4 jaw Self centering chuck recommendations please

I find the quickest way, is to use a plunger DTI, held horizontally in the toolpost; mainly because they tend to be available with a longer throw than lever type ones. (also when I only had the one clock, it had to be pressed into multiple duties)

A good quick project is to make a second chuck key, which in conjunction with a DTI in the horizontal plane, makes setting up a doddle, as you have access to both of a pair of opposing jaws at the same time.

Bill

I've been eyeing these up already. Am I correct to assume from the prices that the Chinese chucks are a better quality than the Indian ones?

I have a plunger type dti on the way, but also have access to a lever model from school until I buy my own...

Cheers

Aled

General feeling is that the Zither Indian Chucks are better but ARC now only have the small ones in stock as the factory has a very long lead time and can't keep up with demand.

What size independant are you looking for? 160mm would be better and the Boxford can take that size.

Edited By JasonB on 05/09/2019 06:57:50

When i spoke to ARC a while back about the Chinese v Indian chucks they said the Indian chucks that had been reduced were a better choice & better made than the Chinese chucks they had.

The Indian 'Zither' made chucks were/are better than the Chinese ones which ARC sells. However, at time of earlier discussion with Jason, Zither were quoting long lead times, and later they decided to stop production on smaller sizes, concentrating instead on 160mm+ sizes for which they have large orders. As a result, ARC is slowly clearing the Zither stock it has.

ARC has also reduced prices for its Chinese chucks, sourced from two different Chinese factories. Once this stock is cleared (don't know when), a new range will be offered.

Ketan at ARC.

I had one of the ARC Chinese 100mm 4 jaw independent chucks for the mini lathe and I found that a nice chuck, the current price for the 125mm independent I would think is a bargain.

I have found of late that I use the 4 jaw more and more even for work that you would normally put into the 3 jaw. I know some find setting up the 4 jaw a hassle but I quite enjoy setting it up and it doesnt take that long when you think about it.

It is common for a four jaw independent chuck on a lathe to be a little larger than scroll types used on the same machine. Check the swing of your lathe, a four jaw independent that has about 1 1/2" clearance from the ways would be a good size.

Thanks, I've been offered a "really nice" 160mm Burnered 4 jaw independant chuck, it's more money than i wanted to pay for one, but being a quality brand I may just go for it...

As long as the screws are not cracked where the key fits, and the jaws are a good fit, a Bernerd is worth more than the average chuck. At the moment, 160mm backplates are in short supply, but if that chuck has front mount holes on a pcd about half the overall diameter, then it can be fitted to a 125mm backplate easily.

Thanks, I'll keep looking as the one I had my eye on turned out to be too expensive once I'd added the dreaded VAT and shipping.

Bernerd, Pratt, Pratt Bernerd, Bison, Toolmex, TOS and Vertex are the better makes, at a price, Chinese vary from poor to excellent, its a lottery with them. I just bought a 160mm three jaw scroll chuck which was unused, and it is very good indeed, when I took it apart to clean it I found that the scroll is a better fit on its bearing then any of the other chucks I have. It runs 0.002" tir at any opening. I took a chance on it, as it was cheap and got lucky.