# My luck is never this good...



## jhanko (May 14, 2009)

For a couple of months now, I've been looking for a good chuck to replace the piece of crap that came with my lathe. I watched quite a few nice ones pass by as the bidding got out of reach. I was watching a nice Kitagawa that was $199 "buy it now", but didn't get it as his shipping terms said "Freight" and wanted $15 handling charge. This didn't make sense to me, but I didn't want to get stuck with a $75+ shipping charge. I finally decided to give him a call. He said it was marked for freight shipping because they sell mostly large machinery and everything goes freight. He said he would ship the chuck UPS. First problem solved. I asked him about the chuck, and he said it was a CNC accessory that was never used. I pressed my luck and asked if he would accept $150 for it. He said the best he could do was $160. I said I'll take it. He told me to "buy it now", and he would send an adjusted invoice. I buy it and he sends and invoice for $160. Yep, shipping included. That's better than the $150 I offered him, as I planned on paying the UPS charge with that. It arrived today in expert packing. This thing is brand new, with the wax still on it. What a beautiful piece of steel. I also got $20 instant cashback from live search. 
So, I ended up getting a brand new Kitagawa chuck for $140 shipped. I won't know until tonight, but it looks like it may bolt right up without an adapter. My luck is never this good. I better buy a Lotto ticket...


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## wquiles (May 14, 2009)

Every dog has his day 

Congrats on getting such a quality piece for such a steal :thumbsup:


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## precisionworks (May 14, 2009)

Awesome chuck

Nice to know that Live Search is alive again (pun intended). It started at 33%, went down to 25%, went to 0%, and is back up to the current 8% (up to $200 maximum cash back per purchase).


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## csshih (May 14, 2009)

....and... to keep this good luck, you shall send me a titanium nitecore with 5 trits installed.. 

well, lol.

nice snag, and good luck!


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## Anglepoise (May 14, 2009)

What a deal. They sadly do not make this series any more. If it's new it will be very tight for at least a year. Mine is 25 years young and still accurate.

Does it have the other set of jaws??


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## Tekno_Cowboy (May 14, 2009)

Nice catch! You should post some pics when you get it on your machine too


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## StrikerDown (May 14, 2009)

wquiles said:


> Every dog has his day
> 
> Congrats on getting such a quality piece for such a steal :thumbsup:



Woof (ditto) woof woof!

Much nicer than the chuck I just bought!:twothumbs


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## jhanko (May 14, 2009)

precisionworks said:


> Awesome chuck
> 
> Nice to know that Live Search is alive again (pun intended). It started at 33%, went down to 25%, went to 0%, and is back up to the current 8% (up to $200 maximum cash back per purchase).



I caught it when it was at 10%. A few months ago, I saw it when it was 35% , But I didn't have any money to spend. 



csshih said:


> ....and... to keep this good luck, you shall send me a titanium nitecore with 5 trits installed..



Nice try...:nana:



Anglepoise said:


> What a deal. They sadly do not make this series any more. If it's new it will be very tight for at least a year. Mine is 25 years young and still accurate.
> 
> Does it have the other set of jaws??



I was going to comment on that. It is brand new and the jaws are very tight. I thought a teardown & clean would loosen things up, but no dice. When I say tight, I mean nice and tight.  The seller couldn't find the large OD jaws. I'll have to order them. Any leads on who might sell them?

I got it all cleaned up and ready to go. It's so nice, I hate to use it... One more thing: There are three hash marks next to one of the pinion holes. Any ideas on the significance if any?


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## Anglepoise (May 14, 2009)

The 3 hash marks indicate the pinion used to set up and calibrate for accuracy in the factory
and use this pinion to tighten.

The tightness is a bit disconcerting and I remember the thoughts I had on mine. I was assured by the factory to keep the jaws well lubed and clean and they will loosen up in about 10 years. IMHO these chucks were /are the best.


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## wquiles (May 14, 2009)

Anglepoise said:


> The tightness is a bit disconcerting and I remember the thoughts I had on mine. I was assured by the factory to keep the jaws well lubed and clean and they will loosen up in about 10 years. IMHO these chucks were /are the best.



Agreed. Even my less expensive Bison set-tru was tight when new (same for Brian who has the same chuck). It took several weeks or use to become more "usable" or "friendlier to use". Even now after a year or more of use, it is not "loose", but definitely easier to use 

Will


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## jhanko (May 15, 2009)

We'll, my luck ran out. The new chuck is quite a bit larger than the original, even though they are both labeled as 4" chucks. I'm going to have to make a spacer. I'd like to cut off the flange that's on the taper adapter that came with the new chuck, as one side is already finished. However, I can't figure out a way to do this, as it seems I'd be working backwards towards the end result. Maybe it's best I just get some flat stock and start from scratch. At least that way I know that the flange for the new chuck will be true to the spindle. It almost seems like another lathe is needed. Maybe not needed, but that sure would save alot of time...


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## jhanko (May 17, 2009)

Well, I got the chuck mounted today, and all I can sat is WOW! I never imagined anything could be so accurate. First, I made a bushing that pressed onto the flange of the spindle. I secured it with Loctite retaining compound. Then, I faced & turned the bushing while mounted on the spindle. I turned it to the point that the new chuck had to be tapped on. After mounting the chuck, I couldn't detect any runout on the chuck body OD, only detecting .0001" or so when a scratch or nick was encountered. That was a good sign. Using a nice piece of 3/4" drill rod, measuring 2" from the jaws, I got a total runout of .0003". This seemed too good to be true, so I re-chucked and checked again, this time .0004". Still in doubt, I kept checking it until I gave up. Out of ~ 15 tests, the worst runout I got was .0007". The best was .0002". I always wondered how Kitagawa can get away with charging as much as they do for their chucks. Now I know...
The only "complaint" I have is that the jaws are so tight, there's no "feel" of how tight the part is. It's very difficult not to deform a very thin-walled part. All in all, this is the finest piece of machinery I have ever seen in my life...

Jeff


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## wquiles (May 17, 2009)

I can get to about a tad less than 0.0005" in my set-true, but I have to work a while with the adjustment bolts to get there. To get that with no adjustment is awesome. Take care of it, and keep it clean and lubed, so that it will stay nice and accurate for a LONG time


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## cmacclel (Sep 16, 2009)

Jeff on my new chucks what I do is mount up a 3/8 cut off extension in my cordless drill and work it back and forth. It seems to loosed them up 

Mac


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