Drill Chuck

[Bill Alston]

I bought a new drill chuck for my Milling Machine the other day and also came across these on Aliexpress.



Unlike many other chucks they have an integral Morse Taper and are also threaded for a draw bar. One of these would be far safer for use in the headstock spindle than a chuck with a separate arbor. Prices start at around $25.

 

[Larae Palmer]

Is it an MT4? That’s what I see on the unit.
In any case, I do lots of drilling on the lathe. I have pretty bad arthritis in both hands therefore not much strength. My keyless chuck loosens after a few passes and ruins the entry hole unless I notice. I have a keyed chuck but it is off center enough that it’s unusable. I admit I hit it hard on my bench to keep it from coming loose from the taper fitting and it didn’t set straight.
Does any one have a recommendation for a keyed chuck that is reliable?

 

[Bill Alston]

They are available in MT2, MT3 and MT4 in sizes 1-10, 1-13 and 1-16mm.

Edit: From Aliexpress:

 

[Larae Palmer]

Thanks Bill. It looks to be keyless?

 

[Steve Tiedman]

Does any one have a recommendation for a keyed chuck that is reliable?

I've had a #2 Morse taper Golden Goose-brand 1/2" keyed chuck I bought from either Packard or Craft Supplies back in the 1990s. I don't use is often, but it has been sturdy and reliable. Don't know who sells them now, but they are still made.

Here's a discussion thread with more brands to consider.

D

Post in thread 'Drill Chuck Purchase Advice'

Feb 7, 2025

Face it folks, you want a good quality chuck you have to spend good dollars for it.

The ultimate drill chuck has always been the Jacobs ball bearing chuck. Not sure if those are even manufactured any more.

Albrecht keyless chucks are okay for light duty drilling where you want quick bit changes.. With heavy drilling they'll self tighten to extent you might be tempted (or have) to use a pipe wrench to loosen them. Also, not good for a situation where you need to reverse the machine spindle to get a stuck drill out of a hole, they loosen in reverse. Sometimes small hole thread tapping...

• Doug Rasmussen

 

[Bill Alston]

Jacobs do a couple of threaded mount keyed chucks. Safer than a Jacobs taper should you want to use it for holding stuff in the head stock.

 

[John K Jordan]

In any case, I do lots of drilling on the lathe. I have pretty bad arthritis in both hands therefore not much strength. My keyless chuck loosens after a few passes and ruins the entry hole unless I notice.

Have you tried taper shank bits? I have most sizes now and use them quite a bit on the wood and metal lathes.

The larger ones are 2MT and the smaller 1MT and need an inexpensive adapter. I usually put them in the tailstock. No Jacob's chuck needed.



If they the larger bits want to slip on a deep hole I hold with vise grips:



They are pretty accurate. For one thing, the length extended from the tailstock is much less. These are two bits of the same diameter. (One may look larger due to shadow and perspective.)



I first saw these when Rudy Lopez used a 1" bit, cut quite short and resharpened, to drill to save time when turning a goblet.

JKJ