Accupro JT33 keyless chuck experience, anyone?

[Beerhippie]

From what little I can gleam about this chuck, it's the MSC branded budget llambricht from Spain.

Has anyone used one for a drill press? Whadda' ya' think?

 

[darkzero]

EDIT: N/M. My dumb *** didn't see that you said keyless. I still prefer a keyed chuck for a DP.

Which model? There's quite a few Accupro branded Llambrich chucks. For my 8" China Craftsman DP I wanted a better chuck but the cheapest name brand I could find. I ended up getting the cheapest Accupro there was.

It was better than the stock chuck but it was nothing to brag about. It had under 2 thou runout which was within spec. I ended up giving that DP to my lil brother & I'm pretty sure I put the stock chuck back on. I should still have that chuck in a box somewhere.



For drill chucks (and lathe chucks), you get what you pay for. If you just need a cheap replacement I say go for it. If you want a better upgrade, don't go for the cheapest one. Llambrich & Accupro have a Jacobs Super Ball Bearing knock off but I'm not sure how good or bad it is. Never ran into someone who has one.

If I were to do it over again, I wouldn't get the most basic chuck they have again. Depends on the drill press though. I paid $100 for that CM DP in the early 00s, the Accupro chuck cost me $45 I think, so I couldn't justify anything more expensive, it took me a while to convince myself to even spend that much.

Well I have had to do it over again. My current DP is an older 12" Wen that I rebuild & modded. I had bought a number of older Jacobs Hartford CT Super Ball Bearing chucks used on ebay & refurbished them. The one with the worst runout (but still pretty good) I put on the Wen. I still prefer to use a keyed chuck on a drill press.



Here's what the Wen looked like when I bought it & my old CM 8" (I shortened the height).

 

[dogdog]

do you really need that accurate of hole drilled down to .001”

 

[dogdog]

Lucky for you... Grizzly have one on sale right now..

https://www.grizzly.com/products/shop-fox-1-2-x-jt33-keyless-drill-chuck/d3457 $40... it was cheaper earlier.

 

[Whitworth]

I've had good luck with Llambricht.

 

[Beerhippie]

I've had good luck with Llambricht.

For $300, I'd hope so!

I just want a nice, keyless chuck for an old drill press I've thrown far too much money at already. I may just try that one from Griz. It's a drill press used mostly for metal, but occasionally for wood, sometimes large Forstners and hole saws, so some degree of accuracy would be appreciated--and staying tight when I tighten it.

 

[danielbuck]

I have a keyless chuck in my DP (I think it was a used albrecht?) I was sort of concerned that it wouldn't hold larger drill bits without slipping, I've been surprised at how well it works though. It even handles using a fly-cutter type circle cutter that I occasionally use without needing extra leverage to tighten the chuck other than my hands.

 

[neophyte]

Keyless chucks go back to at least the 1920s or 1930s, and were an option offered on tools made for industrial use, including original Black & Decker drills, meant for modular drill stands. (For those who doubt these portable drills were actually used for industrial use, there are pictures from production factories, including Atwater Kent, showing the drill stand mounted drill in use).

 

[darkzero]

drill press used mostly for metal, but occasionally for wood, sometimes large Forstners and hole saws, so some degree of accuracy would be appreciated--and staying tight when I tighten it.

Keep in mind that keyless chucks (for machines, not handheld drills) are not intended to be used with bit larger than their capacity. For example, a 1/2" keyless chuck, although you can use reduced shank bits like S&D drills, larger than 1/2" dia is not recommened. Maybe for wood it would be fine.

Keyless chucks by design self tighten, for a large bit, the torque applied to it can be great enough that you won't be able to loosen the chuck by hand (like if the bit were to grab and/or jam). Many people have had to resort to using a vise & Channelocks to vet em loose. In some cases the overtightenig can cause damage to the chuck.

Some manufacturers add a hole or flats to use a pin spanner or wrench to loose. They do this "just in case" & they should never be used to tighten the keyless chucks. But with proper use you should never need to use a wrench to loosen. Albrecht doesn't make their's with a means for a wrench.

Cheap generic keyless chucks can have tightening/slipping issues as well as high runout (if that matters to you, for a DP a bit of runout is really not a big deal). If you do decide to buy one, I would buy from someone who has easy returns just in case. Otherwise get a quality name brand one like Llambrich.

I have Albrecht, Bison, Jacobs (Italy) & Glacern keyless chucks, all of which I'm happy with & use "properly" but none of them are used in a drill press (again I still prefer keyed on a DP).

 

[Beerhippie]

Thanks, DZ. I have two US-made 1/2" Jacobs 33 keyed chucks but was thinking of the convenience and speed of a keyless for the DP. I may reconsider and save a few $$$.

I have a run-out problem with my DP, but I'm pretty sure it's the spindle and I have a new one on the way. By "run-out", I don't mean something measured with dial gauge in ten-thousandths, I mean the drill bit wobbles visibly. Once engaged in the work, it's stable as hell and makes nice holes.

 

[darkzero]

convenience and speed of a keyless for the DP

That they are. On my mill drill I use a keyless most of the time. But on a mill it's easy to switch out chucks/tooling when needed. On a drill press not so much even if you have a MT spindle.

It depends on your usage, it you won't ever "abuse" or run a DP hard & need to switch bits often, then I'd say go for the keyless. For me I don't have dedicated room for a DP so no floor standing one. I don't use a DP that much so a benchtop one is fine for me. A keyed chuck works better for me on my DP.

But IMO no need for a $300 keyless chuck on a DP. Drilling is not for making accurate holes, they're just the more efficient way to make a hole. But of course nothing wrong with getting something nice if that's what you want. Me personally I would look on ebay. I got my 1/2" Albrecht for less than half that price & it was basically in brand new condition.