What's new
What's new

Can lathe jaws be re-machined & if so , who does this kind of work.

THEJKSHOW

Plastic
Joined
Sep 14, 2019
I have a 3 jaw chuck with a master jaw set. It's a decent chuck. I have one set of jaws that are used quite often ,but were damaged (jaw faces) by the previous owner. I know this chuck & replacement jaws are obsolete. So my question is ....... Is it normal practice to remachine the jaws of a chuck ,and if so who does this type of work ?? I only have a lathe in my shop. Thanks 🙂🙂
 
yes and not so much. if the jaws are boogered, you can bore them if they're braced in a spider. if the scroll is sprung or
warped, then the chuck is fucked. you can feasibly bore to a specific diameter.but it will be off at other settings.
 
I have a 3 jaw chuck with a master jaw set. It's a decent chuck. I have one set of jaws that are used quite often ,but were damaged (jaw faces) by the previous owner. I know this chuck & replacement jaws are obsolete. So my question is ....... Is it normal practice to remachine the jaws of a chuck ,and if so who does this type of work ?? I only have a lathe in my shop. Thanks ����

"Master jaw" implies two-piece, eg with "top" jaws, hard, soft, or custom fixtured, pie. pins, claws or the like.

What do you actually have, what make, what age, what size?

Larger chucks are "usually" worth the substantial price of a rebuild as new ones are quite dear. 16" and up, for example. Non-scroll wedge, cone, or balanced lever POWER operated chucks even more so, even small ones. More expensive, too, of course.

"Top" jaws are still made for most every standard as has ever existed. Two dozen or so, per the old ladner.fr catalog and similar speciality houses in Spain who cover US, European, Japanese, etc. Some are easy to DIY, others not so much.

If NOT "two piece" and/or 10" or UNDER?

Jaws are only one of MANY parts of a chuck that wear or sustain damage.

It is nearly always less cost to buy all-new and relegate the worn/damaged chuck to whatever work it can still handle - even if that is a bench fixture, a dividing head, a grinder's fixture, or a welding turntable.

All of those are low/no rotational load, and can live with a shim or two under a jaw tip, so not "useless", just not useful as often. They make lousy doorstops or boat-anchors anyway, so may as well find work for them.

If you have NO 4-J independent, they can be MUCH cheaper, new or used because YOU not just the metal, get to determine where a jaw or tip is, so can compensate easily. I have several superbly made, new/NOS 6" & 7 1/4" 4-J, for example, my "handiest" size.

For the rarely used, few times in a whole YEAR, or not EVEN once a year sizes, "San Ou" Chinese bought NEW are good enough. But only in 4-J where I don't need to depend on a built-in scroll for accuracy.

3-J or 6-J scroll "self OFF centering" have to be "right" and also set tru, tru-adjust, or such, 'coz if nothing else, the scroll can pick up localized damage as affects accuracy even if jaws are OK or have been trued-up.

Dozen chucks worth.... or thereabouts. Too lazy to count them, actually.

:D
 
I have a 3 jaw chuck with a master jaw set. It's a decent chuck. I have one set of jaws that are used quite often ,but were damaged (jaw faces) by the previous owner. I know this chuck & replacement jaws are obsolete. So my question is ....... Is it normal practice to remachine the jaws of a chuck ,and if so who does this type of work ?? I only have a lathe in my shop. Thanks ����

If its just the face of the jaws then just hard turn them in place. Don't forget to bite down on a piece of stock while facing the jaws. CBN is ideal but cermet or ceramic will work.

Several times I have bought boogered up Kitagawa hard jaws for pocket change and quickly tuned them up on the surface grinder.
 
Thanks for all the info. I have a 8-1/2'" cva branded english made 3-jaw chuck. The chuck itself is not damaged , just 1 set of the jaws. I have 2 sets & they are just the typical 1 piece type. The "top" jaws (or "inners" set , i call) are the ones that have been abused. Looks like when they were turning , they didn't tighten the chuck tight enough. The other set (i call the "outers") is fine.
 
