4 Jaw Independent lathe chuck

[BOBWRC]

Where is the best place to purchase a 4 or 5 inch 4 jaw independent lathe chuck, of
reasonably good quality?

[jr45acp]

MSC, McMaster-Carr, Grainger, etc are good sources, but there are also a variety of sources in the Home Shop Machinist and Machinist workshop publications. My understanding is that Bison is a quality product, albeit pricey! FWIW, buy quality, you won't regret it.

------------------
John B

[Philt]

I purchased a 4" 4 jaw chuck from JTS (from their Ebay store) for $60.00. It works fine. Five inch 4 jaw chucks are not as common. I would recommend Bison also, except they are a good bit more expensive than the Chinese made chucks. I think it might also depend on what I was putting this chuck on. If you are talking about a $300 7 x 10 or even a 9 x 20, the Chinese chucks are a good match.

[SGW]

MSC www.mscdirect.com or Travers www.travers.com are good. Others are certainly equally as good, but those are the two I mostly deal with. Travers is generally a little cheaper, MSC has slightly faster service, I think.

Bison chucks are good value for the money.

[kgarver]

I'll probably get pilloried here but a four jaw chuck only needs two things:

1) A good strong set of hardened jaws (that are reversable)to hold the stock.

2) A good register to the spindle if its the threaded kind or a good,true flat plate to bolt it to if its the cam lock kind.

Thats it. All of the rest you do by eye, pencil, chaulk, or dial indicator!
Get the biggest, cheapest one you find that will fit your machine tool that has the above attributes and you are in business!

Regards,Ken

[docn8as]

just got a 6 in.china 4 jaw last month for $43 on sale ( maybe msc???,/j&L? no more..) nice heavy jaws ,hardened & smooth screw action ....stone on the blanchard cud have used a finer grit ,compared to bison ,but so what?, i like swirls on my ceiling also...way better chuck than the usual atlas ,logan ,south bend , for 10 in lathes ......chuck is a LOT more fun to pick up & thrd on than the 12in. century old comb. 4/jaw/faceplate knuckle buster ( square head screws extending out ,before they had allen heads) ,i was using ,( back when men were men ...ya )

best wishes
docn8as

[docn8as]

didnt answer ur ?.......sorry..try , ON SALE travers tool ,wholesale tool, enco ,victor machinery exchange ,J&L, MSC. be patient call them & ask to get on their sale flyer list.........

best wishes
docn8as

[Hawkin45]

I just got myself a nice 6" independant 4 jaw chuck. It is the Buck brand. I paid $66 including shipping. I found it on ebay. New this chuck is over $700.