Looking for precision keyless chuck for drill press

[davefr]

Hi,
I'd like to upgrade the OEM chuck on my Jet 17" drill press to 1/2" keyless (w/integrated shank - J3 to MT2).

My drill press measures <.001" runout at the spindle and about .003" at the stock chuck. (with a .250 drill rod chucked).

There's Albrecht at $300 but they don't spec runout. I've also found Glacern at $100 and they spec runout at <.0012. There appears to be no love lost for Jacobs these days, but they run around $200 and spec .0016" runout.

Where's the sweet spot in keyless chucks? Good specs, quality and value?

Or should I avoid fixing what isn't broken. (i do a lot of precision work with my DP and it already meets my expectations.)

[sco]

How about Rohm;

Supra is good, Spiro is high precision.

[Mike Hunter]

Leave it alone.

.001 at spindle and .003 with 1/4 inch rod chucked in, on an import drill press... you're doing good.

Think about it, if the spindle is .001 out, and you're getting .003 on drill rod (not a ground hole guage), then the chuck and drill rod combined is giving you only .002 run out.

[Bruce Griffing]

You may be able to improve the runout on what you have. Mark the position of everything and take the chuck and shank off the drill press. Remove the shank from the chuck (if that is possible in your case). Put the shank in the DP and measure the runout in several different angular positions of the shank (again - if this is possible in your situation - may be only 2 positions). Usually, the runout of the DP and the shank will add in some positions and subtract in others. Find the minumum and then proceed to do the same with the chuck. It can make a big difference. OR not - but worth a try.

[Arthur.Marks]

People need to get over the fact that a drill press is not a jig bore... Not even a mill. If you want more accurate holes then you need to do one of several things. For example, ditch the drill chuck and use a collet matched to your drill diameter. Use screw machine length drills. Study up on layout, spotting and/or single point boring tools. Using the spec you quote, you'll fair far better with a jig and a proper drill bushing in squeezing the best precision out of your machine. Holding the drill is arguably less than half the problem. The real issue is a twist drill itself. It is relatively long for its diameter, bends easily and has a tendency to walk off-position. The way to deal with that is much reduced with a hardened drill bushing guiding the tool at the point of entry.

What it comes down to, I guess, is what you hope to acheive. A theoretically perfect run-out twist drill can still produce an inaccurate hole. Three thou' on your chuck is mighty darn good, if you ask me. I think you've already beat the curve. I'd hate to see you ruin it a little.

[Ron of Va]

Hi,
I'd like to upgrade the OEM chuck on my Jet 17" drill press to 1/2" keyless (w/integrated shank - J3 to MT2).

I am a little confused by your description, where you said you want an integral shank with a J3 to MT2. The shank is either integral, where it is made into the body of the chuck, or it has a Jacob taper on the back of it either J2 - J6, or J33 (J2's & JT2's etc. are the same).

You can buy an adaptor to fit any of the Jacob’s tapers to most any configuration you want, as it MT1 – MT5, R8, ect. See page 449 of the Enco catalog. http://www.use-enco.com/CGI/INPDFF?P...PARTPG=INLMK32

If I were you I would just look for an Albrecht chuck on ebay, and once you get it, just order the adapter to fit your needs. You should be able to pick one up for $60-$80. (If you need to know how to swap adaptors, I can post a photo of how the Albrecht comes apart)

If you want to buy new, there was a sale last month at Enco, with 20% off the sale price if you ordered during a certain window of opportunity. The sale will probably be repeated.
http://www.use-enco.com/CGI/INPDFF?P...LMPA&PMCTLG=01 Both Jacob's tapers and integral shanks were on sale.

The Albrecht chuck's runout will be as good or better than any.

[Mcgyver]

People need to get over the fact that a drill press is not a jig bore... Not even a mill.

snip

Holding the drill is arguably less than half the problem. The real issue is a twist drill itself. .

right on, but I'd put it at a fraction of half. a few though runout from the drill press has next to nothing to do with anything....unless you're drilling 10 thou dia holes. The drill will follow the centre punch mark, spot drill mark or pilot. How accurately it cuts is a function of how well it's ground not a few thou runout.

[davefr]

Thanks for the suggestions. I think I'm going to fight the urge to fix something that isn't broken. (as hard as that is!!)

[Alistair Hosie]

I can only tell you what I did I have two workshops and therefore two large drills and some smaller piller drills one a radial drill .I decided on the big gear headed drill and the new chinese one I bought replacing an older one in the woodshop was to buy two 19mm or three quarter inch keyed chucks these aint too cheap but not too expensive at around £ 100ish each what a difference the drill chucks make mine are keyed as said but on the lathes I have some rohm keyless chucks which are great to work with also.
My old pal fred said when I first met him that he hates keyless chucks but he is beginning to change his mind after using a few recently as they have obviously improved over the last decade or so. Alistair

[Paul Alciatore]

Re: The discussion on integral shanks. I doubt that an adapter in a JT socket is going to contribute more than a couple of tenths to runout. The real problem here is in matching the three jaws and in the three holes that they slide in. This is where your runout is.

Both the jaws themselves and the holes will each have some component of error. You may be able to try the jaws in all six possible ways of inserting them in the holes and measuring the runout of each. Then go with the best combination. Warning, some work is involved.

Holes A, B, and C
Jaws 1, 2, and 3

Six possibilities:

A 1
B 2
C 3

A 1
B 3
C 2

A 2
B 1
C 3

A 2
B 3
C 1

A 3
B 1
C 2

A 3
B 2
C 1

Finally, I am not a fan of keyless chucks. On a drill press you often do heavy duty drilling. A keyless chuck can not be tightened as well as a keyed one. Often a drill will jam and rotate in a keyed chuck. This often ruins the shank of the drill. It will happen even more frequently with keyless chucks. Besides, they take longer to tighten because the thread if finer. Spin, spin, spin! Time waster. Get a keyed chuck. I also don't like ball bearing chucks except in the smallest sizes, like 1/4". Too much pressure on the balls and on the small area of contact that they have with the races.