I guess but I find the opposite. My 6.3" 3-jaw chucks will hold stock smaller than my 6.3" 6-jaw chucks.

 

[ErichKeane]

Depends on the size of the chucks I guess but I find the opposite. My 6.3" 3-jaw chucks will hold stock smaller than my 6.3" 6-jaw chucks.

Interesting! Its the opposite with my 8 inchers.

 

[darkzero]

Interesting! Its the opposite with my 8 inchers.

My old 5" 6-jaw & my current 6.3" 6-jaws can only hold down to about 3/8". But my 6.3" 3 -jaws I can hold down to 3/16" or so. Not sure how much smaller off the top of my head.

 

[mikey]

Depends on the size of the chucks I guess but I find the opposite. My 6.3" 3-jaw chucks will hold stock smaller than my 6.3" 6-jaw chucks.

I'm with Will. I have a Pratt Burnerd 6 jaw setrite and due to the shape of the jaws, the smallest it will hold is about a 5/16" OD piece. A 3 jaw, at least in my experience, will go smaller. A 6 jaw also does not have the holding power of a 3 or 4 jaw chuck and being a scroll chuck it is not necessarily more accurate unless it is a Set-rite type.

6 jaw chucks hold thin walled stuff better than a 3 jaw due to more evenly applied tension around the circumference of the part. They can potentially hold slippery stuff like plastics better because it isn't slipping into the gaps between jaws. Beyond these two kinds of work I don't see that a 6 jaw is all that much better. A 3 jaw will grab a part more securely and a 4 jaw is more accurate when dialed in, even compared to a setrite chuck.

I have way too many chucks for my lathe and all of them are top shelf chucks. I have multiple 3 jaws, 4 jaws, 3 and 6 jaw setrite, magnetic and ER chucks. Of all of them, the most useful by far is the simple 3 jaw chuck. When I need accuracy, the 4 jaw comes out. Otherwise, the other stuff comes out only when needed and quite honestly, that isn't all that often.