Pro tip: I stopped using a 4-jaw for every round part and my scrap rate dropped

For years in my shop in Phoenix, I'd chuck everything round in a 4-jaw, thinking it was the only way to get it dead true. I switched to using a collet chuck for standard bar stock about six months ago after a job went long, and now I only use the 4-jaw for weird shapes. Has anyone else made a simple change that felt wrong at first but saved a ton of time?

2 comments

2 Comments

rubyw703d ago

Switching to soft jaws for my three jaw chuck was the same kind of wake up call. It saves so much time on second operations and keeps the finish nice. Felt lazy at first but now it's just smart.

terry_park3d ago

Switching to a collet chuck for standard rounds was a game changer. I used to spend ten minutes dialing in a simple piece of 1" stock in a four jaw. Now it's in and running in thirty seconds. The repeatability is perfect for batches, and you stop worrying about marking up the material with the jaws. It feels like cheating after doing it the hard way for so long.

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