Has anyone figured out a method to keeping a rod in the chuck on the Pac Bay Wrapper??? As it stands now I pretty much have a $300 table decoration. I have the "new/improved chuck and it's still pretty much a hit & miss adventure where, more often than not, the chuck opens with a rod turning in it which unless caught in time, results in a disaster. I just came from the shop where I found a rod which had been drying, out of the chuck and a mess. I generally hand turn, this reinforces why!!!!!!

Mike (Southgate, MI)
If I don't want to, I don't have to and nobody can make me (except my wife) cuz I'm RETIRED!!



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 10/28/2006 08:37AM by Mike Barkley.

Mike--I have the same wrapper as you only mine is the Rod Smith. Have the improved chuck .
Added that about a year ago. However I have not had any problems with mine.

But I think after what you said , I'm going to put a plastic wire tie on it just as a precaution. I do leave my Rod room at times when I have a Rod turning .I don't think I would be to happy to come back and find that the chuck had loosend up. You might want to try the wire tie..

Good Luck <<<< DON AT HOBBY RODS >>>>

Don't have an Amtak but would suppose the are all very similar. The Pac Bay with the metal chuck upgrade that I have will do the same thing if you are tightening the chuck on a hard surface and the wheels are sticking a litttle. The way that I stop that from happening is to wrap the area to be tightened down on with some soft backed tape like duct tape - a few wraps will give a cushion and some bite. Check the wheels on all the bottom rollers for sticking and get them all very free. I had the same problem trying to chuck a aluminum butt cap on off shore stuff until I started wrapping. I wish they could figure out a way to install a slip in tapered locking disk to keep them from backing off. Maybe Roger will have a dream and come up with what is needed. John Anderson will have to see this thread and tell him about it.

I have two dryers with those chucks. I use 1/2" masking tape and just go around the teeth once the rod is in place - it takes 2 secs to secure it and 2 secs to undo it. I am going to buy a FC 4X dryer soon and shoot both of these things! LOL

It really irritates me that with a "new and improved" upgrade and $300, you meed to use duct tape to make it work right!!!!!

Mike (Southgate, MI)
If I don't want to, I don't have to and nobody can make me (except my wife) cuz I'm RETIRED!!

I have the older model with the old chuck and use a hose clamp as added security, now I never have to worry.

Ray Zarychta
Glastonbury, CT

Ray,
Where do you put the hose clamp? Around the jaws themselves or covering both the "locking" wheels (or whatever they are called) so they can't turn.?

Mike (Southgate, MI)
If I don't want to, I don't have to and nobody can make me (except my wife) cuz I'm RETIRED!!

Mike I am not using duck tape on the machine - on the surface of a slick rod butt.

The best rod chuck that I've ever used and the only chuck that I've never had fail is the Streamside Designs Rod Chuck. The rod is secured to the chuck with rubber bands which have plenty of grip. An Office 'blank' rubber band ball lasts a long, long time. I had a Pac Bay self centering chuck and I had nothing but trouble with it and tossed it. If you can't find one on the left I'll tell you where I bought mine. Ralph

If at first you don't succeed, go fishing, then try, try again.

If you don't like duct tape..use electrical tape or a hose clamp. You get what you pay for.

Mike,
I had the same irritating problem with my American Tackle Wrapper. It gets really bad with the heavier SW blanks. I bit the bullet and bought the Renzetti. My AT wrapper now sits in a corner collecting dust.

I agree on the Streamside. I have one and wish I had more. I don't think that they are available any more. I know Mudhole no longer carries them. My complaint though is with a wrapper lathe chuck

Mike (Southgate, MI)
If I don't want to, I don't have to and nobody can make me (except my wife) cuz I'm RETIRED!!

For drying, I have a microwave oven motor, the one that turns the turntable in the oven. The motor is wired up to a switch and power cable which just plugs into the electrical socket. I have a large diameter piece of PVC which I use to mount the butt of the rod into. If it needs some packing I just use some masking tape to add to the diameter of the butt of the rod. When I begin applying my finish I just hit the switch and away it goes. The set up turn at the perfect pace for applying the finish and is very secure. I have had the same motor running now for about 5 years. If it ever fails (I hope not), a new motor from a repair shop costs about $5.

Mike,
the Streamside Chuck is available from Cabela's.

I am still using the Flex Coat chucks that I bought over 25 years ago., never had a rod fall out of one.

After getting frustrated at the same problem, I had a machinist turn down a chuck for me (all stainless steel) and finally got a heavy duty chuck with four teeth that closed down gently, taped the rod butt for better gripping and have had no problems since. I had submitted some pictures of this some time ago, but it is worth finding a machinist who can do the job. It is worth the effort.
Sanford

Oops!! I really feel stupid! It's a Pac Bay, NOT an American Tackle Wrapper. I apologize to American Tackle, but none the less, it's the same upgrade chuck and the problem is still there.

I do want to point out that I'm not bashing American Tackle or Pac Bay. They are both good companies and I use a lot of their products. My problem is with the wrapper and I doubt that they have anything to do with the actual design, since the AmTac, Pac Bay and Batson wrappers are pretty much the same and probably made by the same factory and private labeled

Mike (Southgate, MI)
If I don't want to, I don't have to and nobody can make me (except my wife) cuz I'm RETIRED!!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/28/2006 09:05AM by Mike Barkley.

I guess I've just been lucky. I have the upgraded Pac Bay chuck on my home built wrapper and have never had a problem, even at high speed. The wrapper motor is a "counter-clockwise" turning Dayton motor (1/10 HP) and the tread comes to the blank from the top instead of the bottom.

Could the direction of motor rotation be part of the problem??

Stan

I don't have this chuck, but I think Stan is right. From what I learned in Charlotte this past February, this wrapper rotates the wrong way for the way the chuck is threaded, and it tends to work itself loose. One of the builders there (Ken Preston, I think) had modified his by drilling and tapping a little hole, so he could tighten a screw and hold the chuck secure.
I agree, though - you shouldn't have to do something like this on such an expensive tool. True, it is less money than a Renzetti, but it still should be completely functional for this much money.
Steve Broadwell

Not to hijack this thread - but is the chuck used on the power wrapper the same as on the stand alone dryer unit? I've been thinking about getting one of these, thinking that the self-centering chuck would give me better finish results than my standard "built at home" PVC chuck with threaded thumbscrews. If I'm understanding right, there is a pretty significant problem with these chucks loosening up?