HF Lathe chucks/jaws?

[awaqa909]

I've looked up and down their website and at the manual for their 7x12 lathe and can't seem to find this info. I'm looking to find out if the chuck is self centering or independent? Also if jaws are replaceable? At work the cnc lathe has a petal for the jaws and its always centered. Also the guys who setup the lathes have racks filled with jaws. Is it normal to go though so many jaws? I know on the mills with the lathe chuck on the table, the jaws are taken decent care of. They're also different styles of chucks. (perhaps the difference of manual and pedal operation)

Also while reading the manual I noticed the work tolerance is .005" What does this mean? Is it the work the machine can produce, or the work the machine is made out of?

Thanks,
Awaqa909

 

[Tozguy]

From the picture on the HF website, the 3 jaw chuck on the 7x12 is self entering.
The jaws are replaceable, a different set can be required for different sized work. The jaws are not reversible because of the curvature of the grooves that engage the scroll. Page 9 of the manual shows 2 sets of jaws, one internal the other external.

Re the 'work' tolerance of .005'' it must refer to what the machine can produce but it is risky business to interpret someone else' statements.

 

[tweinke]

Here is a link for you, http://manuals.harborfreight.com/manuals/93000-93999/93799.pdf

The manuals are generally listed toward the bottom of the page under the recently viewed section.

 

[darkzero]

3-jaw chucks are pretty much always self centering/scroll chucks. If they do have an independent 3-jaw it must be for some specialized application, I've never seen one.

Technically you can replace single piece jaws but it's not that simple. Chuck jaws are usually ground for a specific chuck body (slots & gripping surfaces). Higher end chucks will have the jaws & slots numbered as well as the serial or identification number on the jaws that match the chuck body. You could aquire another set of jaws & they may or may not fit your chuck body. And they would have to be ground for runout.

What you are seeing with the CNC lathe and all those jaws are probably top soft jaws for 2 piece jaws. On 2 piece jaws you can replace the top jaws with soft jaws (usually aluminum) & they are machined to fit a specific part.