Nov. 13, 2026
| Item | Hard Jaws | Soft Jaws |
| Material | Heat-treated alloy steel, high hardness | Mild steel / aluminum alloy, unhardened, machinable |
| Machining | Cannot be modified or machined | Must be bored on the same lathe before use |
| Contact type | Line / point contact, strong clamping force | Full surface contact, uniform stress distribution |
| Precision | Acceptable for new jaws; runout rises quickly after wear | High concentricity & repeat accuracy after proper boring |
| Workpiece surface | Easy to leave indentations; risk deforming thin-walled parts | Less marking, ideal for finished surfaces |
| Service life | Wear-resistant, long lifespan | Consumable; scrapped after repeated boring |
| Application | Rough turning, raw casting/bar stock, heavy cutting | Finishing, secondary clamping, thin-wall parts, precision batch production |
| Operation | Ready to use after installation | Boring required; cost-effective only for fixed batch sizes |
Soft jaws rule: Bored on one machine, used on that same machine. If moved to another lathe, accuracy will be lost. Bore under real clamping pressure to avoid taper / bell mouth error.
Hard jaws include standard, extended and reverse jaws. Soft jaws have steel type and aluminum type; aluminum soft jaws work better for aluminum workpieces to prevent marks.
Hydraulic power chucks mostly use soft jaws for finishing. Manual K11 3-jaw chucks usually come with hard jaws as standard.
Sales Manager: Grace
Email: ht10@ht-tools.net
whatsapp:+8615911071388
wechat:+8618053485528
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