Beerhippie
Well-known member
I found one thread on this from back in '15, but it wasn't a No 33 and I have different ways of doing things.
So, here's my take on it.
I have two Jacobs #33s, neither in terrible shape but neither in perfect running shape, either. The one that's on my DP is the better of the two, but catches when tightening--it feels like the jaws have closed, but they haven't. Turning it back and forth gets it past the catch, but then it does it again. I figure that's got something to do with several decades of use and abuse--mainly dirt and rust. The other is just an ugly duckling--it looks older and has been beat onto the taper by some monkey with a hard-face hammer, so may never really run true again, but I think I can make it better--at least, a good clean and lube won't hurt.
First, I need a press to get the chuck apart. I don't have a press. If I had just the right piece of metal--pipe or really large socket--to use as an anvil I could use a vise, but I don't have those, either.
There's the right way, then there's the Hippie way:
I made sure the jaws were below flush with the chuck body so I wasn't pounding on them. Just seems reasonable.
As soon as I got movement, I had a friend hold a shop towel under the chuck to catch the pieces. It actually came apart pretty easily--more like tapping than pounding.
Yuck!
Cleaned up a bit:
I gave the parts a good soak in mineral spirits, then a rinse in white gas (camp fuel), let dry, then a short soak in some hot phos acid solution. Still a little rust, but not where it matters.
I gave the exposed parts a very light coat of diluted BLO. The moving parts--ring nut and jaws--got a light coat of moly grease on the engaging surfaces.
Putting it back together... sorry, no pics here. Anyhow, the three jaws need to go in the right order. Fortunately, the chuck body is stamped for them, 1,2,3! Unfortunately, I could find no corresponding marks on the jaws, even using a 10X loupe after cleaning. So it's trial-and-error, but with three jaws, that's only 9 different positions--if I recall my Stats 101. 3 X 3, right?
I tried scribing the jaws with a carbide scribe--nope. Them jaws is hard.
So, insert jaws in body, being careful to get the thread sections aligned right. Turn the whole job jaws down on a flat surface to get all the jaws in the same position. Ring nut halves (the ring nut is made in one piece, then hardened, scored and snapped in two to make two perfectly matched halves) go in the now-lower groove of the body, taper down. Holding the ring nut together, run it to turn the jaws out and... nope. One jaw is sticking out farther than the others. Remove two jaws, switch them around, repeat... got it the third try.
Now to press it back together.
I knew I made the copper jaw covers for a reason. It pressed back together easily.
One down, one to go:
The first one is the one that was sticking--it runs nice and smooth now. The second one, as you can see, is the hammer-monkey victim.
Using what I learned from the first time around, the second one took very little time. It helped that I was able to use the ultrasonic cleaner on the second one--the brewery was using the cleaner when I did the first. That saved time and elbow grease, and came out cleaner.
I discovered something while working on the second chuck:
I've been using a pair of water-pump pliers, padded with leather, to turn the removal collar--or whatever it's called--as I couldn't find a wrench to fit it. It's hard finding a tool you don't really know the name of. I know what I call the general type of wrench--hook wrench or single-pin spanner--but that probably isn't right, either. Anyhow, I tried every one I had that was left over from various old tools and none fit. Then I though of something... draft beer faucet wrench! Not a perfect fit, but close enough. I just ordered one to dedicate to the DP. It was also easy to find, as that really is what it's called.
Anyhow, that's now two down:
TFL--
So, here's my take on it.
I have two Jacobs #33s, neither in terrible shape but neither in perfect running shape, either. The one that's on my DP is the better of the two, but catches when tightening--it feels like the jaws have closed, but they haven't. Turning it back and forth gets it past the catch, but then it does it again. I figure that's got something to do with several decades of use and abuse--mainly dirt and rust. The other is just an ugly duckling--it looks older and has been beat onto the taper by some monkey with a hard-face hammer, so may never really run true again, but I think I can make it better--at least, a good clean and lube won't hurt.
First, I need a press to get the chuck apart. I don't have a press. If I had just the right piece of metal--pipe or really large socket--to use as an anvil I could use a vise, but I don't have those, either.
There's the right way, then there's the Hippie way:
I made sure the jaws were below flush with the chuck body so I wasn't pounding on them. Just seems reasonable.
As soon as I got movement, I had a friend hold a shop towel under the chuck to catch the pieces. It actually came apart pretty easily--more like tapping than pounding.
Yuck!
Cleaned up a bit:
I gave the parts a good soak in mineral spirits, then a rinse in white gas (camp fuel), let dry, then a short soak in some hot phos acid solution. Still a little rust, but not where it matters.
I gave the exposed parts a very light coat of diluted BLO. The moving parts--ring nut and jaws--got a light coat of moly grease on the engaging surfaces.
Putting it back together... sorry, no pics here. Anyhow, the three jaws need to go in the right order. Fortunately, the chuck body is stamped for them, 1,2,3! Unfortunately, I could find no corresponding marks on the jaws, even using a 10X loupe after cleaning. So it's trial-and-error, but with three jaws, that's only 9 different positions--if I recall my Stats 101. 3 X 3, right?
I tried scribing the jaws with a carbide scribe--nope. Them jaws is hard.
So, insert jaws in body, being careful to get the thread sections aligned right. Turn the whole job jaws down on a flat surface to get all the jaws in the same position. Ring nut halves (the ring nut is made in one piece, then hardened, scored and snapped in two to make two perfectly matched halves) go in the now-lower groove of the body, taper down. Holding the ring nut together, run it to turn the jaws out and... nope. One jaw is sticking out farther than the others. Remove two jaws, switch them around, repeat... got it the third try.
Now to press it back together.
I knew I made the copper jaw covers for a reason. It pressed back together easily.
One down, one to go:
The first one is the one that was sticking--it runs nice and smooth now. The second one, as you can see, is the hammer-monkey victim.
Using what I learned from the first time around, the second one took very little time. It helped that I was able to use the ultrasonic cleaner on the second one--the brewery was using the cleaner when I did the first. That saved time and elbow grease, and came out cleaner.
I discovered something while working on the second chuck:
I've been using a pair of water-pump pliers, padded with leather, to turn the removal collar--or whatever it's called--as I couldn't find a wrench to fit it. It's hard finding a tool you don't really know the name of. I know what I call the general type of wrench--hook wrench or single-pin spanner--but that probably isn't right, either. Anyhow, I tried every one I had that was left over from various old tools and none fit. Then I though of something... draft beer faucet wrench! Not a perfect fit, but close enough. I just ordered one to dedicate to the DP. It was also easy to find, as that really is what it's called.
Anyhow, that's now two down:
TFL--
Last edited:
