Shopsmith vs Jacobs MC8K26 Chuck

[Steamdragon]

I am thinning things out and I was wondering which drill chuck to keep. The stock Shopsmith or the Jacobs Multi-Craft Chuck MC8K26.

[dusty]

It doesn't seem to me that there is a question.

Shopsmith

[Steamdragon]

It doesn't seem to me that there is a question.

Shopsmith

I have one of each which is better? I am selling my extra unit and thought I would give them a chuck.

[thunderbirdbat]

When you need to drill something, which one do you reach for first? That is the one to keep.

[Steamdragon]

When you need to drill something, which one do you reach for first? That is the one to keep.

Well that's not much help. I had been using the SS but I just went through all my extra stuff I got with the various units and found I had a Jacobs also. As far as I can tell both are very similar.

[thunderbirdbat]

When you need to drill something, which one do you reach for first? That is the one to keep.

Well that's not much help. I had been using the SS but I just went through all my extra stuff I got with the various units and found I had a Jacobs also. As far as I can tell both are very similar.

So try both of them and choose the one that you like best or the one in the best condition to keep.

[jsburger]

It doesn't seem to me that there is a question.

Shopsmith

I have one of each which is better? I am selling my extra unit and thought I would give them a chuck.

Dusty replied... "It doesn't seem to me that there is a question. Shopsmith" with a wink. Not sure what the wink means.

IMO, the Jacobs chuck has an indisputable reputation for quality for 115 years. I don't think we know who makes the SS brand chuck.

I don't have the Jacobs Multicraft but I do have 3 Jacobs 3326 chucks that came with the Magna SS 10ER and probably with the first Magna SS MK 5. I also have a Jacobs 33B that came with the very first Magna SS 10E's in 1947. All of these Jacobs chucks are 70+- years old and are perfectly functional with no signs of any ware.

I have a SS branded chuck that came with my SS MK-V bought new in 1994. The fit, finish and feel are not the same as the Jacobs. The key does not fit as precisely as the Jacobs. The hole for the key is larger than the key and as a result the metal of the body around the hole is chewed up because the key can wobble. Nothing that prevents proper function but tells me the steel of the chuck is not as hard as the Jacobs. It also speaks to the tolerance of the parts.

There is only one caveat with the Jacobs chucks discussed here. The 33B, 3326 and the Multicraft are all 1/2" capacity but they all only go down to 5/64". If you really regularly need precise holes at 1/16" (unlikely) the Jacobs won't work.

Having said all this I would keep the Jacobs Multicraft. IMO it is a much better chuck than the SS chuck.

[Steamdragon]

It doesn't seem to me that there is a question.

Shopsmith

I have one of each which is better? I am selling my extra unit and thought I would give them a chuck.

Dusty replied... "It doesn't seem to me that there is a question. Shopsmith" with a wink. Not sure what the wink means.

IMO, the Jacobs chuck has an indisputable reputation for quality for 115 years. I don't think we know who makes the SS brand chuck.

I don't have the Jacobs Multicraft but I do have 3 Jacobs 3326 chucks that came with the Magna SS 10ER and probably with the first Magna SS MK 5. I also have a Jacobs 33B that came with the very first Magna SS 10E's in 1947. All of these Jacobs chucks are 70+- years old and are perfectly functional with no signs of any ware.

I have a SS branded chuck that came with my SS MK-V bought new in 1994. The fit, finish and feel are not the same as the Jacobs. The key does not fit as precisely as the Jacobs. The hole for the key is larger than the key and as a result the metal of the body around the hole is chewed up because the key can wobble. Nothing that prevents proper function but tells me the steel of the chuck is not as hard as the Jacobs. It also speaks to the tolerance of the parts.

There is only one caveat with the Jacobs chucks discussed here. The 33B, 3326 and the Multicraft are all 1/2" capacity but they all only go down to 5/64". If you really regularly need precise holes at 1/16" (unlikely) the Jacobs won't work.

Having said all this I would keep the Jacobs Multicraft. IMO it is a much better chuck than the SS chuck.

Thanks that was the sort of info I was looking for.

[chapmanruss]

Shopsmith Drill Chucks 101

Depending on how you count them there has been 5 different drill chucks supplied with the Shopsmith Tool dating back to 1947. The first was the Jacobs 33B which required an adapter to attach to the spindle since it attaches with 1/2" threads. It was replaced by the Jacobs 3326 which has a 5/8" smooth bore to attach directly to the Shopsmith spindle. All following Drill Chucks for the Shopsmith have the same 5/8" smooth bore attachment. The 3326 first came with a 3/8" set screw hole than later a 5/16" set screw hole, sometime after the introduction of the Mark 5 in the 1950's. Since that time all drill chucks have had the 5/16" set screw. The Jacobs Multi-craft chuck was the one supplied starting in the 1970's and was replaced, for a short time by the Cushman chuck in the 1980's. The first reference I have found to the current Drill Chuck was the Fall 1988 Catalog. This chuck that looks like the Jacobs Chuck 3326 has been the one supplied since.

As John said

There is only one caveat with the Jacobs chucks discussed here. The 33B, 3326 and the Multicraft are all 1/2" capacity but they all only go down to 5/64". If you really regularly need precise holes at 1/16" (unlikely) the Jacobs won't work.

The Cushman chuck has the same capacity as the Jacobs chucks. Only the current chuck has a capacity that is less. I use one of the current chuck regularly with out issue, not because of the small capacity, it is just the one I use. I have at least one of each of the Drill Chucks supplied for the Shopsmith's. One additional thing to consider if you use a Mortising attachment than the Jacobs 33B on the adapter will not work and neither will any of the ones for sale at the online auction site using adapters.

As I said at the beginning there are 5 different Drill Chucks depending on how you count them. Below is the 3326 Jacobs Chuck, note the set screws for the three variations.

3326 Chucks.jpg (355.12 KiB) Viewed 14650 times

This is probably more information than you wanted to know about the Drill Chucks supplied with the Shopsmith over the years. Consider how you will use your drill chuck and pick the one that does the job the best. If they all do the job pick the one you like.

[rpd]

The MC8K26 chuck is the one on the right in this picture.

drill chucks.jpg (319.94 KiB) Viewed 14622 times

I understand supplying a chuck with a unit that you are selling.

I do find that having more than one drill chuck is handy when doing different operations on a project. Like drill then counter sink. It is faster to just swap chucks with different bits than to change the bits.