Custom Workholding Chuck Uses One Jaw

Not all chucks from Northfield Precision Instrument are off-the-shelf. In one recent case, the company customized its Model 650 chuck to use only one jaw for clamping a cutting tool for contouring on a customer’s Studer grinder.

A face-mounted, V-shaped block jaw bolted to the chuck face picks up the matching locating surfaces of the special cutting tools. The bolt on the V is made of hardened tool steel and is wire-cut to finish size. One of the chuck’s three jaws drives the work piece into the fixed V locator. An insert enables the flat on the moving jaw to rotate into perfect alignment and full contact with the matching flats of the tool.  

The company says it can design and manufacture air chucks and jaws for any lathe, boring machine, grinder or vertical machining center, and free engineering assistance is available. Standard models include through-hole, high-speed and quick-change. Chucks are available in inch or metric sizes ranging from 3" to 18" (76 to 457 mm). Accuracies of 0.001" to 0.00001" (0.254 mm) are guaranteed, the company says.