buck chuck..and clones

M

mike in co

Guest
having seen at least part of the light, i was thinking( a bad thing) that adding an adjustable 3 jaw chuck to my lathe would be a good thing. then sticker shock set in.
the cheapest 6" was about $700 and went to $1000 ..... my lathe cost $1000!
yes it is just a hobby. so the alternative is an knockoff import...about $350 plus a backing plate.
anyone use an low dollar import ?
or a used...lol where ?

anyone have one there not using( yeah sure...)
suggestions ?

help

thanks
mike in co
 
This will probably be another minority report, I seem to have a knack for writing them.

Sticker shock is why I don't have one. It has never made it to the top of the list in terms of added capability for the money compared to other tools or tooling. I usually spend momey to get functionality I wouldn't otherwise have.

There isn't anything I can do with a buck adjust-tru that I can't do with a 4J. The adjust-tru is a bit faster, but time was never of the essence in my hobby shop.

I use a 3J a lot, I just do all the turning that has to be concentric before I part the piece off and it is as good as it can be.

I don't plan to use a chuck for chambering, and if I did it would be a 4J. An adjust-tru centers the OD, a chamber needs to be centered on the bore.

Right now, if I had that sort of money to spend on a tool, I'd probably buy a super spacer for the mill, or a borescope instead of an adjust-tru chuck.

But that's just me. YMMV

Fitch
 
I love my Buck adjust true...got it off Ebay for $250 including the backplate. If you are patient, you can get a deal on a chuck.
 
Fitch,
Why can't you indicate the bore with a true adjust? Am I missing something? I have a 6 jaw true adjust that I have indicated a hole that I was needing to bore out.
I love my chuck side cat head for chambering though.
Butch
 
Butch Lambert said:
Fitch,
Why can't you indicate the bore with a true adjust? Am I missing something? I have a 6 jaw true adjust that I have indicated a hole that I was needing to bore out.
I love my chuck side cat head for chambering though.
Butch
Click to expand...

Butch,

I didn't say you couldn't indicate a bore with an adjust-tru. You certainly can. What I said was if I was going to use a chuck to indicate a bore I'd use a 4J ....

Oh, OK, I see where the confusion comes from. I did mention that they center on the OD - and that is how they are conventionally used. That said, one can use the adjusting screws and center the chuck on the ID of the bore, but I frankly don't see why that's better in any way worth the investment than a 4J or a chuck side spider.

What I am actually using is a chuck side cat head just like you are and I like it a whole lot better than the 4J.

The only advantage of an adjust true, as far as I'm concerned, is that it can be a more accurate form of 3J over a small range of diameters while being just as quick and easy for chucking stock.

The fact that they make some of them as a 6J doesn't change that. The 6J would be better for machining tube I suppose. What the adjust-tru was originally designed to do is replace the traditional 3J with one that can be adjusted to run true for a small range of diameters so one can chuck or rechuck work and know the run out will be significantly smaller than the normal 3J but have the same convenience and speed as a 3J. Go too far from the diameter range where you adjusted it and it will need to be readjusted because it has scroll errors just like a 3J. Might have a little better scroll, but not perfect.

Fitch
 
I don't do a lot of work that requires that I have to chuck a part that requires it to start at zero runout tolerance on the OD or ID. I machine one or both and the part will be coaxial to the spindle bearings. The few times that I have to maintain a dimension, I will use the 4J or the TruAdjust. Does that sound confusing? What I am saying is if I have a 3.100" piece of material and need it to be 3", I don't care if my chuck is off a few thousandths.
Butch
 
I got my Buck 3 jaw adjust tru off EBay as well. Had to change the backing plate but that was fairly inexpensive since I used a regular backing plate and added a piece to it so it would work for the Buck. This is the chuck I use about 95% of the time and I wouldn't think of parting with it. My 4 jaw is 12" and HEAVY. I only use it when there's no other reasonable option. My regular 3 jaw rarely gets used anymore. I'd love to have a 6 jaw but they are hard for me to justify the $.
 
My 6 jaw is heavy and my last choice. It is just too heavy to change unless I have to. My 4 jaw is a little 5"? I use collets alot and my Buck regular 3 jaw.
Butch
 
I have and use a 6" 3 jaw Buck adjust a tru but find for me setting up the 4 jaw for fine adjustments is quicker. As important to me as anything is the fact the better the chuck the less swarf gets inside. A good used USA made would be my choice ahead of an import. I have never owned a bison so I can't comment. Kenny
 
I bought a 6" 3-jaw Buck BVC adjust-tru from Enco last month while they were running a sale on them. $420 for the chuck +$160 for the backplate, free freight= $580. The BVC is priced quite a bit lower than Buck's ATSC series chucks, is made of semi-steel, and has only one pinion.

My BVC is one heckuva lot nicer chuck than the el cheapo 3-jaw that came with my latest lathe purchase (a heavy 14x40), which is one of the excuses I used to justify the purchase of the Buck. I'm not having any buyer remorse over the purchase, either - instead, I'm wondering how much of an improvement a Bison 4-jaw would be over the OEM 4-jaw that came with the 14x40.
 
I have a Buck adjust-tru 3 jaw only because it came with my lathe. That said, I really only use it as a standard scroll chuck. I did adjust the chuck initially with a precision ground mandrel, and check it occasionally knowing different diameters will chuck up differently. If I need zero runout or close, like Butch, I'll use the 8" 4 jaw I have, or 5C collets (used less often, but REALLY appreciated when needed).

The 3 jaw is a very accurate chuck and I do use it A LOT, but loosening 12 screws on the face, then adjusting the chuck on the backplate is a hell of a lot slower than just putting the 4 jaw on.
 
Wayne Shaw said:
I don't think most people loosen the backplate to adjust a chuck. They just use the 4 screws.
Click to expand...

Gentlemen,

I do as Wayne indicates above, and have not had a problem dialing in a bore. I think Jackie posted he doesn't loosen the backplate screws either.

I have a 8" Bison 6 jaw set-thru that I have been extremely happy with. On a dowel pin, it repeats in the .0002-.0003 range. They too are not cheap, but I watched for sales and bought mine from Enco for around $500. Enco has them on sale pretty regularly.

With the adjust thru, very rarely do I go looking for my 4 jaw. The adjust thru is faster for me.

Justin
 
well with the sale at msc today, i bought a chuck and backing plate. i'll admit to buying a clone, but being a hobbiest , not a production machinest, i'm hoping i'll be ok.
and yes the instructions, say 4 adjusting screws.
thanks
mike in co
 
Bucks ain't what they used to be. Bought a new 3 jaw, had to exchange it because it ran out so bad, I wasn't impressed. The person at Buck wasn't either. Hope they have cleaned up their act.
 
Buck chucks aren't the only top quality chucks, I got a brand new 10" Burnerd 6 jaw adjust tru off Ebay for $400, a fraction of its new price.
If you watch Ebay you can pick up a real bargain.
From memory I think Speedy put up a post a while ago regarding the clone chucks.........Ian
 
All I have to say is this: If you have a smaller, lighter, older lathe, a 6" Buck 6 jaw adjust tru chuck will change your whole experience. Period.
 
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