Drill Chuck advice please

[Jordan Lane]

I have a Nova Voyager Drill press and i wish to change out the chuck and 2MT arbor. Any suggestions for a quality replacement??

Thanks

[Richard Coers]

When you say quality, what does that mean for budget? You can spend $500 for a precision Jacobs brand chuck. Also do you want key or keyless?

[Robert Hayward]

Here (https://www.ajaxtoolsupply.com/ro15ca3jtmok.html) is the one I put on my Voyager. Three and a half years later the chuck still scrolls smoothly. Runout was negligible after playing with the 3JT to MT2 adapter a little bit. By playing I mean removing and rotating slightly before reinserting.

Here (https://www.ebay.com/itm/291774258727) is the adapter I used.

[Jordan Lane]

keyless and a 300.00 budget if need be

[Brian Holcombe]

Albrecht, I’d just buy one in good shape from eBay.

[Chris Luke]

I'm happy with the Llambrich JK-13 MT2 I put on my Voyager. Integrated MT2 shank so less fiddling leads to more reliably low runout. Was $260 when I bought it earlier this year.

[Richard Coers]

I'd suggest something like this. https://www.ebay.com/itm/334076679901?_trkparms=amclksrc%3DITM%26aid%3D1110 006%26algo%3DHOMESPLICE.SIM%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20201 210111314%26meid%3D74bdf600ab2a4d3da519e8b0f8e8f03 1%26pid%3D101195%26rk%3D2%26rkt%3D12%26sd%3D224630 082864%26itm%3D334076679901%26pmt%3D1%26noa%3D0%26 pg%3D2047675%26algv%3DSimplAMLv9PairwiseWithPLXWeb %26brand%3DJacobs&_trksid=p2047675.c101195.m1851&amdata=cksum%3A33407667990174bdf600ab2a4d3da519e8b 0f8e8f031%7Cenc%3AAQAGAAACECFXRcFntsvs5DW2GseIJWNM ZsUtysrtggmIcqS6cY9IxX8PSMaKmHGrNItwdLahP34XMBxupA 1DplG4PLRPvea1N7%252BSm2iAIEHdr6lWk5ZN9MeczqVFZ3z0 jz2faYLF0ibCK5HkiFLDKfsKqzavAbw%252BdQfEsXqmfQy0B% 252FtGQypBe3pGRadbXGVe9SfIN84s5e5KwvSDig14vadC%252 BK2C9FI2nZBIuWlJx%252BDd%252B9rc4DOr4fM68kpt7zO47F 27rIq6n%252FgHQ7LlrrhupyvMN3jnliOtqmO3vGJnOHpX4iRj SP4%252F3gAnvKaj%252FuksL9QURDu%252B6qQy6h8a3k9Jzb 7Esh1PHnDo0pxEEtgOZbHp45k3A0IoB1zBLMw9k2jzS18Qv%25 2Fj%252FUMt0Mjm9Kh44oFNRqC8dPiWjtgseVv2vGJxTJst8Kr 5rgXw1aSuekcHKIHA45XbXFekbxcNqmrOMe0AlgD%252BYWVc9 MPXeYroxGtDYNScIDzBqpJX9JLrKFO7Xs%252Bfl46GIobulQy KBU3PoPi6Oe67u%252B0T5KuhHJTGK3wadvTLd1sFTrstQe7sU CZOfBy75WJeDfscOIx%252FMPqlRyhlHZQy%252FAVP3m4wq3s Oy1TW98tygYZH5IdWZgnV4FtVRJTj0YxTTSMeBiYAlHIcUSERU JcWOPqRMFTell98iAfXsXnPhEVlCnevzmTK8VvJpUXWx3m%252 Ffjw%253D%253D%7Campid%3APL_CLK%7Cclp%3A2047675&epid=1701071847

[Rush Paul]

I'm also very happy with the Llambrich JK-13 MT2. With the integrated (solid) MT2 shank, I'm seeing less than 0.0018" total runout to a ground shaft mounted in the chuck on my Jet 17" drill press. The grip of the jaws on a drill shank is phenomenal, with minimal twisting to tighten.

[Bill Dufour]

Do not buy a new Jacobs chuck. They moved to China and the quality did not. They are surviving on their name, not quality.
Bill D

[Ed Mitchell]

I've never owned a drill press, and I was thinking about the Nova Voyager as a first (and hopefully, last) drill press. But a 2k drill press doesn't come with a good enough chuck?

[Larry Frank]

I bought a $50 keyless chuck on Amazon for my Nova. Run out is less than 0.005" and very happy with it. For woodworking, it is more than good enough.

[Brian Tymchak]

I've never owned a drill press, and I was thinking about the Nova Voyager as a first (and hopefully, last) drill press. But a 2k drill press doesn't come with a good enough chuck?

I have 0.007 runout on my Voyager with OEM chuck. Good enough for most wood working. However, I would like to get a better chuck on of these days.

[Robert Hayward]

I've never owned a drill press, and I was thinking about the Nova Voyager as a first (and hopefully, last) drill press. But a 2k drill press doesn't come with a good enough chuck?

It is a "good enough" chuck. Sadly that is the extent of it though. Excellent drill press with a mediocre chuck.

[Tom Bain]

Albrecht, I’d just buy one in good shape from eBay.

Another vote for Albrecht. Not cheap, but the quality is top notch.

