Shop Fox drill press question

Jack Feldmann

Member
Messages
10
Location
Knoxville
I'm looking to replace my worn out drill press. The Woodworkers Journal has a nice review of drill presses in the Feb issue, and the Shop Fox W1668 caught my attention.

I looked on line, and looked thru the manual, and it appears that the chuck is not a MT2 type. Since I have a keyless chuck I really like, I would like to transfer it to my new drill press, but it has a MT2.

Does anyone here own this drill press, or know if it has a MT2 chuck?

Thanks
 
Jack, do you know if your keyless chuck can be removed from the MT2 spindle it's on? It will probably take a fair amount of convincing to get it loose, but if it can come off, I'd be willing to bet that the taper in the chuck body itself is a Jacobs 33 taper, like the one on the spindle of the Shop Fox drill press.

The other option would be to just get another keyless chuck...

http://littlemachineshop.com/products/product_category.php?category=7
 
Since the keyless chuck is fairly new, I can probably get it off the arbor. It looks like the one thats listed on the site Vaughn listed.
Maybe there is hope after all.
I rea;;y hate to buy another one since this one is less than a month old.
 
I'm with Vaughn. I have a keyless chuck on a JT-to-MT2 arbor that I use in the tailstock of my lathe, and a second one that's "permanently" mounted in my drill press.

No more chuck keys! :thumb:
 
My Shop Fox radial drill press has the JT-33.

If your chuck is a Jt-3, then it's not compatible with the S-F press.

Enco has several different keyless chucks from their own brand ($40.00+) to Albrecht ($200.00+).

I have two of the Enco brand, - one on my Powermatic press, and the other on my Shop Fox - and they've been just fine.
 
Found the owner's manual at
It says:

ShopFox_W1668_SpindleAndChuckTapers_Specs.gif


The Spindle Taper of JT-33 must refer to the "business end" of the arbor (the end that the chuck mounts to) and not the upper end that mounts the arbor to the machine.

In other words, the JT-33 chuck (female) taper fits onto the exposed JT-33 spindle (male) taper. Duh. What they DON'T say is which Morse Taper is on the upper end of the spindle arbor. My guess would be MT2, but I suppose an MT3 taper is also possible. For more on this general topic, see this informative page:

Now ... check out this search results page that shows "all things JT3" from the Grizzly catalog: Notice that they offer replacement arbors (that will fit your JT3 chuck) with 3 different Morse Tapers: MT2, MT3 and MT4. All you need to know now is the actual Morse Taper on the upper end of the arbor. :thumb:

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

Oops! Hold the phone! I went a little further in the W1668 owner's manual, and found the following parts info (on pages 30 and 31):

ShopFox_W1668_SpindleAndChuckTapers_Diagram.gif



I'm still willing to bet on the upper arbor taper being MT2, but I don't like the "extra" bit that I'm seeing in the diagram:

ShopFox_W1668_SpindleAndChuckTapers_DiagramDetail.gif


It could just be an extra piece that's screwed into the arbor, but it could also be a custom arbor, designed specially for the cool oscillating action. I say this because of the following info on page 13:

ShopFox_W1668_SeatingTheChuck.gif



That raises a whole new issue. Suppose you go the easier route and just buy a new (keyless, JT33) chuck to replace the stock one. Would "generic" chucks like those sold by Grizzly be compatible with the capscrew mounting/tightening arrangement described in the manual?

Hmmm ... time to punt. Maybe give Shop Fox a call? :dunno:
 
Kerry, you came to the same conclusion I did. I'm betting the oscillating spindle is different than the typical MTx drill press spindle. I think a call to Shop Fox (Grizzly, actually) would probably be worth the dime. :thumb:
 
I'm with the crowd that says to just get another chuck that is the right size. I woldn't choose my drill press based on my chuck. I might factor in chucks that are NOT available if that were a problem. Keyless JT-33 chucks are readily available though. If I changed DP's and my current keyless wouldn't swap over, I would get another one. I really like them.
 
Finding someone who actually likes a keyless chuck is the most amazing part of this thread. I haven't seen one yet that will hold a bit in use.

Have you used one on a drill press, Frank, or are you basing your (wrong) opinion on the little hand-held drill units?

Quality chucks - like the Albrecht (and its many clones) hold at least as well as a keyed Jacobs chuck. In fact, if the bit does slip, the chuck actually tightenes around it. I have the Enco version (about $60.00 each) on both my drill presses, and wouldn't even consider going back to a keyed chuck.
 
I am very happy with the keyless chuck I currently use (its my drill press I'm not happy with / worn arbor and bearing / had it 30+ years).

Got an e-mail reply from SF today. They said they have a keyless chuck available, and gave me the part number.
 
I am very happy with the keyless chuck I currently use

Me too as I said. It may be the difference between a large one like on a DP and the smaller units. A simple twist of the wrist and I can run a 2" Forstner through hardwood and grab a 3/32" bradpoint bit for detail work. Never had a slip yet and its been years.
 
Here's the e-mail response....
Thank you for your E-mail of January 31, 2011.

We carry a keyless chuck that is a JT33...it is a model D3457 and can be purchased through any local Shop Fox dealer, if you do not know of a local dealer please forward your zip code and we will forward a list of dealers and their contact information.

If you have any additional questions you can contact our Technical Support Department with the number listed below. We can be reached between the hours of 7am and 5pm Pacific time Monday through Friday.

Best Regards,

Andrew C.
Technical Support
Woodstock International
1-800-840-8420
 
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