Sherline chucks

[skogkatt007]

First off let me say I passed up the deal of the century for a (new) Sherline lathe and mill in November. New from the factory, 30% off, shipping was murderous though. I won' t be buying any of their machines as a result, not new anyway. I've determined they're just not for me.

But the 30% sale is still on an also applies to chucks and many other items. So, given I may spring for a Taig lathe at some point, and since it utilizes the same chuck mount, I thought it might be a good idea to spring for a 3.1" 3 jaw and a 3.1" 4 jaw. Total to my door 250$. But I need some input as to whether it's really worth it. I have a bunch of Sanou 3 and 4 jaw chucks I've paid 40$ and under for. 1 was a little over 60$. That's still half what a Sherline chuck would cost. Am I likely to really see a substantial difference with use? I haven't had a chance to do much more then give them a visual once over. No way of knowing if 1 or more may be substantially flawed. And backplates would have to be made.

Is 250$ for a pair of chucks I may need down the road a wise investment? Are they worth it above what I already have?

 

[skogkatt007]

I forgot to comment on Taig chucks. Whereas the 4 jaw model is pretty cheap and a possibility I suppose, I really want nothing to do with their 3 jaw model with the aluminum jaws. If it worka for you great. I'm going to have to pass though.

 

[ChazzC]

I picked up a Taig 4-jaw self-centering chuck a year or two ago for $20 (from Taig): I don’t know if it was a mistake or a special run: has 1”-8 threaded back instead of 3/4”-16. I spent almost as much for an adapter as the chuck cost.

I do have a Sherline 3-jaw that I got ages ago for my Sherline Rotary Table: handy size for my mini-Mill.

 

[Forty Niner]

. So, given I may spring for a Taig lathe at some point, and since it utilizes the same chuck mount, I thought it might be a good idea to spring for a 3.1" 3 jaw and a 3.1"

Although both lathes have the same pitch thread, the spindle fit on the Taig lathe is longer. So the Sherline chuck does not screw on all the way on a Taig spindle. This can be overcome by making a spacer to fit behind the Sherline chuck. I found this out when I went to mount a Sherline faceplate on the Taig lathe. The Sherline 3 jaw and 4 jaw chucks would also require spacers.

I understand your concern about the Taig three jaw chuck, but their 4 jaw chuck seems good to me.
I have both Taig and Sherline lathes and chucks from each manufacturer. I haven't seen the need to swap chucks between manufacturers. However, I do use a Taig ER16 collet mount on my Sherline equipment.

 

[EricB]

I have a several Sherline chucks. A couple of these were opportunistic purchases but I've used them all. The 2.5" 4 jaw was sold by Sears so it's probably the oldest of the group. The 4 jaw scroll on the right is the newest. The quality seems consistent for all of them. You get what you pay for IMHO.


I was wondering about the length of the Taig spindle threads interfering with the scroll chucks. I could not find a spec for it. The older Sherline scrolls only had about 0.5" from the back edge to the back of the jaws. The later chucks have 0.6" depth. The 4 jaw independents only have 0.53" from the back to the threads of the screws for the jaws.

Eric

 

[ChazzC]

Although both lathes have the same pitch thread, the spindle fit on the Taig lathe is longer. So the Sherline chuck does not screw on all the way on a Taig spindle. This can be overcome by making a spacer to fit behind the Sherline chuck. I found this out when I went to mount a Sherline faceplate on the Taig lathe. The Sherline 3 jaw and 4 jaw chucks would also require spacers.

I understand your concern about the Taig three jaw chuck, but their 4 jaw chuck seems good to me.
I have both Taig and Sherline lathes and chucks from each manufacturer. I haven't seen the need to swap chucks between manufacturers. However, I do use a Taig ER16 collet mount on my Sherline equipment.

LMS sells a "Spacer," basically a narrow washer:

 

[skogkatt007]

Taig's 4 jaw is about 85$ shipped. A Sherline chuck about 125$. Is it likely to blow my socks off? Sherline, although used for watch repair, isn't manufactured to so called horological standards (like a boley, derbyshire, levin, etc.). Do their chucks make certain tasks significantly less difficult?

 

[Aaron_W]

Taig's 4 jaw is about 85$ shipped. A Sherline chuck about 125$. Is it likely to blow my socks off? Sherline, although used for watch repair, isn't manufactured to so called horological standards (like a boley, derbyshire, levin, etc.). Do their chucks make certain tasks significantly less difficult?

I have a Taig 4 jaw, for my Taig lathe and Sherline 3 and 4 jaw chucks for my Sherline. I find the Sherline chucks better quality, but the Taig 4 jaw is fine and is quite a bit cheaper. It is a 4 jaw so a bit less critical since you have to dial the work in anyway.


I was really turned off by the fact that you have to finish the Taig 3 jaw chuck yourself. It also looks kind of hokey, almost DIY like. It is significantly cheaper than Sherline 3 jaw though ($80 vs $170), so I get it for people on a tight budget and once you "tune it" to your lathe I'm sure it does the job.