Got a new chuck

[KeithB]

I've had an air operated 5C collet chuck on the CNC lathe for quite a while and it has proven to be very useful. Wanted one for the manual lathe but not the expense and hassle of an air chuck. I found this one online. My lathe has a D1-6 camlock spindle face so this one goes on very easily and quickly. Put it on, chucked up a 1/2" round carbide bar and put an indicator on it and only got .0006" TIR. It uses a T-handle just like any other lathe chuck.

All in all a desirable addition.

 

[Brad]

Who makes that bad boy? I have long considered a 5C collet chuck for my lathe. I generally use stock of set sizes so collets make sense.

Nice looking set up Keith.

 

[Pistolero]

Looks good. I used 5C collets all the time on my old Sheldon. I use them less
now since I really lucked out and my new lathe's 3 jaw will reliably chuck to 0.0003 runout.
I really couldn't believe it when I first checked it, seemed impossible with a 3 jaw.
I think I pretty much won the lottery with that chuck. My Sheldon 3 jaw was
about .003 to .004, IIRC, which I believe is pretty normal for a 3 jaw chuck.

I have a 5C chuck very much like it. I took a light cut on the taper, after
setting up my compound so that a dial indicator didn't move as I tracked in
and out, so I had the angle perfect. Just a light cut and the .0015 or so runout
is now about .0003 or so, good enough for my work. I have a D1-5 attachment,
a bit more work to undo 6 locks compared to D1-4. Not familiar with the D1-6,
perhaps just larger?

Bill

 

[Brad]

Google Bill, Google

 

[Brad]

That said I need to get some new cam locks for my lathe spindle. Mine are a bit rough and have a few burrs I don't like. After seeing the quality of what came on the Bison backplate I can see where it matters.

 

[KeithB]

I got mine off Ebay from a company called Ajax Industries in CA. The phone # on my charge slip is 402-935-7733. Cost me $399 shipped. I just checked Ebay again and there were lots of them available for less than $200 with a plain back or with a backplate to fit smaller spindle noses. The chuck with an integral D1-6 back cost a little more than a plain back chuck and then buying (or making) a backplate to fit but it is a little more compact and is ready to go as soon as you screw in the pins.

The cam lock pins on mine had a faint ring machined into the base about an 1/8" from the shoulder, I screwed them into the chuck until that ring was flush with the chuck back. I figured this would be close enough to figure out how much to adjust them in or out to fit properly but darned if they didn't fit perfectly and made for a perfect lockup.

My only complaint is the supplied T-handle wrench is a self-ejecting type with a spring that was so strong that it was just too frustrating to put up with. The scroll has a lot of mechanical leverage and has to be turned a lot to screw a collet in/out. About the third time the wrench shot out of my hands and into the chip tray I took it to the bench vise and did some disassembly work. Much better now! For what it's worth, the wrench is short enough that it can't it the bedways.

A note to purchasers of used lathes. I can tell if a lathe has been used in a trade/technical/HS votech program, it's the one with all the dings in the front bedway right up by the chuck.

 

[Brad]

My chuck wrench also lost the spring. I don't leave the key in the chuck so it isn't an issue. That was the first thing I beat I to my brain. I don't mess around with things that can really hurt me.

I have made a few purchases from Ajax, my soft jaws in 1018 came from them. Price was right and they fit very well.

Looking at some new spindle cams from a place called Macit. Price is right and I hear good things regarding the quality.

 

[Pistolero]

I may have bought mine from the same company, Keith, forget the name, but about the same price. Same damned
wrench with strong spring. I had to do the same thing, too, get rid of it.
You have to turn a LOT of turns to draw in the collet and the spring just about makes it impossible. I did the same thing
on setting the pin height, and the ring was just the right height. I'll bet that D1-6 is a heavy beast. My D1-5 is
plenty heavy and a good bit smaller.

Heck if you leave the key in the chuck it is "self removing"......but not necessarily in a safe direction! Roger on the
bed dings....so far none on this amateur's lathe. None that I put on the Sheldon, either.

I was first taught lathe fundamentals when I was 16 by a recently demobilized USArmy
machinist. He told me several horrific stories about lathe accidents and we used a lathe
dog a couple of time.....now THAT is sobering to watch that beast with a square headed
bolt spinning in a blur..... if you are not scared by that you are pretty dense.

Bill

 

[KeithB]

You have to turn a LOT of turns to draw in the collet and the spring just about makes it impossible.

Exactly!

 

[smokeywolf]

Nice collet chuck Keith. As I recall, Ajax has a good rating on ebay. Pretty sure I've bought from them in the past. The pic of the business end of your lathe looks like a sister to mine; also a D1-6 spindle nose.

I think I learned in my first month on the floor in the MGM Shop, to keep physical contact with the chuck key until I'd removed it from the chuck.

 

[KeithB]

I think I learned in my first month on the floor in the MGM Shop, to keep physical contact with the chuck key until I'd removed it from the chuck.

Yes, I do that when I change parts. I shut off the power completely when I change chucks. My lathe motor runs continuously, it has an electromagnetic clutch to engage the chuck. Wouldn't want to have it engage by accident while I have a strap around the chuck hooked to my crane.

 

[smokeywolf]

Definitely shut off power when changing chucks. Spent a lot of time working alone in a large machine shop. Studio management referred to my shop as "Area 51". My doors were never unlocked. Had I gotten hurt and incapacitated I might have been in rigors by the time someone came looking for me. You learn to study every situation to find ways to minimize risk.

 

[Pistolero]

Yes, to power off.

To power up my lathe, I have a wall switch, then the lathe power emergency shut off button has to be pulled out (armed),
then the power button has to be pushed. Finally, the fwd or reverse lever on the apron has
to be pulled up or down.

All four are off before I remove a chuck.

Chicken.

Bill

 

[Ian]

Not chicken, just a multi-layer margin of safety, same concept as gun safety rules where in the heat of the moment you can break all but one and still avoid a big problem. One of my wife's cousins got sucked through a 10" grain delivery truck auger and a local, very experienced stump grinder acquaintance got completely devoured by one of his own machines, so I'm probably even more paranoid than most around rotating machinery.

 

[Pistolero]

Ewww, Ian. Those sound pretty icky. A friend has a tree trimming business. The chipper
is spooky, big engine, eats 6" oak logs like candy. Yikes.

When I was a teen, I worked on several farms. Saw lots and lots of ways that a person could get
chewed up with various ag machines. Scariest was sharpening the chopper blades on a two row
corn silage chopper. Powered by an independent 100 hp Continental industrial engine running
about 1800 RPM. Open a door to expose the blur of the blades running by. They were like on
the outside of a drum, about a 18" long, 12" drum diam. Flip over a guide bar and use your hand
to draw a captive sharpening stone on the heavy wire guide across the opening, stone
hitting the blades as they blurred by, sparks flying, sounding like an air raid siren with the door open.

Oh, yeah, and you were standing up on a slippery painted steel side of the machine, no platform,
about 6 ft in the air while you did this. OSHA? Don't need no stinking OSHA. This is FARMING
for REAL men....and too many that I knew had missing fingers and more.

Lots more fun stuff, too, PTO shafts with no guards, sickle bar mowers. Made me REALLY sensitive about rotating
machinery safety. Still have all fingers and toes, plan on keeping it that way.

Bill