lathe classifications -- whats a chucker

Jan 27, 2006 20 Replies

How does a "chucker" lathe differ from other types?



I know about turret lathes, engine lathes, toolroom lathes... I've tried to tell from pictures and references on the net, but I still don't really know what a "chucker" is used for.


The ones I remember being called "Chuckers" were like scaled up "swiss automatic" lathes which, once set up, would create and part off an entire turned/threaded piece without operator assistance, other than shoving a new bar of stock into the back end of the spindle when needed. I think I've seen ones which even did that stock replenishing by themselves.

Jeff

A chucker is a "second op" production machine. Used to finish parts started on bigger machines by doing such jobs as internal and external threads etc. Made obsolete by cnc machines.

73 Gary N9ZSV

A chucker is a production machine. It may have multiple spindles. It has a number of different tool holders and attachments that allows it to make many different, complex parts. For example: bar stock is loaded, pushed out to desired length, faced, and cut down to two different diameters. Then a ball turner is applied to round off the middle, followed by drilling through with several steps, o-ring grooves, and then cut off. It is like a screw machine writ large. It is called a chucker because it typically feeds bar stock through the spindle into a chuck.

Boris

Mike Berger wrote in news:dre5j4$k4u$4 @roundup.shout.net:

Hehe..what wild explinations in this thread. Simply put Mike, a "chucker" is a lathe that has no tailstock. These are normally production machines meant to run short-length parts, or collet equiped machines.

If you haven't figured it out yet, you're not going to get a straight answer . Chuckers can be single or multi-spindle, manual or automatic, horizontal or vertical, big or little, pink or blue. I'd say the only thing that all chuckers have in common is that semi-finished parts are loaded singly (i.e., no bar feed), and there's some sort of tool changer, or multiple tool stations in the case of a multi-spindle machine.

In it's simplest manual form, I'm not sure where you'd draw the line between a chucker and a turret lathe with no bar feed. I've owned both a J&L saddle type turret lathe and a chucker similar to a Hardinge HC. Except for the fact that the turret lathe must have weighed 15000 pounds, and the chucker perhaps 1500, it'd be difficult to draw a distinction between them.

Ned Simmons

Every lathe is a chucker...just leave the key in and turn it on.

Yeah, most of them are Hardinge's, and the goddamm price *never* goes down! Very nice to work on.

Often have handle-actuated turrets, sometimes a separate parting attachment, and nice motorized powerfeed in x,y, continuously variable spindle speed, coolant, you name it.... And inlaid *ivory* on the goddamm handles!! No foolin....

Proly you could put a live center in the turret, using it as a tail stock if you had to. iirc, the beds weren't *that* short, and you could turn a shaft mebbe 18" long or so.

For small parts (or at least some of the ops), proly the only way to go, short of very expensive/sophisticated CNC, and then sometimes not even then....

There's a shop in LI that has I think nearly a hundred of these chuckers, does excellent work, usually ahead of deadline, if you can bleeve dat....

If memory serves me correctly, a Warner & Swasey 2S was defined as a "chucker". I programmed same for a few months, and it was equipped with a bar feeder. Had a 6-station tool turret. Basically any job that could be fit into it's working envolope was possible, whether starting from raw stock or follow up operations.

If you put a piece of wood in a chucker do you get a wood chucker?

John

Just remember, in a couple of weeks it will be ground hog day here in Punxsutawney pa.

John

Two demerits, and no dessert for a week...

-- Ed Huntress

If a wood chucker can chuck wood, what kind of wood could a wood chucker chuck?

Sorry, I couldn't resist! :)

Keep Gunner out of there. He has a lot of scoped rifles and knows where to find recipes for groundhog.

Oh, and give Phil my regards.

-- Ed Huntress

If it's mounted vertically, do you have a up-chucker?

If it's mounted vertically you get a "vertical-up-chucker."

If it's and automatic you get a "auto-vertical-up-chucker"

If it's a semi-auto, Mike Berger wants it banned.

Very good, but shouldn't it be...

How many keys can a lathe chuck chuck when a lathe chuck chucks chuck keys?

Shucks. Makes a bloke want to chuckle. Yuck yuck yuck.

PS. I'm not Chuck. (He IS my brother, though.)

Hmmm...

How many keys can Chuck leave in a lathe chuck before the chuck chucks a key into Chuck?

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