Which chuck

[sandking]

I have a Jet Mini lathe. I would like to buy a chuck for the tailstock. I will be using a fostner bit to drill out the back of my bottle stoppers to glue in a coin and other functions.

I also have a Craft Supply gift certificate to use.

My question is would you recommend a keyless chuck or keyed chuck. The price difference really isn't a problem. I'm new to turning to seeking advice.

 

[alxe24]

I'd go with keyless faster and less things to loose.

 

[jjenk02]

Ditto

 

[Randy_]

I don't know what the answer is; but consider the following. Since you aren't likely to be change your bits 20 or 30 times a session, it doesn't seem like speed of operation would be a major consideration?

I have a keyless chuck on my hand drill and it will slip occasionally if I don't get the chuck tight or use a big bit in really tough material. Since you will be using a Forstner bit in end grain, the resistance to drilling is likely to be fairly high. I wonder if using a keyed chuck will be a better way of assuring that it is closed as tightly as possible??

 

[Mikey]

I would also use a keyed check as the forstner bit will most likely slip in a keyless chuck. If you are worried about losing it, why not spray it yellow or dip it in that plastidip or some other bright material.

 

[sandking]

I have a drill press with a keyless chuck and sometimes it's a pain to make sure the bit is centered while trying to tighten the chuck. I figured I'd ask to see what others thought. I think I'll go with the keyed chuck.

For those that fear losing the key. I saw a tip in a woodworking magazine to take one of those key rings that are on a retractable wire (similar to what a custodian would use) and use an earth magnet to attach to the drill press and the key gets attached to the other end.

 

[Randy_]

I've got a big magnet that I liberated from an old car speaker. I stuck it to the side of the lathe and it catches any little things I want to keep track of.....primarily my tommy bars the the key to my chuck!!!

 

[Rifleman1776]

Ditto what Mickey said. Round bits slip (frequently) with keyless chucks. To be effective the bit must have flats milled on them. I prefer keyed chucks. I have never lost a chuck key. I did misplace one for about four years and just recently found it under a bench though. [:I][]

 

[Randy_]

Joe: I've seen that same tip and, frankly, it makes me nervous. If you forget to remove the key from the chuck, you have a serious problem. I guess it would be OK to use on a chuck in your tailstock, though.

As in my previous post, the other speaker magnet is now residing on the side the head of the drill press.

 

[johncrane]

Also Keyless chuck can lock up and be hard too undo sometimes, especially if your a bit older and your hands are not as strong as they use to be, my dad has a lot of trouble with them now, so l would go with the keyed chuck in the end its what you like
JOE![]

 

[Dario]

Another vote for keyed chuck.

 

[DocStram]

I almost bought a DP that was keyless. Then I had a flashback of my electric keyless drill and what a pain it is sometimes to keep the bit tight. I'm a keyed chuck guy.

 

[alxe24]

Can I change my mind and with with the Key [)][)][)]

 

[DocRon]

I tie my chuck key to my DP with a bit od fairly weak string. That way, when the memory slips and the motor gets turned on with the key in the chuck, the string breaks!

 

[jaywood1207]

When I was in high school the keys were always hand tightened in the chuck for storage and then all the power was turned off on all machines. Problem was the teacher was not very well liked so some idiots would go around and turn all the drill presses on and put them on high speed so when he flipped the main switch they would all come on. You wouldn't believe how fast people hit the floor behind the desks when this happened.

Not trying to highjack but just pointing out something not to do.

 

[TellicoTurning]

How do you leave the key in the chuck on a DP.. Mine has a spring loaded pin that you have to push in to turn the key... let up on the pressure and it jumps out of the chuck.. in reality, it's kind of a pain because sometimes I don't get it depressed enough. The key hangs on a string tacked to the workbench just under the DP..

For the Jacobs chuck on the lathe, I keep the chuck and key in a little drawer I built into my lathe stand..

Any way, I vote for the keyed chuck.

 

[Randy_]

Originally posted by ozmandus
<br />How do you leave the key in the chuck on a DP.. Mine has a spring loaded pin that you have to push in to turn the key... let up on the pressure and it jumps out of the chuck.. in reality, it's kind of a pain because sometimes I don't get it depressed enough......

You can store the key in the chuck by tightening up the chuck by hand on the cross-handle of the key.

Not all(maybe most) keys have the little spring-loaded safety features and the ones that do can be readily disabled. I, too, find those things to be a PIA. I had been using a drill press for 40 years before I ever saw one of those things and never had a key accident so I choose to disable them for my personal use. However, I would never recommend that anyone else do so without a stern warning about the possible consequences and the admonition to be careful!!

Randy