# Drill chuck recommendation



## van123d (Aug 13, 2022)

When I got my mill this past winter a friend of mine who was retiring gave me some old tooling of his that was in excess after setting up his own home shop for retirement. This included a Golden Goose ball bearing keyless chuck. 

Well I had a project that needed an accurately drilled hole for a very fine thread tap. So I bought a reamer for the hole size. Started with a centre drill then drilled it 0.010 undersized. To my surprise the reamer just fell through the hole. I was luckily able to save the part by going up a size. 

It turns out that the chuck has 0.014” TIR when measured on the shaft of a carbide end mill close to the jaws. 

I pulled the chuck apart and the jaws are damaged, and just measuring on the chuck body itself gives me 0.006”TIR. 

So I am at the point where I do not think it is worth investing the money into an Asian drill chuck to try and improve its performance. So I am now in the market for a new drill chuck and looking for some advice from those of you with more experience. 

My mill is a First Bridgeport clone, R8 taper. I prefer the convenience of keyless chuck but am fine with keyed if it gives better accuracy. 

Looking at KBC tools I see Jacobs keyed chucks or Rohm keyless chucks. Open to other alternatives as well. 

Which would you recommend and what taper should it be? 6JT, 33JT, etc. 

Hoping to stay under $350 if possible


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## Degen (Aug 13, 2022)

Consider the chucks from Accusize, way lower cost but quality to match the higher priced units.

I have significantly less drill bit slippage on the Keyless compared to the keyed.  This includes Jacob brand chucks.


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## SomeGuy (Aug 13, 2022)

I picked up these a couple months back, reasonably happy with them for under $100:


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## DPittman (Aug 13, 2022)

I know someone that also had a golden goose chuck and was pleased with it.  However  I would agree that it would not be worth trying to fix given the low price alternatives that are out there. 
I now have a "Chum Power" titanium jaw keyless chuck and have been very pleased with it so far.  I have never had an "Albrecht" or similar high end chuck so maybe I don't know what I am missing.


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## LenVW (Aug 13, 2022)

If you want a high-end ‘Albrecht’ (you can get the medium size) up to 3/8” for $400.

There are several chucks that are accurate and a lower price point, 
see the recommendations above from . . .
@Degen 
@SomeGuy


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## PeterT (Aug 13, 2022)

DPittman said:


> "Chum Power" titanium jaw keyless chuck


I suspect everyone knows but just in case. When the Asian marketers say titanium regarding tooling, they likely mean titanium nitride ceramic coating (typically that gold or tan color) for hardness & wear resistance. Not titanium as in machined from the solid alloy. Not taking anything away from these chucks. Its still a bit hit & miss but many are great value & very good runout specs. My Taiwanese chuck has the same low runout as my (USA made) Jacobs precision at ~ 1/3 the cost at the time. Now how long it stays that way over time & usage or what the +/- tolerance window of the next chuck is maybe another matter. It matters more on small size drill.


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## Tom Kitta (Aug 13, 2022)

I have some used chucks in Calgary. You can choose TIR of your choice. 

You would need to get R8 to JT arbor yourself. I have only MT or NMTB40. 

If you like Accusize stuff just do not buy from them but any other Chinese reseller and save some $$$. Equipment is the same but price is lower.


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## DPittman (Aug 13, 2022)

PeterT said:


> I suspect everyone knows but just in case. When the Asian marketers say titanium regarding tooling, they likely mean titanium nitride ceramic coating (typically that gold or tan color) for hardness & wear resistance. Not titanium as in machined from the solid alloy.


Yes I should have mentioned that the "titanium" claim wasn't a big factor in my buying decision for the reasons you stated.  I purchased an integral shank chuck  and that was more of a factor in my purchase decision as I think that helps reduce runout.


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## thestelster (Aug 13, 2022)

It's kinda funny, sad really.  One of the characteristics of Titanium nitride coatings on cutters is to reduce friction.  And here, they go and put it on the jaws?  Talk about slippage.  If you look at most endmills with coatings, its only on the flutes.  The shanks are bare.  You can even get Albrecht drill chucks with diamond dust empregnated onto the jaws to get a better grip on carbide drill bits.


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## van123d (Aug 13, 2022)

Thanks everyone. I ordered the accusize chuck. I have gotten a couple of things from them in the past and have been happy with them so far. 

