I need a drill chuck for my lathe.

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Randy_

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Nov 29, 2004
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Dallas suburb, Texas, USA.
You may find that the chuck on your drill press will work on your lathe?

I've run into problems with the keyless drill chucks not holding the bits tight enough. No doubt that keeping up with a key is a minor annoyance; but I don't want my bits slipping. If you use bigger bits or maybe Forstner bits for making pepper mills you are likely to have a problem unless your bits are ground with flats on the shanks.
 

sparhawk

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Jun 22, 2007
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Rosinton, Alabama, USA.
I have the one from H.F. and it is a good one. Not keyless but heavy and seems well made. Only thing was i had to order it because they didnt stock it in the store and it took about 4 weeks for delivery. Thier shipping time sucked but the product was great.
 

rherrell

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Aug 22, 2006
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Pilot Mountain, NC
I have this one and am pretty happy with it, especially for the price.http://tinyurl.com/5cnasc
It momes with a JT33 mount which is CLOSE to a MT2 but not perfect. I use it as is and it slips sometimes so you might want to pick up a MT2 mount for $5( if that's what you have). There's a link to the mounts (they call them ARBORS)on the same page.
 

TribalRR

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Jun 2, 2008
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Louisville, Kentucky
I have the one in your link, but I havn't been real thrilled with drilling on my lathe and have gone back to the drill press. I'm not sure if the fault lies with the chuck, the tail stock, or bits but I can not get as clean a bore as I can with the DP.
 

RichB

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Feb 22, 2008
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Allendale, Michigan USA.
I just got one from our woodcraft store but it is 5/8 which is big. I use it on my steel lathe and wood lathe. It is keyless. One thing to watch for is make sure it will close up to a small drill.
 

randyrls

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Harrisburg, PA 17112
Mill and lathe Use same taper.

You may find that the chuck on your drill press will work on your lathe?

Randy; When I purchased equipment for my shop, I made sure the Mini-mill and lathe had the same taper.

The 3/4" chuck for the mill is right at home in the headstock of the lathe. I did have to get a longer drawbar bolt though (it is a metric size).
 

Rifleman1776

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bitshird

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Jared, unless you are ready to spend big bucks for an Albrecht Keyless chuck, learn to keep up with the chuck key,the little machine shop chuck will serve you well .004 runout on a drill chuck, isn't that bad for under a hundred bucks.
 

redfishsc

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Feb 11, 2006
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North Charleston , SC
I have a HF chuck and the one from CSA. Both are 1/2" chucks, both drill very nice and center.

However, the CSA chuck seats in the MT2 better than the HF chuck, and is also a good bit stronger--- drill bits RARELY slip in this chuck.


That being said, I paid $5 for the HF chuck on a sidewalk-sale. I paid a lot more for the CSA chuck. Either one will do you well. Neither are keyless, though, but don't let that deter ya! You may have a hard time, as Randy mentioned, getting a keyless chuck to hold the drill bit as tight as you want.
 

Fred

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I have one I got years ago from Woodcraft and use it all the time for drilling dead on centers and of course pen blanks. I have not had any problems with the bits spinning. I also use my Forrester bits in it and they preform quite well.

If you get one - and I expect you will - keep the MT shaft clean as well as the MT bore. Dust, rust, and other debris causes the majority of problems for folks. It i easy to do and requires bur just a moment to properly mount the chuck into the lathe.

I would highly recommend that you get the proper MT sized shaft as anything else is just asking for potential problems. Buying an adaptor defeats the purpose of buying one as it just adds to the expense when the proper sized ones are so readily available.
 

stolicky

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Mar 14, 2008
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Loudonville, NY, USA.
Jared,

2 things I have learned about chucks for lathes.

1) With a keyless chuck you sacrifice holding strength for convenience.
2) Many of the 'standard' MT2 shafts are too long for mini lathes. I have a Jet 1014i and the shaft I got never turned true, i.e. it wobbled. I had to grind down over an inch of length in order for it to slide properly into my headstock. It took Bill from AS and I together to figure this out...

I have no experience with the HF chucks on a lathe.

Good luck.
 

VisExp

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Oct 1, 2007
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Palm Coast, FL, USA.
I use the keyless chuck from Penn State. I've never had any problems with the bit slipping.

Not related to penturning but at work I use a couple of Dewalt drills, all with keyless chucks, and never have a problem either. On an average day I would guess I drill 200 to 300 times and run that many screws.

I'm surprised that some folks say that keyless chucks slip.
 

Fred

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I have one I got years ago from Woodcraft and use it all the time for drilling dead on centers and of course pen blanks. I have not had any problems with the bits spinning. I also use my Forrester bits in it and they perform quite well all the way up to many of the larger sized ones like 4" or so ... using a slower speed is the secret. I have even used hole cuttling bits with no problems.

If you get one - and I expect you will - keep the MT shaft clean as well as the MT bore. Dust, rust, and other debris causes the majority of problems for folks. It is easy to do and requires but just a moment to properly mount the chuck into the lathe.

This e-Bay site has hundreds of tools and many of them are MT2 keyless chucks. The price even with shipping is quite good. Some complain about him but I have bought several items from and always received quality goods with no problems. His turn-around time is a little slow but he does deliver. http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQfrtsZ0QQsassZ800watt. He has a halogen folding arm lamp that I just got and it is perfect for looking into hollow vessels as one turns. It works kinda like a dental light and moves out of the way when not in use.

I would very highly recommend that you get the proper MT sized shaft as anything else is just asking for potential problems. Buying an adaptor just adds to the expense when the proper sized ones are so readily available and it something else to keep up with in the shop. :)
 
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