Seems chuck jaw mates must vanish into the same black hole as socks.
Well, after doing some work on the lathe and wondering why I was getting some strange errors in a Hardinge 4-jaw chuck (model 36HC, SN/2685, made in England), upon examining the 4 jaws, discovered that one jaw, was a different serial number and about .03" taller on all horizontal faces than the other three (matched serial numbers) jaws. Of course, in my collection of jaws with the lathe (of which there are about 12, there are no matching jaws (of which there are two sets for a scroll-chuck with matching numbers, the rest of one or more of their mates have been sucked into the black hole). So, of course one should buy a "matched" set of jaws, but it also appears that Hardinge also changed the details of the jaw dimensions (everything else on the jaw appears identical cept the horiz surfaces). I suppose I'll have the one jaw ground, as the chuck is in good shape otherwise (except for a partially cracked square socket on one of the jaw screws).
My question is, and from what I understand, is that there is no standardization among chucks and jaws, and one must have the exact model number of the chuck, and verify that any replacement jaws are specifically made for that particular model chuck body. The other question is, why are these jaws, and the chuck (in a 4-jaw) stamped with ID numbers 1-4, suppose this is just a convenience. Cheers, Charles
Well, after doing some work on the lathe and wondering why I was getting some strange errors in a Hardinge 4-jaw chuck (model 36HC, SN/2685, made in England), upon examining the 4 jaws, discovered that one jaw, was a different serial number and about .03" taller on all horizontal faces than the other three (matched serial numbers) jaws. Of course, in my collection of jaws with the lathe (of which there are about 12, there are no matching jaws (of which there are two sets for a scroll-chuck with matching numbers, the rest of one or more of their mates have been sucked into the black hole). So, of course one should buy a "matched" set of jaws, but it also appears that Hardinge also changed the details of the jaw dimensions (everything else on the jaw appears identical cept the horiz surfaces). I suppose I'll have the one jaw ground, as the chuck is in good shape otherwise (except for a partially cracked square socket on one of the jaw screws).
My question is, and from what I understand, is that there is no standardization among chucks and jaws, and one must have the exact model number of the chuck, and verify that any replacement jaws are specifically made for that particular model chuck body. The other question is, why are these jaws, and the chuck (in a 4-jaw) stamped with ID numbers 1-4, suppose this is just a convenience. Cheers, Charles