Tom - thank you for the generous offer. For now I will try the accusize one and see how it performs. Yes I could save a few bucks more by ordering direct from China but the price is already very reasonable. Through Amazon the shipping is free and will be here Monday with no unknown customs fees. If the measured performance doesn’t meet advertised it should be much easier dealing with Amazon than unknown supplier on Ali. 

Thanks everyone for the advice. I will report the measured runout of the new chuck when it arrives.


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## SomeGuy (Aug 13, 2022)

van123d said:


> Thanks everyone. I ordered the accusize chuck. I have gotten a couple of things from them in the past and have been happy with them so far.
> 
> Tom - thank you for the generous offer. For now I will try the accusize one and see how it performs. Yes I could save a few bucks more by ordering direct from China but the price is already very reasonable. Through Amazon the shipping is free and will be here Monday with no unknown customs fees. If the measured performance doesn’t meet advertised it should be much easier dealing with Amazon than unknown supplier on Ali.
> 
> Thanks everyone for the advice. I will report the measured runout of the new chuck when it arrives.


You can also contact accusize directly, their support is pretty good.


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## LenVW (Aug 14, 2022)

van123d said:


> Thanks everyone. I ordered the accusize chuck. I have gotten a couple of things from them in the past and have been happy with them so far.
> 
> Tom - thank you for the generous offer. For now I will try the accusize one and see how it performs. Yes I could save a few bucks more by ordering direct from China but the price is already very reasonable. Through Amazon the shipping is free and will be here Monday with no unknown customs fees. If the measured performance doesn’t meet advertised it should be much easier dealing with Amazon than unknown supplier on Ali.
> 
> Thanks everyone for the advice. I will report the measured runout of the new chuck when it arrives.


This spiked my curiosity, so I got out the Dial Indicator and checked the spindle on my mini mill from King Canada. I just chucked up a  3/8” Dowel Pin and TIR for a full revolution was .0015”.
I can live with that for the time being.


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## Susquatch (Aug 15, 2022)

LenVW said:


> This spiked my curiosity, so I got out the Dial Indicator and checked the spindle on my mini mill from King Canada. I just chucked up a  3/8” Dowel Pin and TIR for a full revolution was .0015”.
> I can live with that for the time being.



How did you check your spindle with a dowel pin without a chuck or a collet? 

Or did you mean you checked the stacked spindle runout with a chuck or collet and a pin? 

@van123d - you will find that many folks on here have agreed to disagree on Accusize. I'm one of those who likes them. I've bought lots of stuff from them that I'm very happy with. 

I usually buy accusize from Amazon for the free shipping and free returns and convenience. But like others have said, if you are not happy with whatever you get you can either return and exchange with Amazon, or call Accusize direct. They have ALWAYS made me happy - even when the problem was my fault.

I will almost always choose Accusize over Ali even if I think there is good reason to believe it's the same stuff. My quality of life is better paying the extra to get it in two days with no worries about returns. 

Which chuck did you get? Looking forward to seeing your review of it. 

My experience with chuck runout is kinda weird. I have a Gerardi Spa chuck that came with my used milll - not quite the reputation of Albrecht, but up there. I was shocked at its runout which I thought wasn't that good till I started seeing the runout of other members chucks. Now I think it's pretty darn good - big attitude adjustment for me. 

If you have an R8 ER collet system, and you need better runout, you might consider drilling with that instead. If you don't have that, I'd consider getting one....... from Accusize LOL. I think ER32 is the most popular in the R8 spindle class but I'd easily be convinced otherwise.


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## van123d (Aug 15, 2022)

I bought the same accusize chuck and arbor that SomeGuy posted above. 

Initial thoughts are that it looks decent. The feel is a bit gritty. Definitely does not feel as nice as the Taiwanese chuck I am replacing. I will have to open it up to clean and relube it which will likely help some. 

Initial measurement is much improved over my existing chuck but I was hoping for better. I am getting between 0.0045”-0.005” TIR when measured on a few different carbide endmills in the jaws. I get about 0.002” TIR when measuring on the body of the chuck. 

I guess this is about what I can expect. Stated accuracy for the chuck alone is 0.0055”, I was just hoping for better. 

This is generally in line with my experience with Chinese suppliers. Usually right at the extreme of their specification limit where as with more reputable sources they are usually well within their limits. 

This will be good enough for my purposes but I will add an ER32 collet system in the future.


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## PeterT (Aug 15, 2022)

I would bet that the grit you feel is not leftover abrasive, its likely rough-ish finishing on the scroll threads / jaws / inner cone etc. May well be a different model but I've seen a similar one apart & it was rather underwhelming. They did a better job on the outside vs. the inside where it counts.

