What R8 drill chuck should I get?

[amsoilman]

Good to know. I have a 5/8” for the mill and a 1/2” for the old Avey drill press. Bought each for a hundred bucks, smooth as silk.

 

[mikey]

But just a word of caution, I ruined my 5/8” R8 Albrecht by using a 2”hole saw. It locked and wouldn’t release. I used a strap wrench and finally got it to release but the run out was visible afterwards. I sent it to Albrecht(Royal) and I was told that the repair would be several hundred dollars and that they do not recommend using a drill or other device larger than the stated size of the chuck. I was fortunate, they sent me a new replacement at no charge.

Albrecht is one of the few companies nowadays that treats their customers with respect. Replacing a chuck that was damaged due to abuse just doesn't happen with other companies. Glad Albrecht continues that practice.

 

[Denisj]

OK

Rohm Supra 5/8 keyless new $120 - Their website says these are for cordless drill applications, but comes mounted on a R8. Too light duty?

Shars? I found a $45 used 1/2 keyless


I found Jacobs "Made in the United States of America" 34B that looks very old, it is frozen but has no rust on it for free. Soaking in solvent now, but it has a threaded input..I am thinking a 5/8"-16tpi? Is this old dog worth fixing? Should I be concerned with the arbor needed to use it?

Thanks again!
I am not attached to the keyless idea..just want a good quality unit.

 

[Denisj]

I have never used a chuck on my mill, ER25 collets handle everything I need and less obstruction than the larger ER32

I don't have a clue how to sort this out. I understand how they work...I assume I would need a holder?
..and it seems insanely expensive just quickly searching

 

[mmcmdl]

When you make up your mind , shoot me a pm as I said in a previous post . I think I have 50 chucks in the basement , but I won't steer you as to what you want or need .

 

[ThinWoodsman]

I understand how they work...I assume I would need a holder?
..and it seems insanely expensive just quickly searching

Yeah you would need an ER collet chuck and then all the collets. Unless you stick to just one or two drill sizes, you're going to need a pretty large set of collets. I picked up the R8 chuck after the first time I needed to chuck a drill bit that was between two collet sizes.

 

[darkzero]

A threaded drill should be fine. One thing to consider is if you ever need to drill with LH drill bits they can unscrew the chuck. Should be fine as LH drill bits are usually used for broken screw extraction & usually it's light duty drilling but ya never know.

I can understand the guys who use collets for drill bits but I use fractional, letter, & number drills often with the occasional metric too so that's not for me. That's a whole lot of collets to cover for all those sizes. Drilling is also not a high precision operation.

 

[Illinoyance]

If you ever plan to use hole saws you definitely want a keyed chuck. Keyless chucks tighten so much with a hole saw that it takes a wrench to release them. They don't work well with left hand drills, either. Backwards rotation tends to loosen them. Ihave keyless chucks, ball bearing keyed chucks and ER collet chucks and use whatever chuck is best for what I am doing.

 

[pontiac428]

Shars? I found a $45 used 1/2 keyless

I am not attached to the keyless idea..just want a good quality unit.

I have to say it here that my favorite chuck is my Albrecht, and it's not a close race. Shameless endorsement, I know. It's good you found Shars- I have a R8 integral shank keyless "precision" chuck from Shars that is cheaper than a used Albrecht, and I still smile when I use it. It does the job very well. I'd stay away from Jacobs keyed chucks. Lots of folks may disagree, but I have six Jacobs chucks, including a 1970's unit that I bought NOS in original packaging. None of them are reliable, and they are barely better than the cheapest China chuck. So go for the integrated Shars chuck instead of Jacobs. Sometimes I think people just like Jacobs because that's what their old reliable Craftsman drill presses came with. I doubt their reputation is based on performance.

 

[Denisj]

Missed an old Albrecht on ebay
Leaning to the Shars at $55 for a 5/8 keyless new
Rohm?
Johansen?
No hole sawing- cant remember the last time i used one
Drilling mostly..holes in steel and alum brackets for my work. A pilot hile and often 6-12mm holes
Minimal milling with it, but im sure I'll try. I have 3 R8 collets for the only 3 end mills I have.
I'm still super green with a mill and have almost no tooling and less experience.
I never was a huge fan of using a drill press..felt unnecessary when the mill works well. I used my friends BP to work some brackets and had an apifinay...the mill is a drill press.

Feel free to correct me if I'm missing something. The floor space didnt allow another machine and the drill press lost.