Sand in new Chinese tools

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jmarkwolf

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I'm in the market for an economical 6" or 8" lathe chuck for my rotary table. Can't justify a pricey chuck for my home shop application, but don't want junk either.

I'm reading on the web, that many new Chinese lathe chucks arrive fouled with casting sand, which of course needs to be washed out.

I don't own nor have space for a parts washer.

Can anyone advise if any of the retailers like Shars or others, have better quality product devoid of this sand?
 
You get what you pay for. To offer them at lower costs they have to cut corners.

I've had 2 Gator chucks (made in China) & neither had left over grinding dust. I still took them apart to clean them though as you should with any chuck made in China. You don't need a parts washer to clean them.

Or buy a used quality chuck.
 
No matter what brand you buy or whatever level of quality you get, the chuck should be disassembled, thoroughly cleaned and lubed before putting it into service. I use Dawn soap, water and brushes to get every bit of debris, oil and dust out and then blow them dry before lubing with stuff that I prefer to use. This is par for the course.
 
It is easy to take a chuck apart, so I would just do that to clean any new one. Doesn't require a parts cleaner, just a pan, parts brush and some solvent. You need to disassemble chucks periodically to clean the chips, dirt etc. out and put a light coat of oil on all the parts any way. Before you take it apart the first time, put a set of indexing marks (center punch?) on the body so it goes back together in the same way. Take the jaws out, they need to go back in in the same order. You can tell the order by the position of the threads on them. The one with the tooth closest to the end needs to go in first. Remove the screws, separate the body. To remove the pinions there will likely be a small screw that traps each of them in the body. Remove those. The pinions will now slide out and then the spiral ring can be dumped out. Wash, rinse, dry and lube all moving parts with light oil. A small brush works to put the lube on the parts. I use an acid brush. Once you've done it, it will only take 30 minutes or so the next time. Some cutting oils seem to gunk up a chuck pretty quickly.
 
Most posts I Have seen hear have been about sand in main castings of machines. As dark zero says might be worth poping it apart and cleaning with toothbrush, rag and some light oil to check for burrs and bad finish.

I have a cheep'ish India made 4 jaw and that did have a few bits of burr that were making it less than perfect but for the price was quite good.

Are you looking for 3 jaw or 4 jaw, I would say cheep 4 jaws are going to be better than a cheep 3 jaw due to the extra precision required for nice repeatable centering.

Others may know of which brands are better.

Stu
 
Good input everybody, but I should clarify my question a little.

Do any of the common retailers provide any value add, such as maybe do some in-coming and quality inspection and some cleaning before re-badging and tacking on a surcharge and re-shipping, etc?

Since my original post, I found some Youtube videos regarding dismantling, cleaning and re-assembling lathe of chucks. They're a simpler device than I had imagined.
 
jmarkwolf said:
Good input everybody, but I should clarify my question a little.

Do any of the common retailers provide any value add, such as maybe do some in-coming and quality inspection and some cleaning before re-badging and tacking on a surcharge and re-shipping, etc?

Since my original post, I found some Youtube videos regarding dismantling, cleaning and re-assembling lathe of chucks. They're a simpler device than I had imagined.
Click to expand...

I highly doubt any retailers do any sort of clean up. Badging is done is done by the CM (contract manufacturer). At the least the retailer might inspect the part for cosmetic issues (rust, missing parts, etc) but many don't even do that because of of labor costs.

Whether it's a $300 chuck or a $1000+ chuck, like @mikey stated, it's not a bad idea to disassemble a chuck for inspection, clean up, & relube. Like I stated I have always done so on every single lower cost/quality chuck I've bought & they're easy. The only chucks I have used right out of the box were my two Bison chucks. But as mentioned eventually they'll need to be disassembled & cleaned/relubed so might as well get familiar disassembling a chuck before even using it.
 
I also think its worth reassembling the jaws in the 3 jaw in different slots and measuring the runnout in each position with a couple of different diameters.
Mine had differences between them so I chose the position with the least amount of runnout before marking their position.
 
Cement mixing tub and Kingsford lighter fluid is a simple parts washer. Coffee filters n funnel to strain the lighter fluid for reuse. My 1940's SB13 did not have a chip tray, adapted a small cement mixing tub under the bed to catch the majority of chips.
 
Coleman fuel (naphtha) makes a good, fairly safe cleaning solvent. Not too stinky and evaporates cleanly
It's available in 1 gal. cans at Wall-E mart. They sometimes also carry a generic brand that's a bit cheaper
Mark
 
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