PM sells a nice line of precision chucks with integrated shank if you want to spend your money once. I'm pretty sure its the same one I have under a different name. They sell on Ebay too & have sales if you watch. Higher cost than Accusize obviously but just to give you reference, their definition of precision is +/-.00078″ runout which is a bit more than what I measured.





						1/8-5/8 Ultra Precision Keyless Drill Chuck – Precision Matthews Machinery Co.
					






					www.precisionmatthews.com
				




full line





						Search Results for “drill chuck” – Precision Matthews Machinery Co.
					






					www.precisionmatthews.com


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## Degen (Aug 16, 2022)

I can say the one I bought from Accusize is smooth as butter.  Earlier this year I met with one of the sales men at their shop (because I ordered the wrong lathe chuck mounting, they exchanged no problem, no fees no problems). He did state that they constantly upgrading their suppliers as they find issues (based on your feedback).

Overall, my recommendation is that if you have issue contact them they are extremely helpful in my opinion.

To be fair they are about 20-40mins away depending on traffic.


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## Chicken lights (Aug 16, 2022)

Susquatch said:


> How did you check your spindle with a dowel pin without a chuck or a collet?
> 
> Or did you mean you checked the stacked spindle runout with a chuck or collet and a pin?
> 
> ...


If I wanted to check the TIR on my drill press- what would I use and how would I do that 

I have a spotting drill that should have a fairly round shaft, and a dial indicator. Just chuck it and rotate the spindle by hand, watching the dial indicator?


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## Susquatch (Aug 16, 2022)

Chicken lights said:


> If I wanted to check the TIR on my drill press- what would I use and how would I do that
> 
> I have a spotting drill that should have a fairly round shaft, and a dial indicator. Just chuck it and rotate the spindle by hand, watching the dial indicator?


Yes. Just mount the indicator base magnet on the spindle housing. 

If your drill press is sturdy, you can also put the magnet on your table or drill press vice. Just make sure they are sturdy. If the needle moves around as you press on the table or vice, you will get a false reading on the runout. 

Put the indicator needle as close to the chuck jaws as you can. 

You can also check axial alignment by putting the needle further away from the Jaws.


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## Chicken lights (Aug 16, 2022)

Susquatch said:


> Yes. Just mount the indicator base magnet on the spindle housing.
> 
> If your drill press is sturdy, you can also put the magnet on your table or drill press vice. Just make sure they are sturdy. If the needle moves around as you press on the table or vice, you will get a false reading on the runout.
> 
> ...


You should roughly get the same reading by the jaws as well as 3-4” down on a shaft? (dependant on tooling size and rigidity)


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## Susquatch (Aug 16, 2022)

Chicken lights said:


> You should roughly get the same reading by the jaws as well as 3-4” down on a shaft? (dependant on tooling size and rigidity)



Yes, you "should", but you likely won't. Any axial misalignment will show up as a wobble at the tip of the tool. It's pretty hard to get both centering and axial alignment perfect.  

Theoretically, it's possible to have axial alignment correct for runout, but only at one very particular length or distance. I would think that's almost never the case. 99% of the time the alignment is going to be divergent. Not only that but the closer you get to center on the chuck itself, the harder it gets to have convergent axial alignment. 

All this assumes your gauge pin is perfect. That's not universally true.


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## historicalarms (Aug 16, 2022)

Rotating the chuck will give you a run-out reading for the chuck & jaws but not the drill press spindle To measure spindle alone set dial plunger somewhere between chuck ring & drill press body on the spindle and just push & pull back and forth, the dial reading is the drill quill runout without chuck exaggeration.


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## LenVW (Aug 16, 2022)

When I was checking the TIR of my mini-mill I anchored my dial indicator to the table and used my 1/2” Drill Chuck to clamp onto a 3/8” Dowel Pin.

As I stated previously, the TIR for a full rotation was .0015”.


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## Susquatch (Aug 16, 2022)

historicalarms said:


> Rotating the chuck will give you a run-out reading for the chuck & jaws but not the drill press spindle To measure spindle alone set dial plunger somewhere between chuck ring & drill press body on the spindle and just push & pull back and forth, the dial reading is the drill quill runout without chuck exaggeration.



Isn't that measuring the quill slop/play not runout?


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## LenVW (Aug 16, 2022)

I am more concerned with the produced effect (ie. drilled or milled diameter).
Who cares if the spindle has a wobble ?
If your chuck has a small TIR, their is no problem.
It will become an issue if you are running high RPMs and it may induce vibration.

