Record Power SC4 spanner wrench

[Randall Mack]

Anyone else using a Record Power SC4 chuck? I purchased one a while back. The chuck is well built. The size is bigger than a Vicmarc VM100 but smaller than a VM120 which are my main chucks. It uses Nova type jaws. My only gripe is the spanner wrench. It is worthless. If the chuck cannot be removed by hand I have to clamp the jaws on a thin piece of maple to break it free. I am not sure the wood stick works on pin jaws. Anyone know of a source for a REAL spanner wrench that fits well or suggest a better method to remove the chuck? I thought about removing the insert and grinding flats on it so an actual wrench would work. Thanks!

[Randall Mack]

I never mentioned what is wrong with the spanner wrench. Basically it will pop off the chuck insert with the slightest pressure to loosen the chuck from the spindle. It fits too loose. The only way I have made it work, sort of, is hold it tight to the insert and give it a quick strike with a mallet. It usually takes a few tries. Usually the wrench flies off and I am on the floor digging for it to try again, lol.

[Robert D Evans]

The Record Power spanner wrench is sized differently on each end. One end is for removing via the holes in the chuck insert and the other end is for the use on the large portion of the chuck in the adjustment holes. If you try to use the wrong end, it won't work. Mine works well as long as I use the correct end of the wrench.

[Randall Mack]

Robert, do you remove the chuck using the adjustment holes/sockets? You had me wondering so I went out to the shop and looked. There is a dedicated hole on the chuck body so you don't have to use the adjustment sockets holes. I have never tried that. On the Vicmarc chucks you have a handle/pin that fits into the insert. I always avoided loosening the chucks using the hex wrench in the adjustment holes and never noticed the extra hole. I am sure I am using the correct end of wrench for the insert, it just fits poorly. It looks like the other end fits the body hole better. I'll give that a try. Thanks
446361 Body hole fits wrench well.
446362Smaller radius end of wrench in insert fits poorly.

[Robert D Evans]

I will work with either the hole in the chuck or the adjustment holes. I always use the holes in the insert. I lock the spindle and a gentle bump on the spanner wrench loosens up the chuck.

[Timothy Thorpe Allen]

Randall, you might take a look at the pin on the end of the wrench (which doesn't show in your pics, because it is in the hole) and make sure that it is shaped appropriately -- I suspect that the wrench letting go has more to do with the pin itself than with the arc of the wrench arm around the body...

[Randall Mack]

The insert collar holes are chamfered so the pin has less to grip on and the end of the pin is not square to the sides. It looks like it was manufactured that way, almost like the end was rounded over at the bottom. I will file the pin to see if this can be improved. I could always order a pin spanner wrench from McMaster-Carr with a handle that does not jam into my palm like this double-ended thing does. Thanks all.

[David Walser]

Randall -- I have several SC4 chucks. The spanner wrenches that came with them work very well, so I cannot offer any suggestions on why yours doesn't work as it should. But, I almost never use the wrench that came with the chuck. I have several sets of Tommy bars that came with other chucks, face plates, and the like. A magnet secures a set of Tommy bars to the headstock of my lathe. Since the Tommy bars are so handy, I almost always use one of them with my Record Power chucks, rather than the spanner that came with them. I think I can apply more force with the spanner than a Tommy bar, but, if I ever need some additional persuasion, a sharp rap with a leather mallet (also kept by the lathe fur use with the knockout bar) does the trick.

[John K Jordan]

I always use wrench to remove Nova chucks, never to tighten. If I lost my two wrenches, I'd make another one from a piece of flat mild steel 1/8" or thicker. Cut an outline shape with a metal-cutting blade on a reciprocal saw, a metal-cutting bandsaw, or my plasma cutter. Cut the spanner to size or a little under size then grind or mill to size. This should be easy to make with basic metal working tools (even if you don't have a plasma cutter or milling machine!) Or any machine shop should be able to make one sized perfectly.

[David Walser]

John -- In this case, the spindle thread adapter that comes with the Record Power SC4 doesn't have flats for use of a wrench. The adapter comes drilled with, IIRC, three holes for use with their spanner. The holes also work with the Tommy bars that come with a lot of other items.

[John K Jordan]

John -- In this case, the spindle thread adapter that comes with the Record Power SC4 doesn't have flats for use of a wrench. The adapter comes drilled with, IIRC, three holes for use with their spanner. The holes also work with the Tommy bars that come with a lot of other items.

Bummer, I'm a big fan of flats on a chuck. I have a Nova Titan without flats and they expect you to use a tool with a "hook" to engage the hex key socket but don't provide the tool and the one universal one they sell doesn't fit well. I plan to machine flats on the chuck to math the Nova wrench I use for all my other chucks.