I have a chance to buy a 6" suburban chuck with a 5 c mounts for a great price. My question is how useful are they in a shop. I'm not sure on the holding power,to be able to mount to lathe and take cuts. Are they made for cutting forces or just light grinding? Thoughts appreciated thanks.
Follow along with the video below to see how to install our site as a web app on your home screen.
Note: This feature may not be available in some browsers.
Largest Manufacturing Technology Community on the Web
Stay Connected:
Magnetic chuck uses
- Thread starter Cadillac
- Start date
- Replies 21
- Views 6,478
plastikdreams
Diamond
- Joined
- May 31, 2011
- Location
- upstate nj
They are made for grinding and very light milling...mounting one on a lathe is just asking for a darwin award.
Monarchist
Diamond
- Joined
- Oct 2, 2012
- Location
- Sol, Terra
What Plastik said, mostly.
My ~ 6" Hardinge-branded, Walker-made allegedly grips at over 700 lbs. Allegedly.
You understand magnetism and air-gaps or imperfect surfaces?
Least gap, the force is still trying, the friction GRIP it makes use of has GONE. Darwin Awards can't pay your bills.
In practice, it will only ever be utilized for far less than 100% of the many alloys of Iron. Useless for the Bronzes and many Stainless alloys. I avoid Aluminium like a bad rash. Plenty of better men already cover any need for the working of that.
Even then, only for on-lathe low-load grinding or polishing. And I do NOT like to grind on a lathe if it can be avoided. That said, it requires less floorspace than even a tiny surface grinder. Provides for inverted Blanchard'ish possibilities, writ small, if you will.
Special use item. Your call if you even have such uses. I do not, really. Just one more tool-whore.
Zahnrad Kopf
Diamond
- Joined
- Apr 5, 2010
- Location
- Tropic of Milwaukee
If you do pass on it, please consider letting me know as I am right in the middle of piecing one together for a grinding op and would love to save the time and just purchase one if it is as reasonably priced as you imply. Thanks.
My biggest problem is I am a tool whore. I usually end up buying a tool after suffering through a job without the desired tool. Then they sit. But I'm a firm believer in the right tool for the job pays.
I haven't done any grinding yet but am in the process of building a tool post grinder. Love the fine finishes and tolerances. Have been wanting a surface grinder but floor space is limited and time to learn a new trade is limited also.
Price was 250 for the chuck I was hoping to get him down I know he's been trying to get rid of it for a year now and he has some nice angle plates I would try to work into the deal.
I haven't done any grinding yet but am in the process of building a tool post grinder. Love the fine finishes and tolerances. Have been wanting a surface grinder but floor space is limited and time to learn a new trade is limited also.
Price was 250 for the chuck I was hoping to get him down I know he's been trying to get rid of it for a year now and he has some nice angle plates I would try to work into the deal.
Monarchist
Diamond
- Joined
- Oct 2, 2012
- Location
- Sol, Terra
Ha! "Funny you should mention that".
Grinding I could wish I had done less of, actually. nonetheless, a DIY TP Grinder has been on my RTWL for 40 years or more.
That sort of 'success record' (NOT!) I finally purchased a nearly pristine McGonegal J-35, and two "Precise" in better than average condition - all priced accordingly and in good running order. Even found affordable new collets for the "Precise" models. I have lost headcount on just how many air-power grinding gadgets are under-roof.
If not hard-limited on skill? I certainly found myself harder-limited, yet, on time than I had become on funds. Mind, I was not as affluent when projects of that sort went ONTO my to-do lists. One adjusts. Or should do.
I'd struggle to even match a McGonegal. Duplicating a "Precise" is well above any pay-grade I have ever held. Better to not even think about those.
Spyderedge
Titanium
- Joined
- Aug 28, 2013
- Location
- NY
Stefan Gotteswinter uses one very regurarly on his lathe with impressive a results and has proven to be much more useful than you'd think. Need to face off a washer? No problem, and no boring soft jaws. Also great for holding large diameter disks without them bowing outwards like a chuck would do.
I'd say pick it up, and just keep in mind that yes, surface finish of the chuck and part do have an affect on holding power.
