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Do you lubricate your scroll chuck?

snowshooze

Hot Rolled
Joined
Sep 15, 2010
Location
Anchorage, Alaska, USA
Hi guys;
I am just wondering if there is a better way to go.
I have been using aerosol dry graphite or moly lube such as LPS force 842 in my scroll chucks to keep them smooth, but not attract chips and foul.
I just brought in a tube of tool-mex chuck grease... and was thinking of trying it in the scroll chucks as well as the hydraulics.
Probably a bad idea, but I don't even have an idea what other people do.
I have to clean my scroll chucks all the time. It isn't a big deal, but I am just wondering if I am missing something.
Thanks!
Mark
 
You asked, and yes, I oil the scroll when I'm reassembling jaws after cleaning. I'm not claiming it's the best procedure, just saying it's what I do. The chuck also needs cleaning on what sometimes seems a too frequent schedule. In reality it depends a lot on what kinds of things I've been machining and how much crap has fallen into the cracks. I've toyed with the idea of finding some way of keeping some of that crap out of the scroll but haven't come up with a good useable strategy. I would thing grease is going in the wrong direction - hold more of the chips that might othewise fall or be swept out.
 
yes.

Every few years, or whenever a "bind" is detected, the chuck comes apart. cleaned, and lubed. Some areas get grease (in small qty) the scroll get's "dri-slide" or an equal.
The screws get some oil, And I get the hell out of the way when it first spins up ;-)
 
Back when my 3 jaw was in regular use I did an annual clean-up and in between if I did a dirty job. I mosly used a heavy oil I could wash out of my shiirt. A three jaw doesn't take much for lubrication, It mostly runs idle cranking it in and out to suit the work. It sees a heavy load only at the final cinch when the work is gripped.

If there's a trace of oil present that should do the job as a boundary lube. You have to think the lube for a three jaw chuck as a different problem compared to bearings or gears. A heavy worm or hypoid oil was my notion of a good chuck oil. It's formulated for its film adherence. Moly greases work great too by any way of thinking but remember anything fluid in the chuck will centrifuge out to decorate the left side of your shirt.
 
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I'm mainly running one lathe so I swap chucks more than I'd like. My main chuck is a 10" 3-jaw Bison. I clean the jaws and scroll when it's on the bench and lube with just a little moly grease and way oil. The scroll cleans up with a half-dozen Q-tips; a few more to lube it. The grease and oil do collect chips.

A 10" Bison Set-Tru is a nice work holder. I intend to eek every last bit out of this thing. Cleaning it every so often seems a small price to pay for the comfort of some grease in there. I'm sure Forrest is correct about how it's just that one point where things threaten to grab and gall, but still, it's a definite feel of metal on metal.... give me some grease in there.
 
You asked, and yes, I oil the scroll when I'm reassembling jaws after cleaning. I'm not claiming it's the best procedure, just saying it's what I do. The chuck also needs cleaning on what sometimes seems a too frequent schedule. In reality it depends a lot on what kinds of things I've been machining and how much crap has fallen into the cracks. I've toyed with the idea of finding some way of keeping some of that crap out of the scroll but haven't come up with a good useable strategy. I would thing grease is going in the wrong direction - hold more of the chips that might othewise fall or be swept out.

I use just a bit of way oil. Here's how I keep chips out of the scroll: Chk Chip Grd by Ray Behner | Photobucket
 
Ray, you are continually coming up with good ideas like that. I have been trying to think of a way do do that exact same thing for years. Nice job. SELL THOSE!
 
If I have a job that will generate a lot of chips and doesn't require passing through the bore of the chuck, I just push a Chore-Boy, either the copper or plastic type into the mouth of the chuck. It keeps the chips out of the scroll and once the job is finished it can be removed and cleaned off. It works for me.
 
3-Jaw chuck need more TLC than you might think. For a few months I was turning large
diameter work in my 6" chuck. As time went on it became progressively more difficult to
to move the chuck jaws. Decided to investigate so I numbered each jaw and the slide it
came out of. Took note of which jaw came out of the chuck first, second, the third.

Found metal chips in the scroll of the chuck. I used those pipe cleaners to wipe the scroll clean and remove all the chips and debris from the scroll. Lubricated with a few drops of oil and re-assembled in a reverse sequence. Chuck works good as new.

I learned to use my shop-vac for chuck cleanup using compressed air sparingly.
 
If I have a job that will generate a lot of chips and doesn't require passing through the bore of the chuck, I just push a Chore-Boy, either the copper or plastic type into the mouth of the chuck. It keeps the chips out of the scroll and once the job is finished it can be removed and cleaned off. It works for me.

I just cut a plug of foam sponge material
 
I use an oil for the scroll, sometimes I use a way oil probably not the most correct thing to use but I found using grease on the scroll causes chips to sometimes stick to it and bind the scrolls up. I like oil but Its just what I prefer.
 
Jaws...

Thanks guys for the number of possible solutions I never thought of.
It is so hard to keep the machines up and running, be the salesman, sweeper and bottle washer around here...
Every minute is of value.
Thanks again!
Mark
 
Hi guys;
I am just wondering if there is a better way to go.
I have been using aerosol dry graphite or moly lube such as LPS force 842 in my scroll chucks to keep them smooth, but not attract chips and foul.
I just brought in a tube of tool-mex chuck grease... and was thinking of trying it in the scroll chucks as well as the hydraulics.
Probably a bad idea, but I don't even have an idea what other people do.
I have to clean my scroll chucks all the time. It isn't a big deal, but I am just wondering if I am missing something.
Thanks!
Mark
.
i use no lubricant on a lathe chuck scroll. any thing that would stick and not sling off when turning is a sticky chip magnet and a problem when you want a low tir or concentrically when chucking part
.
i get the smoothest most repeatable tir by only spraying non residue electrical contact cleaner on scroll and rotating scroll to get any oil and coolant to drip off and blow chips off scroll. usually a dry scroll works easier.
.
same with a jacobs type drill chuck. when ever i get a stiff and hard to turn one. i spray the contact cleaner which is basically a evaporating solvent into it and work it back and forth to get any lube to drip out of chuck. i prefer a chuck that moves easy and they move easier when dry with no lubricant
 
Just a side note, and I can’t verify,

A gun nut once told me not to use moly because it attracts moisture, but maybe the different application makes a difference, or he was just pulling my leg.
 
I realize this is an oldish thread, but I'm with several of the others; a chuck needs regular cleaning and maintenance for best performance.

I've taken to fully dismantling, cleaning and reassembling of mine at least once a year- more often if I've been doing a lot of steel or some cast iron.

I smear mine with grease- not a lot, but enough. Yes, it holds chips, but if you regularly clean it, that's not an issue.

Doc.
 
I clean and lube mine with grease. I’m completely with doc, your chuck needs periodic cleaning if your expecting consistency.

The frequency is up to you but no normal chuck will avoid issue without a periodic cleaning imo
 
I grease the hidden part on the back side of the scroll. light oil on the front. That magnetic sign material would make nice slot guards. I need to punch out some buttons of it to put over the oil holes.
Bil lD
 
i do what the manufacturer says: high pressure lube (molykote tp 42 white chuck paste).
 








 
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