Hi Aled

I do have a couple of Sanou 6 jaw chucks but have not yet put them into service so cannot comment on their accuracy. They do however appear to be fairly well finished and the jaws to meet correctly. Incidentally the largest is a 250 mm chuck so they do get up to the "industrial" sizes.

Before buying I did find a video on the internet ( sorry I don't have a link ) that covers the dismantling and cleaning of one of these chucks ( a self-centering four jaw if I remember correctly ) which the author recommended doing before using.

This would also include removal of any small burrs.

Overall the reviews would indicate that they are fit for general purpose work.

Cheers

Pero

Emco are over budget at £330

Aled,

I have two TOS 4 jaw self cantering chucks; one on a small lathe and the other on a Myford S7. Both are of excellent quality and dead accurate.

Eric

It might be worth considering the extra few quid for a sanou 6-jaw chuck for flexibility and still circa £100

Not a 4 jaw, but I am not happy with my Sanou 3 jaw – the jaws are very loose in the body. in axis of the chuck.

Dial set to zero, with the jaw press up against the scroll in the direction of the dial ( finger pressing is out of image on the right)

Then lifting the front of the jaw up, away from the body, while keeping the jaw pressed against the scroll in the dial direction…

There is a similar amount of movement from side to side…

Holding any part that is shorter than the length of the jaws is a mess – the jaws simply bell-mouth, and not to the same amount…

I honestly believe that skimping on the chuck is a big waste of money. You pay big bucks for your lathe, and assuming its good, with good bearings, a good spindle and register, then spoil it with a mediocre chuck…which you have to argue with every time you use the lathe. Maybe a good chuck has a price to balk at, but treated well it will last your lifetime.

This Sanou is now used in a jig I made for stamping numbers of handwheel peripheries – it's only good when hammered..

Edited By Joseph Noci 1 on 03/09/2019 10:53:49

If you don't mind only two of the jaws being really tight at a time, then go for it. The only self centring chuck which is guaranteed to grip on all its jaws at once is a three jaw. So many people are scared to use a four jaw independent, which needs truing up each time, but is the only way to go if positive clamping and true running are of any interest at all. Soft jaws are great for special jobs, but take up much more time to set up.

They only show stepped or tapered on their website.

Have another look at ARC, I've just had a notification that they've slashed the price of some of their 4Jaw SC chucks – almost in half

Rod

Thanks Jason, yes I've seen that, but several ebay vendors, both UK and Chinese, show a table/spreadsheet which shows the dimensions for the external jaws, but no-one I've spotted actually seems to be able to supply them. I've seen photos of them, but only for the K13-250, which is a bit on the big side.

Maybe Sanou used to make them, and once displayed this table of sizes on their website, but now discontinued.

Bill

For a four jaw independent, you might look at Arceurotrade, click on their advert at the top. They sell Chinese and Indian chucks. You would also find that getting a lever type of indicator would be easier than the plunger dti for use with this type of chuck.

When i spoke to ARC a while back about the Chinese v Indian chucks they said the Indian chucks that had been reduced were a better choice & better made than the Chinese chucks they had.