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Vicmarc Chuck Question

W

Walter Tate

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Aug 23, 2008
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I have a Vicmarc VM120 chuck and the jaws do not open/close smoothly. I want to take it apart to determine what to do. I can't remove the Backing Jaws because a small pin in the chuck body prevents this. Any help on how to remove the pin?
 
You might want to move this the main forum. This section is supposed to be for telling how not asking. The main forum should get you an answer sooner.

Wish I could help you but sorry ..
 
Wipedout said:
You might want to move this the main forum. This section is supposed to be for telling how not asking...
Click to expand...

I can see it has. Normally it is posted here and when a good string of answers pop up, it gets moved to how-too, but no biggie.
 
Vicmarc VM120

Walter Tate said:
I have a Vicmarc VM120 chuck and the jaws do not open/close smoothly. I want to take it apart to determine what to do. I can't remove the Backing Jaws because a small pin in the chuck body prevents this. Any help on how to remove the pin?
Click to expand...

Hi Walter,

The pin is a slotted spring pin. It can be removed with a pair of long nose pliers. I would mount the chuck to the lathe and engage the spindle lock. This will keep things from moving around when you yank on the pin. Grab it tight and pull hard and straight. It should come out. If you cannot hold on to it, a pair of Vice Grip long nose pliars might be necessary. I would first spray a little penetrating oil (PB Catalyst works best) at the base of the pin and let it soak in. It could be rusted in place if you turn a lot of wet wood. Hope this helps.

Regards,

Mark Nadeau
 
I use long nose vice grip pliers and grip the pin and use a small screwdriver as a lever to pry the pin out. You just drive it back in. I use a medium size punch to do that.
 
Walter,
I have a VM 100 chuck, and I think your VM 120 is similar.
Remove the two flat head screws from what VicMarc calls the "Lid" (and what I call the "Backing Index Plate"). It is the plate with the index holes and numbers. With the plate (LID) removed, you should find that there is a hole directly in line with the "pin". You do not need to remove the backing Jaw over-extension pin, you can just drive it into the chuck body, and when you are finished inspecting the chuck scroll ring, just drive the pin back out with a pin punch. You can also check for debris in the scroll ring / pinion drive area with the LID removed. Some years ago my VM 100 seemed to lock up while tightening or loosening the jaws, and during disassembly I found a tiny piece of steel broken from the end of the scroll ring that was getting hung-up in the backing jaw teeth during rotation. After removing the offending piece of metal, all has since been well with my VM 100 chuck.
 
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