Enco import set-tru chuck bad experience

I've wanted a 6-jaw chuck for the 10x36 lathe and the recent 20 percent off sale at Enco got me to try the Chinese imports. I know things are not always ready out of the box, but the bargain is just too cheap:

272-5010 6" 6 JAW SET-TRU ADJ LATHE CHUCK
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274-1602 6" D1-4 SET-TRU CHUCK ADAPTER
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What a mess.

The D1-4 adapter, the way it came, had the taper a few thou too small and tipped, so it wouldn't quite go on the spindle. So I spent half a day indicating and chucking the thing to bore a correct taper. Nothing on the entire piece was square, true, or centered. I know you're supposed to custom cut the interface for your machine ("some machining required"), but the D1-4 side should have been right from the start. But after some frustration and a room full of cast iron bits I managed to get it corrected.

Ah, now to assemble and try the chuck.

First, the screws are missing, or maybe there's a fight back in China whether the chuck people or the backplate adapter people are supposed to supply the connecting screws. Everything sits around while Enco scares me up a set of the oddball size.

Finally I assemble the thing and gleefully apply the set-tru adjustments. I'm thinking a few thou of runout clearance on the adapter should be plenty of adjustment range. Lo, this supposedly sub-thou truable chuck is bored about 0.008" off center! So I go ahead and cut the adapter some more so finally I can zero it. I make one actual part on the thing, and something isn't right.

I put the test bar back in and indicate further and further away from the chuck. Must be something wrong with my test bar? Off the to surface plate to check it, and it is fine. Turns out the the jaws are ground to an off axis angle of about 0.002" per inch. Puh-leeze.

It's all back in the boxes now for a trip back to the Enco clearance bin in Atlanta. Maybe somebody can use a correctly machined backplate.

Next time it is Bison or made-in-USA.

Reply to
Richard J Kinch
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Richard sez: " . . . .What a mess. . . . ."

Thanx for the lesson. But my only question is why did you try to fix that piece of crap before exercising the warranty?

Bob Swinney

Reply to
Robert Swinney

Robert Swinney wrote: ... why did you try to fix that piece of crap before

'Twere me, I would reply that at the beginning I didn't know how bad it was going to be & a *little* fixing-up would be well worth the savings. At subsequent problems the same reasoning would apply. (Note that sunk-cost fallacy is not in play.)

But that's just me, Bob

Reply to
Bob Engelhardt

The time to fix it seemed comparable to the time to get a return authorization and pack it up to send it back. But only seemed, because the backplate was not the only problem. And once you have a little time invested you do feel the irrational pull of the sunk costs.

Reply to
Richard J Kinch

I can vouch for the Bison 6-jaw I bought one from Enco several years ago when they were in the sales flyer and there was an additional 20% sale. It was under $400, but the regular catalog price is $937 now. Yikes.

The Bison seems to be every bit as good as my Buck Ajust-tru chucks.

Reply to
Ned Simmons

Bummer!

I happened upon a used Buck Adjust-tru in very good shape some years ago. Had to buy a D1-4 backplate that cost more than the chuck, but the result has been working for me for many years now.

Reply to
Don Foreman

Caveat emptor. Get a Buck and you'll never have to complain to enco again.

Reply to
steamer

Well, you can't! Buck has stopped making the Adjust-Tru line of chucks

- what a shame. But, I got an 8.25" copy from Phase-II some years ago, and it has been VERY good.

Jon

Reply to
Jon Elson

They still make them.

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Reply to
Ned Simmons

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