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Drill chucks for Bridgeport

NJC

Plastic
Joined
Dec 12, 2008
Location
Vancouver BC
After I recently broke my Jacobs 34-33 while rebuilding, I'm in the market for a keyed and keyless chuck (R8 installation on mill).

My local supplier suggested a Rohm keyless for $170 ... the Albrecht's are $550 (CDN). :willy_nilly:

I'm suspect of LFA, Rohm and Jacobs (now that I know all is Chinese made).

I would appreciate suggestions for good quality keyed/ keyless. I do power tap on the mill so would need keyed. Quality is my primary concern.
 
The quickest way to shear the key in a R8 spindle is with a drill chuck....

The last batch of Jacobs Chucks that I ordered were POS......

Chinese , Taiwanese , German etc....... find one that fits your application if its a POS , tell the rest of us so we can avoid that brand.....


I was looking at these for the next go around......

South Bend Lathe Co.
 
Albrecht 1-13 keyless.
Jacobs 34-33.

Have both. Use the Jacobs more. Made in USA of course. Don't like keyless chucks, even on a cordless drill.

If you describe something as POS, that is NEI or TGT or OOA or BSBCA.

NEI - Not Enough Information
TGAT - Too General a Term
OOA - Out Of Anger
BSBCA - Been Screwed By C***KS Again

(550 is too much for a little drill chuck)

Western Tool 34-33 price is $101.
 
We have 3 Albrechts that chuck up to just over .500" on R-8, we have run the hell out of these chucks.
This winter we had one that seemed to be a little hard to turn, ordered up a rebuild kit and took it apart.
The jaws were still in perfect condition only changed out the hardened steel balls. A little lube and its ready to go another 10 years. We have a couple of Albrechts on another machine that we picked up back in the early days of e-bay , new in boxes 110.00 each, shop around there out there.
 
Can't give a good suggestion, just chiming in to state once again, I WILL NEVER, EVER BUY ANOTHER JACOBS CHUCK, IN THIS LIFETIME OR THE NEXT. I had Jacobs foist one of their first Chicom made chucks on me... not only are the chucks garbage, but the company treats you like garbage when you complain they fall apart.

Dennis
 
I have had good luck buying old, USA made Jacobs chucks on ebay.

I have two Jacobs 14N super chucks, both made in USA bought used. Both have given me excellent service.

Also have a larger Jacobs, bought used, but haven't used it yet. It's a 5/8, but not a super.

Have an Albrect, but rarely use it. It is a very nicely made unit.

Steve
 
Drill Chucks - Industrial Keyed Drill Chucks - YUKIWA SEIKO USA INC.

LFA and Rohm may have some chinese low-end stuff , but that doesn't mean everything they sell is chinese.

i have european LFA and Rohm chucks which are very good tools.

I have the LFA Super (83S-6A) chuck on my lathe - made in France. It's been decent, but has considerable play in the sleeve. It doesn't give me a sense of fine craftsmanship.

The keyless 33JT mount Rohm / LFA are about the same price at KBC - $~170.

YUKIWA SEIKO USA INC also looks interesting - haven't seen a local supplier though.
 
I second the Albrecht with an R8 arbor recommendation. I had one rebuilt once. They did a great job. Maybe an Ebay unit and a rebuild kit? They are a very long term investment. You may never buy a replacement. And they really center well!

Cheers,
Michael
 
I can't say anything about the Albrecht, but I purchased a Rohm 1/2", key style chuck for my, then new, drill press a couple of years ago. It is marked as made in Germany.

I recently did some runout checks on that chuck and the unmarked, unbranded 20mm key style chuck that came with the drill press. Both are mounted with MT adapters. The unbranded one seems to actually be better.

With the drill chucks I took two measurements, one while rotating the spindle at the pulley and the other with the spindle still, but applying moderate, sideways pressure to the drill rod.

Runout measurements:

Spindle, above the chuck: < +/- 0.001" (measured twice at 90 degree positions)

Using a length of 1/2" drill rod:

Near the chuck:
Rohm 1/2": Rotating: +/-0.002" / Pressure: +/-0.002"
No Name 20mm: Rotating: +/-0.010" / Pressure: +/-0.004"

About 5" below the chuck:
Rohm 1/2": Rotating: +/-0.002" / Pressure: +/-0.002"
No Name 20mm: Rotating: +/-0.006" / Pressure: +/-0.0025"

Each of these measurements were taken with the drill rod in two positions in the chucks, about 120 degrees apart. And yes, the numbers did change. I am reporting the largest of the two readings above.

As you can see, the no-name chuck is actually better than the Rohm. The difference seems to be at the position 5" below the chuck jaws and this would be indicative of the angle of the jaw faces that grip the drill. Of course, the cutting edges of the drills will be a distance below the chuck, not just below it.

I purchased the Rohm chuck because the no-name, 20mm one would not hold small drills, like 1/8" and I use it most of the time. I only mount the 20mm one for drills larger than 1/2". Both of them are just fine for 99.9% of any holes I may ever want to drill.

I do not have any keyless chucks, not yet anyway.
 
Short version:
If you want a keyless chuck get an Albrecht. If you want one cheaper get a used Albrecht here on the forums and then put new jaws in it. You'll still be <$200.

Long version:
I've tried a few on my Bridgeport (home) as well as the ones at current and former employers:

Old keyed Jacobs, good, but good luck finding one.

New keyed Jacobs, no experience, but I haven't heard good things.

Keyless Jacobs. This one came in a pile with some other stuff I wanted. As above, never again. Not great to begin with, but it needs jaws. When I called Jacobs after 30 minutes of run around they told me they don't make jaws for that model but I'm welcome to buy a new one.

New LFA keyed, have one in a lathe tailstock at work on the advice of our local machinery supplier. Drill bits slip in it even tightened down hard. Poor fit/finish even compared to "Golden Goose" on import drill presses.

New LFA keyless, better than the keyed, but not in the same league as Albrecht. I've seen it drop drill bits I swear were tight on at least two occasions. Messes with some of the new guys when they use drill bits that have flats because the jaws rotate as you tighten/loosen it. Not sure why they can't get used to this. Came to us mounted on an R8 arbor (this may be the machinery dealer's fault), something like 0.005" runout at 1". It also slips ever now and then instead of digging in more. Sometimes hard to loosen by hand even though we never put more than a 1/2" drill bit in it.

Used Albrecht keyless. I bought here on the forums for use at home, far nicer/smoother than the new LFA at work. Has a bit of runout (on par with the new LFA), but I've taken it apart and it's because the jaws are worn. For my uses it isn't a big deal so I've just put up with it. I do wish I'd gotten one of these for work.
 
I bought a Chinese Jacobs ~5yrs ago ... crunchy movement right out of the box so back to the store. What a disappointment.


They look very good .. never knew South Bend was in the chuck business.

Hello all, reading this post saw the “South Bend” drill chuck link and the product does appear quality. Does anyone here have any first hand experience with “South Bend” drill chucks? Quality, pricing, country of manufacture would be beneficial to know. The last drill chuck I purchased was a Rohm, stamped made in Germany. This chuck was a utility, non ball bearing type. I’ve found the Rohm to be accurate, and function well, although its movements are far from smooth. The last Jacobs I bought didn’t seem worth the price, and it’s most likely the last imported Jacobs I’ll buy.
 
The (4) Jacobs 18N BB were junk out of the box...

The (3) Jacobs keyless with shank were perfect....

The keyless were so good that one grew legs ........

I'm guessing the 18N a was Chinese and the others made by someone who knew how to make a quality tool...

I think SB is made in Taiwan.....
 








 
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