# New to me Yuasa RT and Adjust-tru Buck Chuck ...



## wquiles (Mar 19, 2009)

Thanks to Barry's recommendation, I picked up this ultra smooth Yuasa RT for my new-to-me knew mill. This thing is so smooth, it is simply unreal:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&item=200312136375


















It is missing one of the lock blocks, so that will be one of my first projects on the knee-mill:





















I also needed a chuck for it, and after a month or two looking on Ebay, I bought this one, not knowing for sure that it was:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&item=360136755935

I was expecting/hoping the chuck to be a good name brand, even a Buck Chuck, but I was not sure. Well, I got it today, and to my surprise, I really got lucky: This is in fact a genuine, heavy duty, old-school Adjust-Tru Buck Chuck !!!. 

In fact, one of the links I found tonight, had the cross reference parts for the older chucks vs. the new ones, and it stated that the newer/current 6-jaw chucks from Buck Chuck are in fact cost reduced units, and that these older ones were the heavy duty models!. I never owned a Buck Chuck before, but besides the traditional 4 screws for the "set true" feature, there is only ONE hole for the scroll, unlike my Bison that has 3 of them. The face and jaws show very little wear - not too bad for an "used" chuck.

So I unpack the chuck, and of course find there is no key - I sent the seller an email about it, so I hope to have the original key some time soon. After finding another key that fits "good enough", I found that it is completely tight - I mean the jaws won't move, in or out. I simply can't get nothing to move at all. Of course I am now a little bit scared! Was this thing cheap because it was shot?

I apply a "lot" of liquid wrench and went to do exercise in our treadmill, and when I came back about an hour later, it was still too tight. I first remove the 6 screws that hold the chuck to the mounting plate - but it would not separate - looks as it was welded in place. I hit it will a soft mallet, but nothing. I then tried to remove the set-tru screws, but those were also there tight, and I noticed some rust in those holes - THAT was the key. This thing must have been sitting somewhere un-used for a LONG time. Before selling it, they just cleaned the outside, but inside it was not cleaned.

With WD-40, and lots of patience, going in then out, back in, back out, I finally was able to remove one of the set-tru screws. I then spray LOTS of WD-40 on that hole, and then keep working on the other ones. By the time I got to the 3rd one, guess what? the mounting plate finally fell of on its own!. Looks like the WD-40 finally got things "wet" enough to move against each other to get things loose. 

I then put the "temporary" key, try to turn it, but it was still tight. I decided to give it a light "tap", and bam!, it started to move. Just like I suspected, a tiny bit of rust and lack of lubrication was simply keeping everything "glued" together. I then removed the 6 jaws (they come pre-numbered from the factory) - no side-to-side play that I could feel. Basically, besides the dirt and light rust, this chuck is simply tight, and in very good shape. I now have to figure out how to get the two parts of the chuck to separate so that I can really clean and grease the internal parts, before putting everything back together. 

Here are some pictures from tonight - still dirty here:




































I still have lots of work ahead of me, but to me that chuck is a diamond in the rough (literally!) :thumbsup:

Will


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## G1K (Mar 19, 2009)

Let me be the first to tell you "You Suck"

That's a nice score.

R


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## Mirage_Man (Mar 19, 2009)

Nice grab Will. Don't be afraid to completely disassemble it and clean it. I took mine completely apart at re-lubed it after getting some chips jammed inside the scroll. I was surprised how simple the innards really are. Just make sure you put everything back in the same spots.

BTW that rotary table is horizontal only, right?


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## precisionworks (Mar 19, 2009)

> Let me be the first to tell you "You Suck"


+1

That's as nice a 6-jaw as you can buy, and a new one costs $1566. Pretty decent buy, at 89% off new price. Serious suckage

The Yuasa table looks sweet. After WWII, the USA helped Japan reestablish their industrial base, and within 20 years, the Japanese started making really nice machine tools. In 1968, a new Japanese company, Mori Seiki, produced their first lathe. It copied the very best features found in USA machines (like American Pacemaker & Monarch) and added a number of refinements. I knew a stubborn old machinist who hated Mori Seiki, called it Jap crap, but everyone else who touched a Mori loved the machine - smooth as silk, quiet, accurate, etc. Today, a used Mori sells for more than it did new.

