Drill chuck recommendations

[Bryce Walter]

I've found myself doing an unplanned rehab of a 1970s Rockwell Drill Press (15-069). As part of that, I need a new chuck. I believe it's a JT33 taper.

I'm not very informed on what to look at or stay away from. Are there any recommendations? Cost is a consideration. On the other hand, the rehab project is in place of the PowerMatic 2800B order that I cancelled. I'm not opposed to spending money if I have to for quality.

Edit to add: I'd prefer keyless. It's replacing a 1/2" chuck, also interested in thoughts if I should step up to 5/8"?

[Adam Herman]

i have this one

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00UER8H7W/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_image?ie=UTF8&psc=1

on my large old drill press and it seems great, esp. for the price. not sure if they sell it with a different taper?

[Darcy Warner]

Buy a used Albrecht. Although for a drill press any cheap china chuck is probably good enough.

[Bruce Page]

Take a look at the Shars brand Albrecht clone. The reviews I’ve read on them are pretty good.

[Peter Kelly]

Low End: https://www.shars.com/1-32-1-2-j33-heavy-duty-keyless-drill-chuck-with-mt3-j33-drill-chuck-shank
Medium End: https://www.mscdirect.com/product/details/77675858
Either would be fine for woodworking.

Might be able to find an gently used Albrecht or Jacobs on Fleabay too. A new Albrecht will set you back $450.

[Andrew Seemann]

I need to replace the chuck on my 1990s Delta, J3 vs J33 taper, but same general idea. One thing to keep in mind with a 5/8 vs 1/2 chuck is that some of the 5/8 chucks will only go down to a 1/8 drill bit. I frequently use smaller bits, so I am looking for something closer to 1/16 or 1/32 min size.

I know I am in the minority here and will be ridiculed for this, but I don't actually like Albrecht chucks for normal drill press work. I prefer standard Jacobs style chucks on a drill press. Which is handy because the standard no-name China ones seem to work just fine, and they are more like a tenth of the price of that $450 Albrecht:)

I was wondering if anyone here has any experience with the sub $100 ones from Grizzly? My guess is that they would work just fine for most of us not in a production setting, but hoping to hear if anyone has one.

[Zachary Hoyt]

I have to use a 1/32" drill to install HO railroad spikes in banjo fretboards on a regular basis, and I bought a $10 micro chuck on eBay that goes from 1/32 to 1/4" or something like that. It has a 1/4" hex shank that I put in my cordless drill chuck, so I have two chucks which looks dumb but gives a wider range of bit sizes and is not difficult to manage. I would think the same thing could be done in a drill press, I just haven't needed that level of precision and don't have a good way to support a banjo on the drill press table.

[Bruce Page]

I know I am in the minority here and will be ridiculed for this, but I don't actually like Albrecht chucks for normal drill press work. I prefer standard Jacobs style chucks on a drill press. Which is handy because the standard no-name China ones seem to work just fine, and they are more like a tenth of the price of that $450 Albrecht:)


You’ll get no ridicule from me. I have 2 Albrecht chucks, large & small for my mill. I use the small one all the time for drilling small holes. I rarely use the large one, I much prefer my Jacobs SBB.

[John Lanciani]

I need to replace the chuck on my 1990s Delta, J3 vs J33 taper, but same general idea. One thing to keep in mind with a 5/8 vs 1/2 chuck is that some of the 5/8 chucks will only go down to a 1/8 drill bit. I frequently use smaller bits, so I am looking for something closer to 1/16 or 1/32 min size.

I know I am in the minority here and will be ridiculed for this, but I don't actually like Albrecht chucks for normal drill press work. I prefer standard Jacobs style chucks on a drill press. Which is handy because the standard no-name China ones seem to work just fine, and they are more like a tenth of the price of that $450 Albrecht:)

I was wondering if anyone here has any experience with the sub $100 ones from Grizzly? My guess is that they would work just fine for most of us not in a production setting, but hoping to hear if anyone has one.

Look for a good used Jacobs 14N ball bearing chuck

[Darcy Warner]

It has nothing to do with production an everything to do with consistency. My big Cincinnati's I run large old Jacob chucks in, perfect for just drilling holes that I really don't care how perfect they are. The mill and lathe get Albrecht chucks, were consistency matters.
I can't afford cheap tools.

