On Fri, 27 Jul 2018 11:12:24 -0700, etpm wrote:

On Fri, 27 Jul 2018 08:49:44 -0700, "Bob La Londe"
wrote:

A while back I picked up an import 1440 lathe, and over all I have been
pretty happy with it. I wasn't 100% on the 4 jaw that came with it so
the vendor offered me a below market price new old stock Bison to
replace it, and also gave me enough trade in on the stock 4 jaw to be
worth shipping it back to him. I damaged an oil port and he sent me a
bag of them. The cam that locks the tail stock to the bed had roll a
pin in it that was a little to short, and I replaced it with a longer
one. My plan has been to replace that with a solid tapered pin, but the
longer roll pin has been adequate. The gear and pulley cover made a
vibrating noise when snugged down tight so I put spacers on the mounting
studs, and snugged it down against those. No more noise. I'm listing
its deficiencies because really that's all of them.
Well except for this last one.

I'm not 100% on the drill chuck that came with it. Oh, don't get me
wrong. I've used the heck out of it, and its pretty concentric... for a
drill chuck, but I've slipped a few drills in the chuck. If I recall
its either a 0-1/2 or a 0-5/8 chuck on an MT4 taper. Its tough. The
chuck shows no sign of wear even though I have used a cheater bar on the
chuck key a few times. I have worn a couple chuck keys. Ruined one when
I welded on a permanent cheater bar. It just doesn't seem to hold as
well as I would like when I am pushing the drilling capabilities of the
machine. The lathe is only 3HP. 3HP isn't much for a lathe, but it is a
lot for drilling I think. Anyway, I am wondering if there is a better
drill chuck out there for this applications. Something that can grip
those 1/2" shank stubby silver and deming bits with authority. Maybe a
keyless chuck, and then use pin spanners in the holes. I have a 1/2"
keyless for one of my smaller lathes and another in my larger (drill
press) and they seem to both work pretty good, but neither machine is 3
HP. I think the little 8.5 x 18 lathe has a 1hp motor, and I am sure
the drill press is only 3/4.

Anyway...
I have a lot of drill chucks. For keyless I like my Albrecht chucks the
best. They far out-perform any other keyless drill chuck I have used.
For keyed chucks I like the Jacobs ball bearing chucks. They can often
be tightened enough by hand when using smaller drills. I also have a
Wahlstrom chuck that gets used in the mill and in the drill presses. It
is a bit odd in that it has 4 jaws. But its real claim to fame is that
it can only be opened while spinning. So drills are changed without
stopping the spindle. It has a collar that you grip and pull down to
open the chuck. So if you need to center drill or spot drill before
drilling, or if more than one size drill needs to ge into the same hole
it is a real time saver.
Eric


That's a cool chuck - must get one.