Every mill/drill will have some degree of Runout.


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## historicalarms (Aug 17, 2022)

Susquatch said:


> Isn't that measuring the quill slop/play not runout?


  They are the same thing in my mind. If a quill has bearing preload slop or barrel clearance in the head,  then, no mater how accurate your chuck is it will still have the run-out built into the loose quill.

 Len is right , every quill has a built in run-out, its simply the nature of the beast that is required to facilitate the quil range of movement without much effort but it still is a separate measurable tolerance compared to a jaw chuck . 
    When you are spudding a drill bit into a sub dia pilot hole or center punch divot it is very easy to see a miss alignment of 10 thou or so but very difficult to see less than a 2 thou missed alignment ...but no matter how hard or unsee-able it is, the drill miss alignment that will cause wobble & oblong holes is still there ( an oblong chamber with a miss-aligned reamer is a good example only in a bigger sense).
     Basically it doesnt matter how we measure, one or both separately they both effect performance of the tool.


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## PeterT (Aug 17, 2022)

Maybe I'm misunderstanding the discussion but a mill spindle should have runout in the tenths, not thousandths. That's in part because of much better quality, typically AC bearings, preloading, better quality low tolerance fits & finishing... all that good stuff. Now if its worn or just lower on the quality scale, different story. A decent drill press might also have AC but (guessing) hobby class might be thrust bearings or preloaded plain bearings, but still hopefully still be in the sub-thou TIR range. My RF-45 mill drill was~ 0.0003" if I recall (measured on the R8 seat). My 935 mill is ~ 0.0001". My Taiwan bench drill press is amazingly good, about 0.0002-0.0003".

Runout could be additive or subtractive depending on the accessory orientation. For example a 0.0020" runout chuck on a 0.0005" runout spindle could be 0.0025" or 0.0015" depending on how they are engaged. Even this is very simplified because other factors can further enter the picture. The chuck jaws might grip differently on different diameter stock. A 2$ drill may have low runout shank but have poor asymmetrical tip grinding & wander for that reason. Also consider scale: 0.002" runout on a 0.5" drill is 0.4% of diameter. But on a 1/32" drill represents 6.4%. So again, depends on what you're doing.


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## Susquatch (Aug 17, 2022)

historicalarms said:


> They are the same thing in my mind. If a quill has bearing preload slop or barrel clearance in the head,  then, no mater how accurate your chuck is it will still have the run-out built into the loose quill.
> 
> Len is right , every quill has a built in run-out, its simply the nature of the beast that is required to facilitate the quil range of movement without much effort but it still is a separate measurable tolerance compared to a jaw chuck .
> When you are spudding a drill bit into a sub dia pilot hole or center punch divot it is very easy to see a miss alignment of 10 thou or so but very difficult to see less than a 2 thou missed alignment ...but no matter how hard or unsee-able it is, the drill miss alignment that will cause wobble & oblong holes is still there ( an oblong chamber with a miss-aligned reamer is a good example only in a bigger sense).
> Basically it doesnt matter how we measure, one or both separately they both effect performance of the tool.



As long as I understand what you mean it's all ok. 

What you describe is all important and I agree with it. 

It's just that I separate each component in my mind and then combine them for their resulting impact on the job. Just a different approach to the same problems. No biggie. 

Count on me to forget the way you consider it all though. In my old age I'll forget who it was that thought that way...... 




PeterT said:


> Maybe I'm misunderstanding the discussion but a mill spindle should have runout in the tenths, not thousandths. That's in part because of much better quality, typically AC bearings, preloading, better quality low tolerance fits & finishing... all that good stuff. Now if its worn or just lower on the quality scale, different story. A decent drill press might also have AC but (guessing) hobby class might be thrust bearings or preloaded plain bearings, but still hopefully still be in the sub-thou TIR range. My RF-45 mill drill was~ 0.0003" if I recall (measured on the R8 seat). My 935 mill is ~ 0.0001". My Taiwan bench drill press is amazingly good, about 0.0002-0.0003".



Yup. 

I'll have to measure a few of my spindles. I really can't tell you how good or bad they are. 

I'm especially interested in my drill press. I don't think I'm gunna like what I find. It has seen better days.


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## Degen (Aug 19, 2022)

Update on the Keyless Accusize chuck, as I know have done about 2400 holes ranging from 3/16 up to 1/2".  Cobalt and carbide drills.

