RP 300

[DougM]

Hi all first post.
I have a RP 300 /3000 chuck not sure what one, Every time I tighten it the chuck lock's up and the pinion gears are crooked .
Is there some thing I can do or is it a case of send it back.
Thank you in advance for any advice.

Doug.

 

[Robbo3]

If this is one of the old types of chuck where the jaws move over a central tapered boss then there is a groove at the rear of the jaws to take an elastic band. This holds the jaws together & keeps them aligned until the outer ring makes contact.
A picture of your chuck & if possible a picture of the problem would help with a diagnosis.

 

[DougM]

At this point the chuck is locked up and if I wiggle the pinion gears it moves, when tightening on a piece it really plays havoc.
Any help would be Great, if it needs stripping down I have No idea how

 

[Paul Hannaby]

I would strip it down and clean everything. If you remove the two grub screws on the back, you should be able to withdraw the two pinion gears, then the scroll should drop out and you can withdraw the jaws (you probably need to also remove the retainer pin stopping the top jaw in the first picture from being fully withdrawn). That's all there is to it.

 

[Robbo3]

I agree with Paul, it looks gunged up & needs stripping & a good clean.
There isn't a safety pin on my Record chuck so it doesn't matter which channel is used for the first carrier
The jaws are mounted on carriers which are numbered. It makes things easier if the jaw & carrier numbers match ie #1 jaw is mounted on #1 carrier, 2 on 2, etc.
To find which carrier is which (if they are not numbered) look at the teeth that engage with the scroll. Number 1 will have the innermost tooth further forward than the rest. The first tooth on 2, 3, & 4 will progressively step back further as shown on the Axminster carriers below.

When you reassemble the chuck, find the start of the scroll & load the carriers in the order 1,2,3,4.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Don't take fright - it really isn't difficult.

 

[Richard_C]

Agree a good strip down and clean should do it. With a mobile phone it's easy to take loads of pictures as you go. I keep chuck and jaws in a square biscuit tin and use the upturned lid to work on so small screws etc don't roll off the bench. A tray or similar does the same. You can spend endless gleeful hours searching for a setscrew that's rolled into the shavings under the workbench....

 

[DougM]

Thank you all for the information and encouragement, I will get stuck in to it