Nice score on both the RT & the chuck


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## s4biturbo (Mar 19, 2009)

nice score!! I just picked up a 5 inch Bison off ebay which was listed as a drehbankfutter, not Bison. But i could see the bison logo and took a chance. Got it home and sure enough a 3285 three jaw for 90 bucks! Thing doesn't even look like its been used, just probably sat on a shelf still covered in cosmoline. Well now to make a backplate for it!! :tinfoil:


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## StrikerDown (Mar 19, 2009)

Over the past several weeks searching for a RT I almost bought that one, I saw it minutes after it popped up on ebay, it was so clean compared to the others I had been seeing that I came real close to grabbing it. The only thing that stopped me was it wasn't a horiz/vert model! Great choice Will, And nice find on the chuck also... Hey, that chuck has all of it's jaws intact!


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## precisionworks (Mar 19, 2009)

> it wasn't a horiz/vert model


Before H/V tables became readily available, it was common practice to bolt a horizontal "only" table to a large angle plate. Used to do that often in the shop where I worked.

Not as quick as bolting down a H/V table, but the support of a large angle plate is many times more substantial.


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## wquiles (Mar 19, 2009)

Mirage_Man said:


> BTW that rotary table is horizontal only, right?


Yes. But I am doing what Barry stated above and use a 90deg support for an even better setup 

Will


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## wquiles (Mar 19, 2009)

Thank you guys. Every dog has a lucky day 

I will post pictures once it is nice and clean 

Question: What is the correct type of grease/lubrication to use in a chuck such as this one?

Will


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## 65535 (Mar 19, 2009)

Bearing greases work well. As you probably know go light, chips will LOVE to get down in the base plate where the teeth slide. Don't need extra help with extra grease to stick them down.


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## StrikerDown (Mar 19, 2009)

Will,

I wish everyone on ebay could take pictures at least half as good as you and Barry.


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## wquiles (Mar 20, 2009)

StrikerDown said:


> Will,
> 
> I wish everyone on ebay could take pictures at least half as good as you and Barry.



Thank you, but the camera does the hard work 

My Fuji has a reasonably good macro mode, which I use in 90%+ of the pictures I post. The rest is trying to get semi-decent lighting to hit the object 

Will


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## wquiles (Apr 2, 2009)

OK, so after much work, I got the Buck Chuck back to full operating condition.

This is how it looked "before":






This is now it looks now (still need to clean up the excess grease):

















Of course, these are photos of the work in between - now I know how folks feel when they do a small restoration project 

Got the chuck open:






This is what I found:











After much cleaning and many scotch pads:





















In fact, parts are so shinny now that this photo came under-exposed:






Some closeups came up a little bit better:





















Now, somebody at Buck Chuck had a sense of humor. One of the jaws had this stamped:






When I put the two chuck half's together, since it is a press-fit, it did not quite lined up perfectly - rotating the key was not completely smooth. But after a gentle "wack" to turn the top part slightly, it lined up perfectly - now it is butter smooth:











I used Bison Chuck Grease:






Did I mention this is now buttery smooth 

Will


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## wquiles (Apr 2, 2009)

I also completed the cleanup of the Yuasa RT 


RT in pieces:











The side oiling port, gets oil to that groove, which is not in a circle, to keep the two parts oiled:











The inner oil port also feeds an inner groove:






I used Teflon grease:











Now, with the RT re-assembled, you can see a light oil film (I used WAY OIL) from the side, although hard to capture in photos:






During cleanup I found some small Al debris, and after cleaning and re-lubing, the RT is super buttery smooth - takes almost no force to rotate the table, and it has almost zero backlash 

Will


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## precisionworks (Apr 2, 2009)

If I'd realized how nice that chuck was, I would have bid against you

Good choice of grease for the chuck. We use a number of Fuchs Lubritech greases at the factory, pricey as heck but they are superb. The Bison chuck grease is Fuchs Gleitmo 805:

http://www.fuchs-lubritech.com/cms/spip.php?page=produkt&id_rubrique=23&id_produkt=2941

If you ever need it in larger quantities, a 500 gm cartridge is available for $66, from www.cayceco.com


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## StrikerDown (Apr 2, 2009)

Holy Bat stuff Will, That looks great... You do some pretty fine work :wave:

Now lets see you make that table clamp!


