What R8 drill chuck should I get?

Denisj

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Hi all
Dusting off the HF 6x26 mill
I sold my mini drill press and want to get a drill chuck with the R8 to use this mill as an oversized hole puncher. I occasionally drill 1/2 to 5/8 holes so a chuck that can take that and more would be ideal. I want to try to save money and avoid having a bunch of tooling I’ll never use.
I’m OK with buying good stuff..I plan to keep it when I step up to a bigger machine
Searching eBay I found chucks in the 5/8 to 3/4 size from $19 to $350
Whoa the choices

A little help? USA made? Not a clue what’s good or bad.

Thank you!


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If you plan to use large drills, a US-made Jacobs Ball Bearing Super Chuck would be good. A 16N has a 5/8" capacity, while a 14N goes up to 1/2". Here is one in nice condition that the seller says is made in the US. The ones on sale in most supply houses today are made in China and are not the same as this one. The jaws on this one are in very good condition and the seller is even taking offers.

You can buy an R8 arbor and change out the MT arbor currently in it.

Super Chucks last for decades with care. My 20 year old 14N is like new but it is used only on the lathe. I use Albrechts on my drill press and mill.
 
I use a 1/2" Glacern keyless on the mill & and a Bison 5/8" keyless on the lathe. Been happy with them. I use my 14N keyed chucks if I need to power tap mutliple holes or with S&D drills. Although I have a 5/8" chuck for my lathe, I've really never needed the 5/8 capacity. Well I've used a 5/8" endmill in it once but generally I don't use endmills in the tailstock. I only got that Bison 5/8" keyless cause I scored it for $38 shipped brand new. Otherwise 1/2" capacity would be perfectly fine for me.


Here is one in nice condition that the seller says is made in the US.

That one lists the service kit p/n right on the chuck. Those are the ones that use the new/current caged bearing. There is speculation that when they first changed over to the caged bearing that the early ones were still made in the US. These early ones that use the caged bearing (SVC kit listed on them) said "Jacobs USA" on them but some speculate they weren't actually made in the USA, just indicating that Jacobs is a USA company. Then there are those who say all the ones that lists the service kit number on them are all made overseas. Soon after they stopped putting Jacobs USA on them. If you buy one today it will just say Jacobs, no USA. May not matter much to some, just saying.

All 3 of my 14Ns say Made in Hartford Conn on them. They're getting harder find these days or cost a lot. This reminds me, I have an 18N that I need to rebuild but I may never use it, too big for my needs.
 
Oh for brands, not sure if there are still quality drill chucks made in the USA. We already talked about Jacobs which sadly are no longer made in the US. Jacobs Super Ball Bearing chucks are expensive new & I could never justify paying that much for one new. Used would be best if buying Jacobs. I have a small keyless Jacobs that is made in Italy.

Albrecht is pretty much the best for keyless chucks, again expensive if purchasing new but they are worth it. I seem to always miss out on the great deals on them second hand, maybe someday but I haven't searched in a while.

Llambrich makes very nice quality chucks. Made in Spain. I believe some older Jacobs keyless chucks were made by them. Many Accupro (MSC brand) chucks are made by Llambrich too & they also have Jacobs Super BB knock offs. But Accupro/Llambrich have economy models too. I have an economy Accupro/Llambrich on my cheap Craftsman drill press.

Rohm also makes nice chucks but I know they have an economy line also. I forget which were which though.

Then there's Yukiwa Seiko. They are said to make high quality chucks & I was looking to buy one back when I wanted to buy a Llambrich keyless. But I couldn't find much info on them, don't know anyone who's had one or where to even buy one (at the time). I had a feeling they were probably very expensive & decided that what I had was perfectly fine for me. I believe they make the chucks found on Makitas but can't base the quality of a drill chuck mfg based on the chucks they make for cordless drills.
 
Rohm makes two keyless chucks, the high end Spiro and the economy Supra. I have two Supras and they are very accurate. Not sure I would spend the money on a Spiro unless I got an insane deal. I prefer Albrechts, of which I currently own 5, I think. Yep, just 5 left in my shop.
 
All 3 of my 14Ns say Made in Hartford Conn on them. They're getting harder find these days or cost a lot. This reminds me, I have an 18N that I need to rebuild but I may never use it, too big for my needs.

Yeah, the good US made ones were engraved with the Hartford thing on them. Mine has that, too. Unfortunately, the ebay one I linked to doesn't show if that is on the chuck or not. Might ask before buying.
 
Yeah, the good US made ones were engraved with the Hartford thing on them. Mine has that, too. Unfortunately, the ebay one I linked to doesn't show if that is on the chuck or not. Might ask before buying.

Yeah if it has the SVC Kit P/N directly on the chuck, it wasn't made in Hartford. All the older Hartford ones used the individual ball bearings with races, way before the caged bearing came out.
 
Once you figure out what you want , shoot me a message . I have them all covered . :big grin:
 
As usual, I'm the contrarian.
Get a straight shank chuck (3/4" shank) and cut the shank to about 1/2 length. Much easier to get in and out of the spindle.
Do not hold S&D (reduced shank) drills in a chuck, hold them in a collet. Reduces the likelihood of damage to both chuck and drill.
 
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