Sears Precision chuck?

[Mac53]

Obviously this is a Sears Precision Chuck that cost $169.95 at some point and was made in England... But what is it for??  I inherited a lot of tools I know nothing about from my grandfather but just happened to stumble across this one in the garage today. It is heavy (I'm only allowed to lift ~10lbs at the moment, this box is pretty close..), and seems very well made. He had a large drill press and lathe, I assume this belonged to one of those?

[thiggy]

I believe it is a wood lathe chuck.

[RWalters]

Definitely a wood lathe chuck. Robert Sorby makes woodworking and woodcarving tools. From searches on other forums, it appears they haven't sold this model since the mid90s. Also, reviews in the forums are mixed, some people love them and some say they're too complicated to set up.

[RWalters]

I should clarify that that last comment a little bit. The line above "Sheffield England" on the box originally read "Robert Sorby Ltd". Made by Sorby, sold by Sears.

[Mac53]

Thanks for the info! Is this still something that might be helpful to someone nowadays? It does me no harm to keep it on my shelves, but if they're useful, it might be time to find someone that could put it to work.