I am impressed, no slippage, no dropping the bit.

This is definitely a way better solution than a keyed chuck.


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## Degen (Sep 29, 2022)

Update on my Accusize keyless chuck after drilling an excess of 4000 holes (yes 3000 drilled in about a week in 900lbs of aluminium) love it. Holds way tighter with less slippage and drill shank damage compared to any keyed drill chuck (brand name or if shore that I've ever had or still have).  As I have time (and spare change) all my chucks will be going this way on the rest of the machines.


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## Tom Kitta (Sep 29, 2022)

After some incidents with self tightening chucks I decided never to buy another one and do exactly opposite to what you are doing i.e. only keyed chucks for me. I probably leave one just as a reminder why they are terrible.


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## historicalarms (Sep 29, 2022)

Degen said:


> Update on my Accusize keyless chuck after drilling an excess of 4000 holes (yes 3000 drilled in about a week in 900lbs of aluminium) love it. Holds way tighter with less slippage and drill shank damage compared to any keyed drill chuck (brand name or if shore that I've ever had or still have).  As I have time (and spare change) all my chucks will be going this way on the rest of the machines.


  the key word here is "aluminum" . I'm with Tom on this one.


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## Tom Kitta (Sep 29, 2022)

historicalarms said:


> the key word here is "aluminum" . I'm with Tom on this one.



2nd key word here is small holes - up to 1/2 in. And I bet also not deep - maybe 1" at most. 

3rd is holds tighter - which is why I am getting rid of mine - the issue is self tightening. I am not the only one that has this problem - there are many chucks on eBay for sale that basically are sold for like $10 for a $300 chuck which cannot be released or locked etc. 

I guess the chuck is simply not universal - only for small holes and not too deep.


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## Degen (Sep 29, 2022)

I drill both small holes #29 and large 3/8, 7/16  and 1/2" upto 1" thick. 

In regular keyed chucks (brand name included) I find the larger bits slip and damage the shank of the bit, more so with aluminium (it grabs as tooling heats up in production).  The keyless does not seem to have that issue.

I do ensure I lock the chuck prior to use be it keyed or keyless.


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## van123d (Sep 29, 2022)

Odd coincidence that this topic got kicked up again today as Canada post just dropped off one of the Precision Matthew’s chucks mentioned earlier in the thread. 

I didn’t have my tenths indicator mounted but with a 0.001 indicator it is slightly less than 0.001 TIR. 

The quality difference between the two is obvious. The PM chuck is a bit stiffer to turn but absolutely no grit feel. Very smooth. They do include a wrench to unlock the chuck if it over-tightens as well. 

As long as I can unlock the chuck with the provided wrench if it self tightens beyond a normal amount then I am fine with that. Doesn’t seem much different than needing a key to unlock a keyed chuck.


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## Dabbler (Sep 29, 2022)

Tom Kitta said:


> After some incidents with self tightening chucks I decided never to buy another one and do exactly opposite to what you are doing i.e. only keyed chucks for me. I probably leave one just as a reminder why they are terrible.





van123d said:


> As long as I can unlock the chuck with the provided wrench if it self tightens beyond a normal amount then I am fine with that. Doesn’t seem much different than needing a key to unlock a keyed chuck.


 I'm sorry to be late to this thread.  I could have given you a good chuck to try.

I only have keyed chucks, except for one keyless chuck for each the lathe and mill.  The lathe one will be sold with my lathe.  Yes it is offshore, but Taiwanese, and I thought I'd give it a try.  

A standard Jacobs' chuck is far superior in every way:  runout, gripping power, and *surprisingly* usability.  You can just leave the key in the chuck at 90 degrees to the lathe spindle.  It is actually faster than a keyless chuck. 

The keyless chuck in the mill (R8 BTW)  has about .004 runout, instead of .0015 runout of my Jacobs chuck.  You can easily feel it while drilling.  

Just this year I managed to get 2 used Jacobs Superchucks (ball bearing and lower runout)  so we'll see where they will go.  Yes they are keyed. One day I will try an Albrecht keyless chuck.  but until then I'm done with keyless.

I hope your keyless experience is better than mine @van123d


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## Susquatch (Sep 29, 2022)

@van123d - one thing that has not been mentioned so far is the need to hold the spindle when tightening a keyless chuck. I find that to be a PIA.

As I mentioned earlier, I do have a very high quality Gerardi keyless chuck that came with my mill along with a Gerardi vise. I've forgotten the runout of the Gerardi but I'm pretty sure it's around a thou - but not low tenths. It certainly does everything I need it to do.

