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4 Jaw Chuck

Tomc938

Tomc938

Ultra Member
Anyone have any experience with these chucks? https://www.amazon.ca/4-Jaw-Indepen...jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==

The same chucks with the exact same markings are for sale on Amazon for $80 - $245. They are also available from Aliexpress, but the $100 shipping kills the deal.

I have a Craftex 9x 18 and am looking for a 4 jaw option. BB has (none in stock) for $219.

Is there difference in the quality at these various price points, or just different profit margins?

Thanks!
 
Tomc938 said:
Anyone have any experience with these chucks? https://www.amazon.ca/4-Jaw-Independent-Fixture-Powerful-Clamping/dp/B08GYKJ1QB/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?crid=171IIZOF3EEBD&dchild=1&keywords=4+jaw+chuck+125mm&qid=1635216889&sprefix=4+jaw+chuck+125+mm,aps,144&sr=8-2-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUE3TVpWVkpGSUtMSEwmZW5jcnlwdGVkSWQ9QTA0ODA4MzcyU005VktCN0ZKMk8xJmVuY3J5cHRlZEFkSWQ9QTAyNTQyNTQzSlNFTk83WjJEVTRIJndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfYXRmJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==

The same chucks with the exact same markings are for sale on Amazon for $80 - $245. They are also available from Aliexpress, but the $100 shipping kills the deal.

I have a Craftex 9x 18 and am looking for a 4 jaw option. BB has (none in stock) for $219.

Is there difference in the quality at these various price points, or just different profit margins?

Thanks!
Click to expand...
I think this one is a bit thinner than the busy bee one, but the busy bee one is hollow.. Or at least the one or two I've had. You'll have to make an adapter plate or buy one. For that price it's worth a try.
 
Tomc938 said:
Anyone have any experience with these chucks? https://www.amazon.ca/4-Jaw-Independent-Fixture-Powerful-Clamping/dp/B08GYKJ1QB/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?crid=171IIZOF3EEBD&dchild=1&keywords=4+jaw+chuck+125mm&qid=1635216889&sprefix=4+jaw+chuck+125+mm,aps,144&sr=8-2-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUE3TVpWVkpGSUtMSEwmZW5jcnlwdGVkSWQ9QTA0ODA4MzcyU005VktCN0ZKMk8xJmVuY3J5cHRlZEFkSWQ9QTAyNTQyNTQzSlNFTk83WjJEVTRIJndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfYXRmJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==

The same chucks with the exact same markings are for sale on Amazon for $80 - $245. They are also available from Aliexpress, but the $100 shipping kills the deal.

I have a Craftex 9x 18 and am looking for a 4 jaw option. BB has (none in stock) for $219.

Is there difference in the quality at these various price points, or just different profit margins?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

I have lots of K type chucks - what do you want to know? I even have videos.

There is no difference - just different price points. At least no difference I can tell. All need to be ground to be semi accurate.

For 78 bucks that is a good deal - like 3x less then BB.

I did not see inside of BB in like 5 years now. They still in business?
 
Tom Kitta said:
I have lots of K type chucks - what do you want to know? I even have videos.

There is no difference - just different price points. At least no difference I can tell. All need to be ground to be semi accurate.

For 78 bucks that is a good deal - like 3x less then BB.

I did not see inside of BB in like 5 years now. They still in business?
Click to expand...
Thanks for the input guys!

Tom: Watched your K72-100 video and was encouraging...at least it is mostly round and arrives in a box.;)

As I'm new to all this, I'm thinking I introduce more inaccuracy than any of my tooling, so a good place to start.

Tom

PS: Cool accent!
 
It can be hit & miss even on the same brand due to (lack of) quality control. Thats why some people are happy with purchases & others not of same brand ABC. One thing I would confirm is how easy is it to return. Buying something heavy off ebay & returning at your expense + possible re-stocking % would cost more than say Amazon Prime where they discount the shipping a bit & are more forgiving. Return justification is kind of a grey area. If you are just underwhelmed by quality but it's functioning, that's different than defective. I have a Gator chuck that is supposedly 'medium/good' quality - not Bison, but not boat anchor. The jaws were ground perfect & everything else good, but the threading on one of the pinions was not the best so it was draggy & tight. I ended up fixing OK, but just an example.
 
