# Pin Chucks



## Brian Rupnow (Nov 5, 2010)

As I work my way throught the build of the Kerzel engine, I find that there are a number of places in both the sparkplug and the carburetor where it is required that I drill 1/32" diameter holes. Now I have any number of 3 jaw chucks that I have accumulated around here, but NONE of them close up to 1/32" diameter. I bought a "Pin Chuck" from BusyBee Tools, but it is as useless as feathers on a pig---You chuck up anything in it, then watch the damn thing orbit, other than rotate. No concentricity at all, no matter what you do.--You can see it in the picture---It worked great for hand lapping my engine valves, as a handle, where concentricity didn't matter. I remembered that I had an old 16 volt cordless drill shoved away in a junk drawer. I never replaced the batteries after they wore out, because you can buy a brand new cordless drill complete with batteries cheaper than batteries alone. I checked, and although the chuck is keyless, it did indeed close right down to zero when tightened up. After much bashing, smashing, removal of screws and circlips, and skinned fingers, I liberated the chuck, which has a nice .526"??? diameter shank on it about 2" long--Very weird diameter, not anything standard in metric or Imperial, but it fits into any of my OTHER 3 jaw chucks. The second picture shows it with a 1/32" drill in its jaws, and it rotates true as a die.


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## Ned Ludd (Nov 5, 2010)

Hi Brian,
Clearly your pin chuck is only a poor copy of an Eclipse one, I find mine (Eclipse) to be more than adequate for my needs. 
It is such a shame that these days real quality costs and modern tool importers are only, it seems, concerned with profit. Or is it that they just don't do their own quality checks and they are being fleeced, too?
Ned


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## Blogwitch (Nov 5, 2010)

I have to agree with Ned here, I have had my Eclipse pin chuck for over 30 years, and it is as true now as the day I bought it.

There are some things the Chinese haven't got right yet, and it looks like pin chucks is one of them.

Just for the unknowing, there are two things people get mixed up with, pin chucks and pin vices.

Pin Vices are for holding small drills etc and are for use by hand, and normally come as a set of 3 or 4.

http://www.axminster.co.uk/axminster-pin-vice-set-prod33440/

Pin Chucks on the other hand, are made to much finer tolerances (but not in Brian's case), and come as a one off unit, and a set of collets that are fitted into it, and are usually for holding small drills, and then it is held in a larger chuck or collet for precision work.

http://www.axminster.co.uk/axminster-pin-chuck-set-prod33442/


Bogs


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## Brian Rupnow (Nov 5, 2010)

Thanks bogs---I wasn't sure about the difference between "pin chucks" and "pin vices" myself.---Brian


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