But there is another side to the story. My mill spindle turns pretty easily. I can't properly tighten my keyless chuck without holding the spindle brake firmly at the same time. That makes it difficult to hold the drill bit too. Yes, I can tighten the chuck with a quick twist enough to hold the bit temporarily, but if I subsequently tighten the chuck the wrong way, the bit falls in the swarf or drops onto the work - not good. I really need three hands!

A key would make that a much easier assignment.

I also have a keyless Southbend Chuck with an MT3 shank that fits my lathe. I have no problems with it at all. It came with a wrench that I've never used.

I've had keyed chucks most of my life. They work just fine if you ask me.


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## Degen (Sep 30, 2022)

Susquatch said:


> @van123d - one thing that has not been mentioned so far is the need to hold the spindle when tightening a keyless chuck. I find that to be a PIA.



No you don't and I don't have a spindle lock on my machine and my spindle turns freely.

IMHO it really comes down to adaptation of the user as to how different tools work and are accepted by the user.

I finally tried it and switched because I had issues with the chucks I used and I bought all new.  I have read some technical articles that indicated that keyless seems to get better a better hold and accuracy and as a result are used in CNC.  If its good enough for CNC it should do well enough for our littler duty requirements.


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## Tom O (Sep 30, 2022)

I just like the fact the key doesn’t go missing and it’s hard to find a key that fits now if they were the same it would be no problem. I’ve never had a problem with the keyless types or noticed any if your that fussy then drill undersize and bore/ream the hole is the way I think it should be done anyway if it requires that close of tolerance.


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## thestelster (Sep 30, 2022)

I agree with @Degen
 I purchased an Albrecht drill chuck with integral 1/2" shaft, 36 years ago for use on my milling machine.  I've used it almost every day of that time.  Even if I only drilled one hole per day, that's 13,000 holes, and it still looks brand new.  To install a bit, hold the bit with your right hand, put it in the chuck snug it up with your left hand, lock the spindle, tighten, unlock, drill.  To remove, just a quick twist of the wrist loosens it.  But...two caveats: 1. it is not meant to run in reverse, (though, when power tapping I've never had it loosen when backing the tap out). 
2.  Yes  it self tightens.  The bigger the bit, the higher the forces, the tighter it gets.  Good!!!...yes, I have drilled 3" holes with a holesaw in steel, and couldn't loosen it with a flick of the wrist.  That's why we have strap wrench or even leather and channel locks.

I have Jacobs key chucks, with ball bearings, up to the 18N which I use for the lathe.  I don't like them.  I have to tighten each of the three positions to grip even close, and they never seemed to be on center.  I ended up getting another Albrecht  and a Rohm keyless.  I'll use the 18N on occasion, only because it will grip to 3/4" diameter bits.


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## Dabbler (Sep 30, 2022)

thestelster said:


> an Albrecht drill chuck with integral 1/2" shaft, 36 years ago


I'll really have to try a real albrecht.  



thestelster said:


> and they never seemed to be on center


the opposite of my experience.  wow.  3 of my Jacobs chucks seem to be within the thou range of center.  The two new ones are not tested (yet)  They are both used, so anything goes there.


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## Susquatch (Sep 30, 2022)

thestelster said:


> I purchased an Albrecht drill chuck with integral 1/2" shaft, 36 years ago for use on my milling machine. I've used it almost every day of that time. Even if I only drilled one hole per day, that's 13,000 holes, and it still looks brand new. To install a bit, hold the bit with your right hand, put it in the chuck snug it up with your left hand, lock the spindle, tighten, unlock, drill. To remove, just a quick twist of the wrist loosens it.



OK, you have my attention. 

Hold the bit with your right hand, snug the chuck with your left, *lock the spindle*, tighten. 

I don't have a lock. Just a brake. I can't easily hold the brake, the drill, and the chuck at the same time. Usually, I can hold the chuck and the bit with one hand at the same time but it's less than ideal. 

I think my Spindle turns a lot easier than most do. There is no way I can tighten my chuck enough to hold the drill bit other than precariously and it often falls out in the process of reaching for the brake. 

A spindle lock would be nice. 

So, I'm not saying I hate keyless chucks or that they don't work for me. I'm just saying it isn't always so easy to do, and a keyed chuck does not have that problem at all because the brake isn't needed. 

I'm with @Dabbler - I'd love to try an Albrecht too.


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