Thanks for all the info. I have a 8-1/2'" cva branded english made 3-jaw chuck. The chuck itself is not damaged , just 1 set of the jaws. I have 2 sets & they are just the typical 1 piece type. The "top" jaws (or "inners" set , i call) are the ones that have been abused. Looks like when they were turning , they didn't tighten the chuck tight enough. The other set (i call the "outers") is fine.

OK. Good maker, Even if they prolly bought 'em "house branded" from Pratt or one of the other top-end UK houses, of which there usta bee several, their era.

"Proper nomenclature" issue:

Whatcha seem to have are the classical "reverse" and "normal" one-piece each, six item total set, three each way.

Those cover two directions by fully removing, swapping to the other set as point their "steps" the other way. That doesn't sound like "master" in the body (which do NOT touch the work..) and bolt-on "top" as the second piece - which DO grip the work. Only the tops unbolt to be reversed OR replaced with another style - no need to remove the "master" jaw carriers?

Clarify which, please?

Presuming "solid" jaws, read-up on the tensioning ring kits. Trueing HARD jaws on the lathe is not as easy as first seems. Can be a tail-chasing pain in the ASS.

Folks who CAN do, mill or grind, OFF lathe, just as the OEM makers did, counter dead-nuts TIR as it might sound.

What lathe and spindle snout are yah mounted to? Can you get backplates for it? And where are you located in Virgin-inyah?
 
Inners/outers have nothing to do with masters and top jaws. Image is typical bolt on hard top jaw. I would imagine these are regularly fixed (or replaced) as needed

Top Jaws.jpg
 
Yes va. Lathe is a "ensign" (i guess also called wilson ,or elliot brand). I have a 3 & 4 jaw , a very large faceplate ,as well as a dog driver w/ center chuck for this thing. It's really clean & really accurate. I've had & used this machine for 21 yrs. Now. Just last year i put a new dorian qctp on it. I had had no luck finding "cva" jaws to replace these that are messed up. So that's why i was asking if they could be re-machined some how. Thanks guys
 
Inners/outers have nothing to do with masters and top jaws. Image is typical bolt on hard top jaw. I would imagine these are regularly fixed (or replaced) as needed

View attachment 276468

ACK. OEM on a Cazeneuve HBX-360-BC is a French-made "Handy" 8" (or metric-close-to) 3-Jaw scroll with 2-piece jaws.

Uses one of the common standards shared with US practice for single rectangular rib for keying. LOTS of jaw sources for those.

I need to pull the proprietary Cazeneuve backplate off it that will mount another lovely NOS SCA 7 1/4" forged in good Swedish steel.., those have all four jaws.

;)

Flat-back "Handy" 3-jaw plus a backplate should then fit HIS lathe.

SOMEbody has to run 3-jaw scrolls or eat Chik'n paws, right?

I am not he.
 
Yes va. Lathe is a "ensign" (i guess also called wilson ,or elliot brand). I have a 3 & 4 jaw , a very large faceplate ,as well as a dog driver w/ center chuck for this thing. It's really clean & really accurate. I've had & used this machine for 21 yrs. Now. Just last year i put a new dorian qctp on it. I had had no luck finding "cva" jaws to replace these that are messed up. So that's why i was asking if they could be re-machined some how. Thanks guys

Elliot were decent makers.

See other post. 8-incher, two-piece jaws. Common tops, widely stocked. Off my Cazeneuve. You'll LOVE the price!

Use the PM email feature to contact me with a ship-to and go hunt you a backplate for your spindle.

I can tolerate a 2-J scroll (Hardinge and UK IIRC, so Pratt-Burnerd maybe?) and 6-J scroll (Gator, forged steel model), but having a 3-J scroll "'prentice chuck" under MY roof is causing my remaining teeth to fall out off the sheer shame of it.

