Drill chuck for N-14 Jacobs chuck key

cathead

cathead

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My first thought was to order a K-3 Jacobs Chuck Key on E-bay so looked over the goods a bit and found out that the key has 11 teeth. It seemed like
a good morning to try and make one since it is -16F outside and 70F in the shop and no other projects pressing. It was somewhat of a measure on the
chuck and take my best guess at the angle of the gear teeth. I set up my 90-1 rotary table and used the 44 tooth hole count so each tooth would come
out to 8 turns plus 8 holes on the RT. All in all, not too bad for not knowing anything more than the tooth count I guess. As long as I am set up, I might
as well make another one since I was given two of these N-14 chucks with no key from a friend who pulled them out of the scrap bin at work. That was
another project as the chucks were needing disassembly and cleaning which I had done previously. Here's a couple of photos from the morning's POTD.P1020361.JPG
Just centering the key body in this photo.................

P1020362.JPG
Here I am milling the teeth, used a gear cutter that looked about right for the job..........
I used my digital readout for even tooth depth using the Y axis and just eyeballed
what looked to be a reasonable depth...


P1020363.JPG
Although probably not as precise as the original key, it works fine so was happy with the outcome.
I used a piece of 5/16 inch H-13 steel for the T-bar. Now I have two N-14 Jacobs ball bearing chucks.
One was fitted with an R-8 arbor and the other I set up with MT#3 for lathe use.
 
Last edited:
Cooter Brown said:
H-13 is expensive stuff, have you heat treated it yet? Awesome work!


I'm still trying to find a key for this chuck.....
View attachment 285187View attachment 285188View attachment 285189[/QUOTE ]

Wow! Nice chuck but making a key would be the ultimate challenge I think. I got a large cardboard box of H-13 material
from a friend in the tool and die business. They are pins for casting work. I have diameters from about 1/16 inch to 1/2 inch
and mostly about 10 inches long.
Click to expand...

The pins have a very hard surface and softer inside. I cut them in pieces with a grinder.... nothing else will cut it....
 
Nice work on the chuck key..
But GEEEEZ, -16*F that’s cold, where are you at?
 
Z2V said:
Nice work on the chuck key..
But GEEEEZ, -16*F that’s cold, where are you at?
Click to expand...

North of Bemidji, Minnesota:)

Interestingly, it was 16 below this morning and as the sun came up, it cooled down to 18 below.....:( It's noon now and -13F.
 
cathead said:
North of Bemidji, Minnesota:)

Interestingly, it was 16 below this morning and as the sun came up, it cooled down to 18 below.....:( It's noon now and -13F.
Click to expand...

Makes me shiver just thinking about -16*, we are at 60* now looking for 72* or so later today.
Stay worm my friend
 
Z2V said:
Makes me shiver just thinking about -16*, we are at 60* now looking for 72* or so later today.
Stay worm my friend
Click to expand...

Yes, I do intend to stay warm.


Here's a few off topic cold weather car starting tips when it's 50 below zero...


1. Unroll your extension cord before it gets really cold or it will not unroll or will simply break the plastic if you force it.
Get the silicone sheath electric cord to minimize this problem.

2. Plug your vehicle heater in the night before you need to start the car. You need an engine block heater and
a battery heater is helpful as well if you are serious about starting the engine. A battery charger can
help too if brutally cold out there. Also, be sure to have changed the oil in the fall to the thinner winter viscosity!

3. Put a blanket over the hood of your vehicle. This helps keep in some of the heat. If you park your car
with a warm engine and plug it in and install the blanket, that is the best.

4. Assuming the above things were followed, the car will likely start with little difficulty, that is if there was power to the extension cord...

5. You can warm the engine for an hour if you want but that will do nothing for the rest of the vehicle. I usually start out quite
slowly to limber things up. When is is very cold, the tires will not flex and you need to proceed slowly because the tires
are not round and you can feel the bumps as the tire rotates. After a half mile or so, the tires flex enough so that it gets smooth again.:)

6. Not a car starting tip but it is wise to remember that metals get brittle in the cold and things tend to break at these times.
Carry an emergency kit, jumper cables, and a shovel in your vehicle and be careful out there.



And YES, I have seen 50 below F here in northern Minnesota.
 
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