I decided to get a new chuck key for my DP and, not knowing any better, went to the Enco site. Well, I didn't buy my DP or its chuck from Enco so I can't match any of their letter-sizes to what I have.
What is the normal method for specifying a chuck key size? Isn't it the diameter of the pilot hole?
TIA Norm
Good luck. They generally get listed by just a part number. Variables are the pilot size, number of teeth and gear diameter. I have an imported chuck in my lathe that is fine, but the pilot on the supplied key is a bit undersized, so it makes it hard to get good torque on the chuck.
I went around at work and tried every chuck key I could find, quite a few, and nothing fit. Also ran it by the guys at Production Tool (I live nearby). If the pilot was right, the gears were wrong, and vise versa.
I did a web search and never did find a cross reference chart that listed anything other than just the part numbers, Jacob vs DeWalt, or whatever. Lemme know if you find a chart with sizes :-)
Dennis
I'm in ths same boat on a real nice chuck for my CNC mill. I bought the four size in 1 key style. Found the side that most closely matched on the gear teeth and then installed a bushing to fit the pilot hole.
Karl
Chick designers have a huge database of all chuck keys ever made. When they have to design a new chuck they make sure that none of the existing keys will fit.
Hah! They must have been trained by the guys who design oil filters for cars.
Dennis
Last chuck key I bought was from milwaukee. The card it came on had a cross reference chart on the back. Gerry :-)} London, Canada
In article , Boris Mohar writes
And us guys are grateful for it.
Other than my power drill (drill motor) chucks, the chucks I use on my machines are Jacobs, Rohm or Cushman, and require fairly common standard keys. There are keys that are interchangeable between numerous brands, but any time I see keys at flea or garage sales, I usually get them.
For lathe owners, keys can be modified easily. Many chuck keys have a removable T-handle pin, then the key body can be chucked in the lathe, and the pilot pin can be modified/turned down, or removed. Those bent L-shaped keys could probably be modified with a drill press. Cut off the pilot pin and drill to fit a hard pin for the size of pilot needed. This might be an alternative to modifying the key holes in the chucks, where the key pinion gear matches, but the pilot is different.
This method can also be used to replace those poor-fitting auto-ejecting pilots on some keys.
The chuck ring gear/sleeve is somewhat adjustable on some chucks (if only slightly). If a chuck was previously disassembled, the sleeve may not have been pressed back to it's original location (changing the distance from the ring gear to pilot hole).
WB ...........
Norm Dresner wrote:
PolyTech Forum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.