PeterT said:
It can be hit & miss even on the same brand due to (lack of) quality control. Thats why some people are happy with purchases & others not of same brand ABC. One thing I would confirm is how easy is it to return. Buying something heavy off ebay & returning at your expense + possible re-stocking % would cost more than say Amazon Prime where they discount the shipping a bit & are more forgiving. Return justification is kind of a grey area. If you are just underwhelmed by quality but it's functioning, that's different than defective. I have a Gator chuck that is supposedly 'medium/good' quality - not Bison, but not boat anchor. The jaws were ground perfect & everything else good, but the threading on one of the pinions was not the best so it was draggy & tight. I ended up fixing OK, but just an example.
Click to expand...
That makes sense. That is what I like about Amazon. But sometimes the prices are much higher. Like the same chuck for $245 from another vendor.
 
Amazon has strange pricing model - hence strange prices or strange sales.

For 78 you cannot go wrong. Besides, shipping is like 20, amazon fees are like 8, Amazon storage and membership add another 2 or so, thus you are 48 for cost delivered to the warehouse.
The fact it is round-ish and resembles a chuck for that money is a great deal!
I mean it is 30 at port or so. Thus actual cost to make it has to be no more then 15.
 
My 40 year old ex school cheapest line Bison is about as accurate as brand new ground Chinese chuck. At least for the sizes of precision stock used.
 
Mine should arrive Friday. I'll let everyone know what I find. Of course, there is the caveat that I don't know what I am talking about.
 
Just thought I would give a quick update...

So the chuck arrived. Looks OK as far as fit and finish. Got a pleasant surprise when I tried to put it on my Craftex B2227L lathe - it fit perfectly! The alignment boss was a little snug, but that's a good thing. The only issue is the chuck has 4 holes and the lathe has 3. Would have been nice if the chuck was a Chinese "universal" - 7 holes!

So I'll measure and mark and measure again and drill the additional two holes I need and give this thing a spin. No need for an adaptor plate.

I'll let you know about runout once I mount it. Maybe later this week.

PS: It is the exact same "make" as the one Tim Kitta reviewed above.
 
I'm going to drill in the back fo the chuck as it will fit in my milling machine better than the lathe will...
 
Tomc938 said:
I'm going to drill in the back fo the chuck as it will fit in my milling machine better than the lathe will...
Click to expand...

What's that chuck worth? You had best think this through. You'll have to tap those holes as well will you not? Do you have a suitable tap and the appropriate drill bit? You should probably open up that chuck to make sure your holes aren't going to collide with the jaw scrolls. An adapter plate might be the prudent approach.
 
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The chuck is worth $79. Including shipping. The jaws are independent, and the 120 and 240 offsets will miss where the jaws are. I will be taking it apart, but as it is not self-centring (which seems to negate the 4 jaw advantages) there is little inside. I'm 3D printing a template to see how things line out. One screw lines up beautifully with one of the 4 holes, so the bolt circle radius will be the same. Only 2 to add. I also don't think they go deep enough to hit the jaws even if they did line up, but I'll also be checking that.

I have the bits and taps. And if I screw up the alignment, I'll just start from another of the 4 holes and try again! If I can't get it in 4 tries I'll have some machines for sale. And accessories.

Thanks for the thoughts. I appreciate the collective brains on the board, and words of caution or wisdom (or both) are always welcome.
 
Tomc938 said:
I will be taking it apart, but as it is not self-centring (which seems to negate the 4 jaw advantages) there is little inside.
Click to expand...

The advantage of a 4 jaw chuck is exactly that. It is NOT self centering. Self centering is seldom very precise. On the other hand, since each of the 4 jaws can be independently adjusted on 90 degree intervals, a four jaw chuck can be manually adjusted to whatever degree of precision your lathe and you are capable of.

Also, 4 independant (non self centering) jaws allow the user to center non-cylindrical imperfect parts with great precision.

Therefore, nothing is negated by the lack of self centering. Rather the lack of self centering is an inherent advantage that facilitates more precision than otherwise possible.

You can get centering 4 jaw chucks, but most users prefer a self centering (also called scrolling) 3 jaw, and an independent 4 jaw.

I have drilled and tapped chucks for various purposes over the years. With care, it can be done. Take your time, be careful, and HAVE FUN!

Edit - And while you are at it, consider drilling and tapping holes in the front of the chuck between the Jaws so you can mount an assortment of fixed height studs to act as parallels to set the working height of various parts that are too short to reach the chuck itself. That's another fun project that will pay nice dividends in the future.
 
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The problem with bullet boards was having to choose a password one time after many many attempts I got p’d off and typed “ this call is from Canada “ password accepted go figure!
 
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