[Andrew Seemann]

I'm nervous about buying a used chuck sight unseen. We had a bunch of old Jacob's chucks in the shop I worked at in college, both ball bearing and plain. Some of those were absolutely terrible, a couple were frozen, and some worn beyond use or repair. It is quite likely they were govt surplus and came out out of a WWII defense plant after being run nonstop for years on end. It's hard to get an idea of condition from eBay and whether a bath in WD40 will free them up.

The no name Taiwanese chuck on the 1990s Delta works just fine, the only problem is that the previous owner somehow mangled the pilot holes. I almost wonder if he was trying to remove it by beating on a rod inserted in them, because I have never seen a chuck messed up like that.

[Darcy Warner]

I'm nervous about buying a used chuck sight unseen. We had a bunch of old Jacob's chucks in the shop I worked at in college, both ball bearing and plain. Some of those were absolutely terrible, a couple were frozen, and some worn beyond use or repair. It is quite likely they were govt surplus and came out out of a WWII defense plant after being run nonstop for years on end. It's hard to get an idea of condition from eBay and whether a bath in WD40 will free them up.

The no name Taiwanese chuck on the 1990s Delta works just fine, the only problem is that the previous owner somehow mangled the pilot holes. I almost wonder if he was trying to remove it by beating on a rod inserted in them, because I have never seen a chuck messed up like that.

There really isn't anything to an Albrecht. can take one apart, clean, lube and back together in 10 minutes, unless you drop the balls on the floor.... I rarely buy anything new.

[David Powell]

I need to replace the chuck on my 1990s Delta, J3 vs J33 taper, but same general idea. One thing to keep in mind with a 5/8 vs 1/2 chuck is that some of the 5/8 chucks will only go down to a 1/8 drill bit. I frequently use smaller bits, so I am looking for something closer to 1/16 or 1/32 min size.

I know I am in the minority here and will be ridiculed for this, but I don't actually like Albrecht chucks for normal drill press work. I prefer standard Jacobs style chucks on a drill press. Which is handy because the standard no-name China ones seem to work just fine, and they are more like a tenth of the price of that $450 Albrecht:)

I was wondering if anyone here has any experience with the sub $100 ones from Grizzly? My guess is that they would work just fine for most of us not in a production setting, but hoping to hear if anyone has one.

I have a Grizzly keyless chuck with a JT33 taper that replace a keyed chuck. Was able to get the arbor off the old chuck so had to buy a new one. Overall, the Grizzly works fine for my work needs.

[Robert Hayward]

Here is the 5/8 chuck I put on my Nova Voyager so I could chuck a 1/32" bit.

https://www.ajaxtoolsupply.com/ro15ca3jtmok.html

[David Kumm]

Darcy, have you torn apart a Rohm ( quite a bit cheaper ) or a Llambrecht ? How do they compare? I like the old Jacobs keyed for larger bits or heavy drilling, and Albrecht for most everything else but I'm not a heavy enough user to really know what I'm talking about. Dave

[Bob Hinden]

I replaced the stock Delta drill press chuck with an Albrecht Keyless Drill Chuck 1/32-1/2 I found on eBay. There are a bunch for sale on eBay. Some come with arbors, some don't. I ordered an arbor that matched the chuck and the drill press on Amazon.

It's worked out well for me.

[Tom Bussey]

The JT33 taper is what locks the drill chuck to the morse taper arbor. Usually a #2 morse taper is used on home drill presses. A drift pin is used to remove the whole assembly. If the chuck is not removable then most chucks will work unless they are special like for a shop smith, I prefer a jacobs ball bearing chuck myself.

[roger wiegand]

I've bought a couple of used Albrecht's on Ebay. one for my drill press, one for the lathe. Extremely happy with them. I'm _really_ happy to have left chuck keys behind.

[Bill Dufour]

Modern jacob's chuck are made in china and the quality is gone. Many big chucks can not grab a small drill. I like my 5/8 one on my dp because it will grab a mangled up 1/2" shank. For drills under 1/8" or so I grab a small chuck on a 1/4 hex shank designed for a screw driver and use that in the bigger chuck.
Bill D

[Bruce Wrenn]

I've had a key less from Woodcraft for years. No complaints

[Bill Dufour]

For wood you do not need nearly the accuracy that metal workers are looking for.

[Bryce Walter]

I ended up pulling the trigger on the 1/2" Shars. An hour later I had shipping confirmation with Friday delivery. My first time dealing with Shars, but I'm impressed so far with their speed.

I appreciate the insights shared in this thread.