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## precisionworks (Apr 2, 2009)

> lets see you make that table clamp


That looks like the very first job for the new RT


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## wquiles (Apr 25, 2009)

Actual fabrication of the replacement steel block in this thread:
https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/228953


Will


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## wquiles (Apr 26, 2009)

Now, while I am still working on the new steel block, I did some work today on another part of this RT/Buck-Chuck combo. The mounting plate for the Buck-Chuck was for a threaded spindle. Since I want to re-use the mounting plate to attach the Buck-Chuck to the RT, I hard to make the side facing the RT flat.






















Needless to say, with all of that steel grit/dust/debris, I "had" to remove the jaws, and clean the jaws/scroll. This time I am trying Way Oil, to see how it works out. Forum member *Anglepoise* (David) would be proud of me 





Will


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## Anglepoise (Apr 26, 2009)

wquiles said:


> Forum member Anglepoise (David) would be proud of me Will



Yes he is......Great job.

Nothing pisses me off more than having the visible part of the scroll jammed up with chips etc. I think you will find a great improvement with way oil instead of grease. Time will tell.


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## Mirage_Man (Apr 26, 2009)

Anglepoise said:


> Yes he is......Great job.
> 
> Nothing pisses me off more than having the visible part of the scroll jammed up with chips etc. I think you will find a great improvement with way oil instead of grease. Time will tell.



I for one will be waiting to hear your thoughts about using the oil vs. grease.


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## gadget_lover (Apr 26, 2009)

One drawback of way oil is that there will be some oil cast off as it spins. Or so I've read. Not a big deal, but one to keep in mind as it spins up. 

Daniel


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## wquiles (Apr 26, 2009)

Anglepoise said:


> I think you will find a great improvement with way oil instead of grease. Time will tell.





Mirage_Man said:


> I for one will be waiting to hear your thoughts about using the oil vs. grease.


I will keep you guys posted on how the Way Oil does 



gadget_lover said:


> One drawback of way oil is that there will be some oil cast off as it spins. Or so I've read. Not a big deal, but one to keep in mind as it spins up.
> 
> Daniel


Well, I did expected some of the excess to fly away as soon as turned on the lathe, and I did get a shower of oil everywhere (ways, back cover, and chuck cover took most of it). Hopefully the remaining oil film will be good. Of course, it does not hurt to squirt more Way Oil now and then 

Will


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## Anglepoise (Apr 26, 2009)

gadget_lover said:


> One drawback of way oil is that there will be some oil cast off as it spins. Or so I've read. Not a big deal, but one to keep in mind as it spins up.
> 
> Daniel



That's true with my setup. I get oil sling for a few seconds and then its fine.
However for me the trade off is worth it.


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## precisionworks (Apr 26, 2009)

> there will be some oil cast off as it spins.


The oil line starts on the wall behind the chuck, goes up to the ceiling, across the ceiling & back down to the operator


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## Mirage_Man (Apr 26, 2009)

precisionworks said:


> The oil line starts on the wall behind the chuck, goes up to the ceiling, across the ceiling & back down to the operator



It may end up looking like the wall behind my old lathe. Yes, I used to use oil before I took mine apart and re-lubed it with grease.


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## Anglepoise (Apr 26, 2009)

That looks really nice. Good old USA iron.
Do you still own it??


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## Mirage_Man (Apr 26, 2009)

Anglepoise said:


> That looks really nice. Good old USA iron.
> Do you still own it??



Nope. Sold when I got my new lathe. I wanted to keep it but space limitaions forced the sale to make room for the mill.


