Why a keyed jacobs chuck?

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Dan Masshardt

Dan Masshardt

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I'm sure I'm missing something but it baffles me why anyone would want to use a drill chuck with a key for drilling on the lathe.

If you offered me $50 and gave me a keyed chuck I wouldn't trade my keyless. ;-)

Enlighten me!
 
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When I first needed a tailstock chuck I had never heard of a keyless chuck. You even had to use a chuck key in the cordless drills. My tailstock chuck still works just fine, so I never felt a need to upgrade. Wish I could say the same for all of my old cordless drills!!
 
I have a 1/2" Albrecht keyless chuck on my Bridgeport. It works very well on smaller drill bits but when I use large bits or large Silver Deming bits I change over to a keyed chuck. It has a more solid grip. On my little wood lathe it makes not much difference.
 
D.Oliver said:
I simply have more faith that a keyed chuck, that once tightened, will stay tight. I have had keyless chucks (albeit on cordless drill) that would come loose. I don't want to take that chance with a lathe.
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Hey Oliver,

Whereas you have one that becomes too loose, I have one that was torqued too much and is now dedicated to bottle stopper turning since I can't get the stopper mandrel out of the thing! I honestly don't think that I gorilla-gripped it that badly when I last inserted the mandrel, but I could have been mad at the wife, the dog or the world that night... :biggrin:

Needless to say when I bought a new chuck I went with a keyed one to hopefully prevent a recurrence of the issue.

Dan, I know that the keyed chuck is a real PITA sometimes, but I hope you don't run into a similar issue to mine.

Michael
 
A keyed chuck uses up less of the lathe bed length 2 ways.....first, the chuck itself is shorter and second, a drill bit sits deeper in the chuck than with a keyless.

My keyed chuck can take from 2mm up to 16mm and my keyless can take from zero to 13mm.

Another 'advantage' of the keyed chuck is if you use a marker pen to mark the depth on the drill bit, then it is easier to mount in the keyed chuck as the jaws on the keyless actually rotate while you tighten it up.

I must admit that I've never had a keyless chuck come loose though.

I think they are equally accurate.

Just my 2p worth:wink:
 
I have both. Not sure why. But I do like the keyless better for convenience But it does come loose sometimes on the bigger bits I've noticed. So when I am drilling bigger stuff I use the keyed. Otherwise my go to for pens is keyless.
 
mmyshrall said:
D.Oliver said:
I simply have more faith that a keyed chuck, that once tightened, will stay tight. I have had keyless chucks (albeit on cordless drill) that would come loose. I don't want to take that chance with a lathe.
Click to expand...


Hey Oliver,

Whereas you have one that becomes too loose, I have one that was torqued too much and is now dedicated to bottle stopper turning since I can't get the stopper mandrel out of the thing! I honestly don't think that I gorilla-gripped it that badly when I last inserted the mandrel, but I could have been mad at the wife, the dog or the world that night... :biggrin:

Needless to say when I bought a new chuck I went with a keyed one to hopefully prevent a recurrence of the issue.

Dan, I know that the keyed chuck is a real PITA sometimes, but I hope you don't run into a similar issue to mine.

Michael
Click to expand...
im probably tellin ya something ya already know, but if ya take a punch and gently tap the "jaws" of the chuck tword the back of the chuck, sometimes that will help free up a stuck keyless chuck :)

chuck
 
I bought a keyed chuck for each lathe for the same reason that Derek mentioned. I just have more faith in a keyed chuck providing a long life of service (I suspect they will outlast me). The ONLY problem I have with a keyed chuck is that when I want to change bits, I seem to have an almost three year old helper wanting to play with the key!
 
It's what I had and never found (or looked) for a better solution because I have not had any problems. i used to use my drill press but not 100% of the time I use the lathe for pen items.
 
When bought my drill chuck keyless not an option. Because of years of abuse and wear have to fuss more tightening it these days. When get tired of fussing or becomes unusable will replace it with another key chuck.
 
I have a keyed chuck in a drill I bought the year I was married 1967, it still works fine although the key is starting to show signs of wear. I'd get a new key but I never think of it when I am someplace where I could get one. On the other hand I have a keyless chuck on a drill that is less than 5 years old. Occasionally I have to use a wrench to loosen it. With the arthritis in my hands I know I didn't tighten it that much.
 
I bought a metal lathe 5/8's drill chuck and it never comes loose. It is very heavy and bulky but I can put a 1/16th or a 1/2 bit and it holds them great . My keyless chucks in my cordless drills do come loose.
 
Keyless chucks can and will self tighten. Not so much an issue when drilling wood or acrylic but definitely in metalworking.
so when a few have mentioned they are sure they didn't tighten it that tight they are likely correct.
In my days of metal working they were convenient when you needed to change sizes frequently. A strap wrench worked well for loosening a chuck that had self tightened. Just insert it back into the morse taper and loosen it. Either type is acceptable but as has been mentioned when you get into bigger bit sizes a keyed chuck works better.
 
I only have two Jacobs chucks... both are keyed.... I bought them before the keyless came out, so they are both at least 10 years old. When I set up my lathe last time, I built a cabinet under the ways with 6 drawers.. it's pretty crude, but effective and the key ALWAYS goes back into its slot as soon as I tighten the chuck... otherwise I would be buying new keys every couple of months... I do have a keyless chuck in my PC cordless drill that is very efficient... I pretty much only use it as a driver for screws in the faceplates and occasionally small drilling jobs.

Really have never thought about upgrading the Jacobs since they're still working fine.
 
I have one of each. I bought the keyless from PSI. It didn't cost much. I does wobble a little so I mostly use my keyed chuck. However, the #2 mt on the keychuck won't go all the way into the headstock because it's too long. The keyless chuck will fit okay though. Yes, I said headstock. I'm turning sections of a walking stick that have screws on one end of the section joiners. the screw section is held by the drill chuck. the live center goes in the female end of the joiner. Yes, that's what CUSA directions say to do. I would be okay with a keyless chuck if there's a really good quality one on the market for a lathe.
 
I'm taking a chance on one of these:

South Bend Lathe SB1375 1/2-Inch by JT33 Keyless Chuck

The price for an Albrect is way beyond my resources.
 
shastastan said:
I'm taking a chance on one of these:

South Bend Lathe SB1375 1/2-Inch by JT33 Keyless Chuck

The price for an Albrect is way beyond my resources.
Click to expand...

I'm impressed with the quality of this chuck. I cut off the tang on the #2mt and gained an inch of travel. There's a thread on Sawmill Creek Turners Form about cutting off part of MT's to gain travel. FYI
 
shastastan said:
shastastan said:
I'm taking a chance on one of these:

South Bend Lathe SB1375 1/2-Inch by JT33 Keyless Chuck

The price for an Albrect is way beyond my resources.
Click to expand...

I'm impressed with the quality of this chuck. I cut off the tang on the #2mt and gained an inch of travel. There's a thread on Sawmill Creek Turners Form about cutting off part of MT's to gain travel. FYI
Click to expand...

That makes sense. I know I could gain the 3/8" I usually need for pen blanks. That may be worth some research!
 
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