Sent from my XT1053 using Tapatalk
I'd say pick it up, and just keep in mind that yes, surface finish of the chuck and part do have an affect on holding power.
Sent from my XT1053 using Tapatalk
Zahnrad Kopf
Diamond
- Joined
- Apr 5, 2010
- Location
- Tropic of Milwaukee
I'll shoot you an email through the forum. Thanks.
John Welden
Diamond
- Joined
- Mar 21, 2009
- Location
- Seattle
I've used mag chucks on the lathe. They're safe if you're not stupid about it.
If you're a hobby dude with no money, I'd probably just super glue or double stick tape.
If you're a hobby dude with no money, I'd probably just super glue or double stick tape.
Screwmachine
Titanium
- Joined
- Mar 8, 2001
- Location
- Switzerland
Sometimes I superglue parts to a steel disc that I hold on the mag chuck in the lathe. The nice thing there is with the magnet partially on you can bump it dead nuts true even if you're centering up an oddball or tiny feature (tailstock microscope helps here).
Monarchist
Diamond
- Joined
- Oct 2, 2012
- Location
- Sol, Terra
Thanks for that!
I love pirating good ideas from the Swiss. Not just 'coz they are clever. Because I know you mercenary lot would charge the very Earth for them if you hadn't already given them away free as loss-leaders..
These will be SWISS TS microscopes, no?
John Welden
Diamond
- Joined
- Mar 21, 2009
- Location
- Seattle
I never thought of doing that. Good idea.
Zahnrad Kopf
Diamond
- Joined
- Apr 5, 2010
- Location
- Tropic of Milwaukee
We actually use stupidglue a fair amount. From WEDM to grinding...
From WEDM to grinding...
Screwmachine
Titanium
- Joined
- Mar 8, 2001
- Location
- Switzerland
I think mine is Isoma- but the cool thing about using optics to center up face plate type work on a lathe is you really don't need anything fancy. Any 15-30ish power scope with at least one cross hair in the reticle and you can sit it on a cardboard V if you want, you just need to get the crosshair near the feature that needs to be centered, your eye/brain does the rest. At 30x you're in 2-3 micron territory as far as what jumps out as eccentric visually.Thanks for that!
I love pirating good ideas from the Swiss. Not just 'coz they are clever. Because I know you mercenary lot would charge the very Earth for them if you hadn't already given them away free as loss-leaders..
These will be SWISS TS microscopes, no?
Ray Behner
Diamond
- Joined
- Mar 27, 2009
- Location
- Brunswick Oh USA
Like John says, quite safe if you use your head. I've got an 8" mag. chuck that I use for making steel shims for a printing company and thin saw blade bushings. Some are 10" in dia. so I shrunk an 11" disk of al. on the chuck. Helps a bunch. I use a small ball bearing mounted to a piece of stock to center the part. Plus it has a 22mm hole in it that I use sometimes. Just make a bushing to fit a 22mm pin. Click the pic for another shot.
split tenth
Hot Rolled
- Joined
- Sep 19, 2007
- Location
- mesa arizona
Block it in, block it ln, block it in. I won't touch a part on the grinder without blocking it in.Try to pull it off with your hands, you will get a good idea of how safe the setup is.
"I haven't done any grinding yet but am in the process of building a tool post grinder. Love the fine finishes and tolerances"
A toolpost grinder won't be any more accurate than any other tool on a lathe. A grinding wheel carries no magic with it. Your accuracy is in the ways of the machine.It is still the same lathe, not a grinding machine.
A toolpost grinder won't be any more accurate than any other tool on a lathe. A grinding wheel carries no magic with it. Your accuracy is in the ways of the machine.It is still the same lathe, not a grinding machine.
L Vanice
Diamond
- Joined
- Feb 8, 2006
- Location
- Fort Wayne, IN
All of which reminded me that I have a Charmilles (Isoma?) 2 MT shank Swiss centering scope for sale. Here is the new link.
http://www.practicalmachinist.com/v...-mt-shank-centering-scope-331441/#post2923207
Larry
John Welden
Diamond
- Joined
- Mar 21, 2009
- Location
- Seattle
Another technique is to not take too big of a cut. Then the part doesn't fly off.