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## nekomane (Apr 26, 2009)

Mirage Man,
That is one of the most beautiful things I have seen on CPF.
Funny how the color matches the grass 
I would love to have one like that. Only if there was enough space..

Sorry to go OT, but couldn't resist.


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## wquiles (Apr 30, 2009)

Question: To hold the chuck's mounting plate to the RT, I bought the 3/8-16 T-Nuts (7/16" width) and also bought 4x Alen head, 3/6-16 hex flat top screws. I have to countersink those "flat" screws to be flush with the mounting table. What is the angle of those Alen head screws?

http://www.boltdepot.com/material.aspx?cc=13&cs=73


What type of cutting bit do I need to make this countersink?

Will


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## gadget_lover (Apr 30, 2009)

I thought that 60 degrees was standard. Don't you have one of those fancy compases with vernier and.... 

I double check with a set of angle guages.

I use a commercial countersink bit most of the time.

Daniel


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## wquiles (Apr 30, 2009)

gadget_lover said:


> Don't you have one of those fancy compases with vernier and....


I don't have one "yet" 




gadget_lover said:


> I thought that 60 degrees was standard.
> 
> I double check with a set of angle guages.
> 
> I use a commercial countersink bit most of the time.


I think it is like 82 degrees, but I want to double check.

Will


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## precisionworks (Apr 30, 2009)

They normally have an 82 deg head, so you'll want to use an 82 deg countersink. These are available with multiple flutes, on single fluted (M A Ford Uniflute).

http://www.maford.com/taf/catalog.t...es=61&_UserReference=017751FB707BD4FD49F9F86D


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## gadget_lover (Apr 30, 2009)

Okaaaay! 

Now you know one more thing to distrust me on.  Angles and Time!

Daniel


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## wquiles (Apr 30, 2009)

gadget_lover said:


> Okaaaay!
> 
> Now you know one more thing to distrust me on.  Angles and Time!
> 
> Daniel



No worries - I still trust in you on non-angles stuff :wave:




precisionworks said:


> They normally have an 82 deg head, so you'll want to use an 82 deg countersink. These are available with multiple flutes, on single fluted (M A Ford Uniflute).
> 
> http://www.maford.com/taf/catalog.t...es=61&_UserReference=017751FB707BD4FD49F9F86D



Thanks - I just ordered that exact one on Enco at almost half price using their current 20% off special 

Will


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## precisionworks (May 30, 2009)

A friend called & asked if I wanted a 1" thick piece of MIC6 tooling plate, 11.5" square. The price was right (free) so the old Troyke table got a new top:






In case you need to know everything about MIC6 plate, here's a brief history:

http://www.designnews.com/article/9664-Designing_with_cast_aluminum_plate.php


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## wquiles (May 30, 2009)

(sorry - double post)


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## wquiles (May 30, 2009)

precisionworks said:


> A friend called & asked if I wanted a 1" thick piece of MIC6 tooling plate, 11.5" square. The price was right (free) so the old Troyke table got a new top:
> (snip pic)



Very nice :thumbsup:


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## StrikerDown (May 30, 2009)

wquiles said:


> Very nice :thumbsup:


 
Plus 1.

And thanks for the reminder to get my Aux top finished! 

What mill did you use on the top? Speed etc?

That picture looks cool!


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## precisionworks (May 30, 2009)

> What mill did you use on the top? Speed etc?


The top & bottom surfaces of MIC6 plate are blanchard ground to less than 20 micro inches, which is about as fine as frog's hair. After drilling & tapping, the top surface was "prettied up" with a white, 4 1/2" bristle disc (3M Corp), running at 1500 rpm. Bristle discs come in brown, green, yellow & white, with white the finest grit. I didn't mic the material removal, but imagine it was around 1 or 2 tenths. Pressure was very light.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000V9WRMY/?tag=cpf0b6-20


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## StrikerDown (May 31, 2009)

The picture isn't a real close up of the surface and the swirl marks look like the pict must have been out of focus or something cause I couldn't see any tool marks! That's why it looks so purdy!


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