[Jordan Lane]

thanks for all the great suggestions :)

[Edward Weber]

It is a "good enough" chuck. Sadly that is the extent of it though. Excellent drill press with a mediocre chuck.


Serious question
What is the problem with the OEM chuck on a $1900 machine?

[Bill Dufour]

Are you sure it is the chuck and not the spindle? Have you indicated the taper? My dp was out about that much so I pulled the spindle straight with a pipe clamp. I got it within .002 in only 5-6 tries.
B

[Robert Hayward]

Serious question
What is the problem with the OEM chuck on a $1900 machine?

For me the problem was that 1/16" was smallest bit the jaws would clamp. The replacement I bought goes from 5/8" to 1/32". I would have preferred 5/8" to 0" but settled on what I bought for cost reasons. I chuck a pin vise in the drill press chuck for the really tiny bits. Also it scrolled roughly. At times I would have to use the chuck key to move the jaws when there was nothing clamped in the jaws.

[Mike Goetzke]

I know this thread is months old but I purchased a nice Albrecht keyless chuck for my Nova DP and first reaction is a little disappointment. Not with the DP or chuck but the combination of the two. I was all excited to have a keyless chuck on my DP after using a key for many years. The Nova has an electronic depth stop feature to not just stop the drill but also reverse it's direction when it hits your desired depth. Well, this is especially good for bottom of the hole finish using a Forstner bit but after a few trials with a 2" Forstner bit it became lose on a couple tries. There is a feature on the DP to turn auto-reverse off but I like it. May be looking to sell this Albrecht and look for a decent keyed chuck? Anyone else have thoughts or experience with this?

Thanks
Mike

[Vince Shriver]

+1 for Albrecht. I have one and "keyless" makes life easier than you might imagine.

[Mike Goetzke]

+1 for Albrecht. I have one and "keyless" makes life easier than you might imagine.

Yeah but then I can’t use the reverse feature on the DP.

[John Kananis]

Yeah but then I can’t use the reverse feature on the DP.

Mike, I have a nova and actually only use the mechanical stop. The auto reverse felt a little gimmicky and you have to manually stop forward momentum anyway. I'll give it another try though.

[John Kananis]

Are you sure it is the chuck and not the spindle? Have you indicated the taper? My dp was out about that much so I pulled the spindle straight with a pipe clamp. I got it within .002 in only 5-6 tries.
B

Bill, I know you posted here a pretty long time ago but if you happen to read this, I'd be real interested in how you actually straightened the spindle with a clamp. My nova has just a little more runout than I'd like but not enough to affect my work so I live with it but every time I pull the handle, it kind of ticks me off.

[Bill Dufour]

Simple to bend the spindle straight. Best to remove the chuck and indicate off the taper. Not really required for wood. For a first attempt I would chuck a nice round rod in the chuck. A piece of drill rod is fine. raise the quill all the way. Set up a dial indicator so it reads either the front or back of that rod. Rotate the spindle by hand until the largest out of round is facing you
Then a pipe clamp from the outside barrel of the quill to the column. Tighten the clamp until the indicator reads zero, then go maybe 0.005" more. release the clamp and remeasure, repeat as needed. Experience will quickly show how much beyond zero you need to allow for springback.
A HF dial indicator is plenty good enough. A 2x4 clamped to the table makes a mounting base with a wood screw to hold the indicator.
Before you even apply the clamp push on the chuck and see how much the indicator moves. Just to get an idea of the low forces required.
The DI will be useful for tuning up a table saw, planer, jointer etc
Bill D

https://www.harborfreight.com/1-in-travel-machinists-dial-indicator-63521.html

way overkill, I would use a woodscrew with a washer instead of that fancy routed recess
(https://www.harborfreight.com/1-in-travel-machinists-dial-indicator-63521.html)

[John Kananis]

Bill, thank you for the info. I have good indicators I can use. Going to give this a whirl in the next week or so. Thanks again.

[Nate Dalzell]

@Chris Luke and @Rush Paul, I have an impending Nova Viking floor standing drill press shipping to me and am wanting to replace the chuck with a Llambrich JK-13 MT2. I'm interested to know from where you both sourced your own copies of the chuck. I've been looking extensively online and it seems few websites carry that particular model. Thanks for any tips!

[Ronald Blue]

@Chris Luke and @Rush Paul, I have an impending Nova Viking floor standing drill press shipping to me and am wanting to replace the chuck with a Llambrich JK-13 MT2. I'm interested to know from where you both sourced your own copies of the chuck. I've been looking extensively online and it seems few websites carry that particular model. Thanks for any tips!

I found several that carry that model. Just Google your model info. Curious why you want a one piece rather than a chuck with a Jacobs taper and get the Morse taper arbor from them if you are concerned about accuracy? It reduces the cost dramatically. I can see the manufacturing process being much more challenging for the one piece. It appears to be less than half the cost. You are presumably working in wood and the accuracy difference if any would not matter in the end. In the end it's your money and choice though so get what you feel works best for you.

[Nate Dalzell]

Thanks for your advise here, Ron. My drill press is needing to serve double duty for both wood and metal projects. I favor the one piece for its precision and noticed Chris stated he found the Llambrich chuck for quite an attractive price compared to what I've been seeing them listed for in various places online. I am interested to know if he and or Rush can relay where they made their purchases.