:)
 
000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000.jpg000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000.jpg so here's what my machine actually looks like. The spindle has a large taper with a threaded nut to accept the chuck (chucks). Not sure what that taper attachment ,or taper is specifically called ??
 
Elliot were decent makers.

See other post. 8-incher, two-piece jaws. Common tops, widely stocked. Off my Cazeneuve. You'll LOVE the price!

Use the PM email feature to contact me with a ship-to and go hunt you a backplate for your spindle.

I can tolerate a 2-J scroll (Hardinge and UK IIRC, so Pratt-Burnerd maybe?) and 6-J scroll (Gator, forged steel model), but having a 3-J scroll "'prentice chuck" under MY roof is causing my remaining teeth to fall out off the sheer shame of it.

:)

TRIED TO SEND YOU A PM ,BUT IT SAYS ..........
  • thermite has exceeded their stored private messages quota and cannot accept further messages until they clear some space.
 
View attachment 276507View attachment 276508 so here's what my machine actually looks like. The spindle has a large taper with a threaded nut to accept the chuck (chucks). Not sure what that taper attachment ,or taper is specifically called ??

That's the classical American Standard "long taper", keyed. Size is "L0", presuming Tony's lathes.co.uk has it right.

Not hard to check, the specs are published. Here's one of the several places:

Lathe Spindle Nose Mounting Identification Chart

Many "Large & Shapely" used the same scheme, more than one size. Backplates are not uncommon.

PS: My PM-PM mailbox is ALWAYS full.

Click the user ID, select "send email".. or respond BY your email - NOT by "PM" - to the one I sent to you.
 
TRIED TO SEND YOU A PM ,BUT IT SAYS ..........
  • thermite has exceeded their stored private messages quota and cannot accept further messages until they clear some space.

I KEEP it full. Use the "send email" choice under the USERID click. Not the "Private Message" choice.

Or send directly:

[email protected]

My quota is ever so "slightly" more than 50 messages, total, on the server in the old Swisscom bunker in Zurich, CH.

ISTR it was a full Terabyte on the HKG server, but that one only served the late Chairman of AS Watson and myself and our respective wives (same, basically, Conducive Group (Asia) Limited) so with just four users.....

:D
 
I once resurrected a small 3-jaw chuck. I converted the jaws from regular jaws to jaws accepting soft jaws. I heated the jaws in a gas furnace at 1,200 degrees for about half an hour, then turned the gas off and allowed the jaws to cool off naturally in the furnace.

The result was that they could be machined with normal HSS tooling, although it was evident that they retained some of their hardness. I did not re-harden them after I was done machining them to accept soft jaws. I was pleased with the result.
 
Pleased to report the 8" "Handy" 3-jaw with two-piece jaws was was dispatched to JK earlier today, medium FRB, hand built plywood inner crate to prevent the forged chrome-nickel alloy bugger from escaping and destroying postal service property enroute.

My dime.

Some of us will walk a lot more than a "country mile" to keep a record intact of "Just NOT" using a 3-jaw scroll chuck since having twigged to their general uselessness vs a proper 4-J independent, 1959/60.. Jr HS.

I'm smiling.

I wish him well, but JK is on his own!!!

:D
 
pleased to report the 8" "handy" 3-jaw with two-piece jaws was was dispatched to jk earlier today, medium frb, hand built plywood inner crate to prevent the forged chrome-nickel alloy bugger from escaping and destroying postal service property enroute.

My dime.

Some of us will walk a lot more than a "country mile" to keep a record intact of "just not" using a 3-jaw scroll chuck since having twigged to their general uselessness vs a proper 4-j independent, 1959/60.. Jr hs.

I'm smiling.

I wish him well, but jk is on his own!!!

:d

can't thank you enough bill !!! You have been a great help to me !!! THANK YOU MY FRIEND :Ithankyou::bowdown::bowdown::cheers:
 








 
Back
Top