South Bend 4 Jaw Chuck Surprise

Being on top of things with laser like precision the way I am, I happened to accidentally notice a 2 week old answering machine message from the super cool gentleman that sold me my 13” South Bend lathe at very reasonable price.

His call of a half month prior was to inform me that my machine’s original 4 Jaw Chuck had surfaced among the manufacturing plant’s arsenal of miscellaneous tooling, and he wanted me to have it.

First there was joy, then there was a pang of fear and regret the likes of which can only be precipitated when you are sure something awesome has just slipped through your fingers because you’re a complete and utter bonehead.

I was convinced that after two whole weeks of not hearing back from me he must have surely sold, given away, or maybe even.. (gulp) scrapped the chuck, but I called him.

I had to have sounded worried, because he just laughed and said, “I figured you’d turn up sooner or later. Come and get your chuck.” And so it I did!

It might not be a big deal to anyone else, but I honestly didn’t think I would be able to scrape together the dough to get a 4 jaw for maybe another 6-8 months, or even a year, and here one came out of the blue for free all because of someone who is not only generous and patient, but also of the mind to want to keep the chuck with the machine it belonged to.

For these qualities in a person (and the chuck), not only I am grateful, but I’m also inspired to be more of that kind of person myself.

Thanks

Good deal. Mine was also very generously given to me by a PM member, pretty sure its the same chuck too. Its definitely seen use but its still got life in it, and I've made use of it more than once. One of these days I need to make some new jaw screws though. Its in good shape otherwise but about 1/2 the thread thickness on the screws is gone.

There is still some good in this world. Pay it forward brother.

Somehow it happened again.

It started with an out of the blue email from the amazing gentleman I bought my 13” South Bend lathe from. The very same amazing gentleman that months later floored me with an additional 4 jaw chuck mentioned and pictured above.

The email of a few days ago led to a quick phone call in which I was delighted to learn that an extra set of jaws for my machine’s chuck had been unearthed, and they were mine should I decide to show up to get them.

As I'm sure you can imagine this great bit of extra chuck jaw luck made me happy all week long as I looked forward to making the journey to pick them up.

As planned, I made the trek to gratefully claim this wonderful little useful gift, but things went North in a real hurry.

Yes, there were in fact a set of 3 extra jaws waiting in a box there for me when I arrived, but so too was a lifetime supply of HSS ground cutters and blanks, a few boring bars or internal threading tools, another chuck key, and even some lathe dogs!

My mouth hit the floor when I saw the old dust covered wooden screw crate of beautiful tool steel, and bits and pieces of random tooling. It was like seeing a treasure chest!

If not for the experience of the 4 jaw chuck surprise as a primer, and then the extra jaws and crate of HHS to kind of numb my senses, well… I might have went on to a better place yesterday afternoon when this fine gentlemen opened a metal box, and very casually said, “And here’s this collet chuck, and collets too. Enjoy.”

Perhaps comforting to note, if I would died right then and there, the last thing I would have seen was a Hardinge lathe.

Somehow I did actually manage to survive, and the gentlemen who bestowed these wonderful gifts on me also made it through the experience without being hugged by an overwhelmed stranger -which with all things considered I'm sure he is pretty happy about.

I traveled home yesterday afternoon in a hybrid mix of shock and joy, humbled and blown away at every passing mile by total next-level thoughtfulness and generosity.

Wow!

Thanks

My experience after 45 years in the business, you will get a chance to pay it forward at some point. Make sure you take the time to do it. Karma will catch up with you.

In the Same Vein....

I was out degreasing the '63 Heavy 10L that Fred gave me and decided to have a look at the 3-jaw chuck that came with it. I wasn't expecting much. First, I was surprised and pleased to see that it had bolt-on, reversible top jaws. Then, as I rotated the chuck, I noticed it had four numbered socket screws around the periphery. IT'S A BUCK TRU-ADJUST!

Now, if someone will just throw a 4-jaw my direction....