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Lathe chuck problem KCM

stde86

Plastic
Joined
Oct 7, 2021
Good evening, just joined the group.

I'm having a problem with a recently purchased lathe chuck. I wanted a quality American made chuck and was having a hard time finding one. That was until i came across Kalamazoo chuck mfg (KCM). I ordered a steel body 6 inch 6 jaw. It cost a fair amount and was excited to finally open my package after waiting almost a month. Everything looked great. That was until i felt the jaws wiggle. Initially i thought maybe it wasnt greased properly. But when i took them out and measured everything up i was disappointed to say the least. the jaws measure .738 all within a few tenths of one another, but the race ways (jaw guide slots) fit a .740 minus pin easily and a .741 minus pin tight. i measured an older buck chuck and the jaws measure up the same (.738) but the races measure tight on a .738 plus pin and wont fit a .739 minus pin. Is this something people have run into before? .002 worth of clearance seems like ALOT of space for something that cost as much as it did and with claims of quality they advertise.
 
More important is whether the jaws grip a straight and round rod evenly along the jaws' gripping surface, so that the rod does not wobble as the chuck rotates. A wobble like that is very hard to correct, and is not corrected by runout adjustment, if the chuck has the Micro Set feature.

Need precision? The correction for wobble is to have two-piece jaws and use soft jaws bored using a jaw loading device like a Rivelica Outlock. And use good quality collets wherever possible.

Larry
 
Knocking a product design feature on one's first PM post

It might be a good follow-up to tell how the chuck runs for run out and wobble. if you have the means to properly test it.

Their claim..
Kalamazoo Chuck Manufacturing and Service Center offers the best American made manual and power chucks and chuck products, known worldwide for unparalleled quality.

KCM chucks are a direct replacement for all name brand chucks and are top quality products with competitive pricing, and on time delivery.

Re: likely they did some research on design and fit, but I never bought one so can't say how good they might be.

RE: Thread: Lathe chuck problem KCM..Even the thread title is in poor taste if the the chuck runs very good.
 
Knocking a product design feature on one's first PM post

It might be a good follow-up to tell how the chuck runs for run out and wobble. if you have the means to properly test it.

Their claim..
Kalamazoo Chuck Manufacturing and Service Center offers the best American made manual and power chucks and chuck products, known worldwide for unparalleled quality.

KCM chucks are a direct replacement for all name brand chucks and are top quality products with competitive pricing, and on time delivery.

Re: likely they did some research on design and fit, but I never bought one so can't say how good they might be.

RE: Thread: Lathe chuck problem KCM..Even the thread title is in poor taste if the the chuck runs very good.

There is no fucking way that's a product design feature. Come on.

Send it back. No way I'd accept a new chuck with 2 thou play in the jaw guides, no matter who made it or where.
 
Seems like that chuck maker is 20+ years old, since 98 according to the internet.
Good to give them a call and make a complaint, see what they say.
Likely they will make good, whatever that might be.
 
What did they say when you called about the problem?

KCM phone numbers
281-664-1020
888 664-1020
It would be fair to the chuck maker to address your concerns.
It would be fair to PM to know what the reply is.

RE: KCM Founded by a former owner of Buck Chuck Company in 1998, Kalamazoo Chuck Manufacturing and Service Center was created. KCM purchased that company and is now your only US source for historical Buck designs and also produces a full line of scroll chucks, independent chucks, power chucks, hard and soft jaws, and a variety of custom work holding products. Today, we offer quality products, technical support, and friendly, Michigan-based customer support.

It seems KCM would hold to original Buck Chuck standards(?).
Buck chucks may now be made overseas (?).

RE (from I net): Not only are Buck Chucks now made in Taiwan, but the Pratt Burnerd chucks listed in the 2006/2007 MSC catalog, such as item# 08573289 (made in UK) have been discontinued. The new MSC item# is 85029205 and they're made in China now too!

It looks like the Buck chuck 89186845 is china made.
 
I would send it back , i have sent them back before. The jaws should be tight or they will wear out that much faster.
 
There should be a follow-up post by the one post person.
-send it back.
-report what the company said.

Or I will begin to believe this may be a spam/ fiction post by a one-post person.

re:KCM phone numbers
281-664-1020
888 664-1020
It would be fair to the chuck maker to address your concerns.
It would be fair to PM to know what the reply is.
 
There should be a follow-up post by the one post person.
-send it back.
-report what the company said.

Or I will begin to believe this may be a spam/ fiction post by a one-post person.

re:KCM phone numbers
281-664-1020
888 664-1020
It would be fair to the chuck maker to address your concerns.
It would be fair to PM to know what the reply is.

I searched PM when this thread was started, and going back to the early 2k's there have been a good number of posts about poor quality from Kalamazoo, and very few to the contrary, hence why I tend to believe OP's claims.

Going by said search results, it seems unlikely that much of anything, if anything, with that brand name on it is actually made in the US.

Not sure why you are being so defensive about it...
 
qt: [Not sure why you are being so defensive about it...]
Because they claim .0005 repeatability in their catalog.
they claim good quality.
I would like to see a successful USA company in making lathe chucks.
and I have not seen PM posts about poor quality.
Perhaps PM guys who have bought a new one might chime in on this thread.

Still, I am not in need of a chuck so likely not get a chance to prove good or bad.

*I think it odd the Op has not called them.

I guess I could call them and ask about their jaw fit limits are.
 
qt: [Not sure why you are being so defensive about it...]
Because they claim .0005 repeatability in their catalog.
they claim good quality.
I would like to see a successful USA company in making lathe chucks.
and I have not seen PM posts about poor quality.
Perhaps PM guys who have bought a new one might chime in on this thread.

Still, I am not in need of a chuck so likely not get a chance to prove good or bad.

*I think it odd the Op has not called them.

I guess I could call them and ask about their jaw fit limits are.

Fair enough I suppose.

I would also "like to see a successful USA company in making lathe chucks."

I would like to see it here in the UK too.

However, when in the market for a new chuck we must accept reality and buy something from eastern europe/korea/taiwan - if we want to receive something usable that wasn't cast out of melted old tins somewhere in india and chiselled into something resembling a chuck...
 








 
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