Stubby keys for Dialing in 4 Jaw

[rwm]

I will stop hijacking that other thread and put some pics up here. I like the idea of having 2 stubby keys to work on opposite sides of the 4 jaw to center the part. My 4 Jaw is a Taiwan made 6" Southbend. The key is a weird 8.3 mm size. After Mikey's recommendation in another thread I decided to use 304 SS and make the keys with a collet block.







Robert

 

[rwm]

I plan to use these knobs that I got very reasonably on eBay.



2" O.D. should be enough torque until the final tightening.
I need to figure out the best way to attach A to B.

Robert

 

[mikey]

Hey, those came out really nice, Robert!

 

[C-Bag]

Be interesting to see how they work for you. I've never seen anybody do knurled knobs before. My 9x20 came with reg and a stubby mini reg with the same cross handle. It's really nice because it can fit on the back side and get decent torque out of it for final adjustment and don't have to pull them until I'm going to rotate 90deg. Being able to leave it in place until done helps give a visual reminder of where I'm at and which set of jaws I'm adjusting. I don't use my 4jw that often so it always a bit of relearning.

 

[rwm]

Interesting thoughts. Maybe I could also cross drill it and have a cross handle as well? Or at least a hole to put a handle in?
Robert

 

[higgite]

Good looking work, Robert. I like the idea of a stubby key with a knurled knob like the one in post #2 to use on the backside of the chuck, but I would still use the regular key on the front side. The front side key doesn’t really need to be stubby, plus I would use the standard key for final tightening of all 4 jaws anyway. I'd find keeping up with two keys enough of a challenge, let alone 3. Of course with 2 stubbies, there'd be one to use and one to lose.

Tom

 

[C-Bag]

Interesting thoughts. Maybe I could also cross drill it and have a cross handle as well? Or at least a hole to put a handle in?
Robert

I would cross drill it so a cross handle could be added, but that's just me. Kinda like suspenders and a belt

 

[rwm]

Good looking work, Robert. I like the idea of a stubby key with a knurled knob like the one in post #2 to use on the backside of the chuck, but I would still use the regular key on the front side. The front side key doesn’t really need to be stubby, plus I would use the standard key for final tightening of all 4 jaws anyway. I'd find keeping up with two keys enough of a challenge, let alone 3. Of course with 2 stubbies, there'd be one to use and one to lose.

Tom

Of course that makes sense. Where the heck were you before I was making the second key!? I will finish the one and see how it goes.
Robert

 

[rwm]

The shaft is shrink fit into the handle so no welding or pinning necessary.
Robert

 

[zuhnc]

Make the knurls RED so you don't leave them in the chuck prior to hitting the "ON" switch. Might be easy to forget the one on the backside - out-of-sightut-of-mind. Very nice work. zuhnc