I have a older (1956) Shopsmith that I only use as a lathe. I find that I am in need of a chuck on the order of a NovaChuck or something similar. I have the usual catalogs that sell them but I would like any feedback that I can get on the various brands. When spending around $200 I definately want to get the best bang for the buck.Catalog descriptions are nice but they are not going to let me know of shortcomings of there products. Any help is appreciated.
I personally think that once you can swallow the $225 + or so that you will spend on a really nice chuck, there isn't a whole lot of difference. I have used a lot of them (swapping with the club guys for test drives) and they all work nicely.
That being said, I have a VicMarc that is so old the gearing turns opposite the way they do now and have for many years. It has been absolutely indestructible, and if anything, just turns a little smoother. I liked it so much I bought another just like it.
Besides making sure you get a chuck that uses a hex key and not a drill chuck style key, I would look at the chucks to see what other jaws are available and how much they are. I never saw the need for another set of jaws, but I got the long nose jaws and liked them so much that became the reason I bought the second chuck.
You might narrow your search down and ask again. Just about everyone has their own favorites.
I find that when something at first appears expensive, I tend to compare to something else. $225 in the UK would buy a couple of good meals for four at a local restaurant, maybe 8 hours of entertainment and a full stomach.
Now a chuck, its entertainment value can't be measured, or can it ? is that 8 hours of use? 40 ? 160? 1820 ? or do we just count it in years ?
I have a UK Axminster, with now several different jaws, but not just jaws, I have jaw carriers too for each set of jaws. You may ask why, when I can just undo 8 screws and change the jaws. The answer is simple, time ! The carriers are about $60 a set, but how do you value your time ?
Swapping jaws already fitted to carriers takes a couple of minutes.
Now to replace jaws on the carriers, its a case of undoing 8 screws, fitting new jaws, loose tightening the screws 8, closing the jaws to set them, and finally tightening 8 screws. How long does that take ? lets assume its a minute per screw each time, that's 16 minutes.
It doesn't take long before the time adds up to an hour. Add to that there is a risk of cross threading a screw each time
Now look at how much an hour is worth to yourself, that will give you a monetary value for your time, but put another way that time, is turning time.
for what it's worth, I have a super nova and a large VicMarc. I greatly prefer the VicMarc - the stupid geared chuck key that the nova uses is a real pain - I actually wore one chuck out (the holes enlongated so much that you couldn't tighten it) in a relatively short number of usages - If you can afford it, I'd get a chuck that is tightened by a "regular" allen key, not by the mechanism Nova uses
My first chuck (a Oneway Talon) was on my Shopsmith... worked great and I still use it... It's on it's 3rd or 4th lathe..
I have 3 Oneway Talons now, but the first one was FROM Shopsmith.. They has a sale at the time and were including the non-threaded adapter for the 5/8" SS shaft and "magic" allan wrench..
"> Years ago I priced chucks, and got a good deal from kmstools.com in Canada.
Suggestion - do not be too enamored by jaw sets - I turn a wide range of sizes (look in the gallery on my web site below under hobbies, or at
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- I use the 50mm jaws almost exclusively - once or twice I have used the smaller jaws. I would avoid cole jaws and make a lonworth chuck instead if you need that capability. You could (and I do) do
99% of your turning with only the 50 mm (2 inch) jaws. Smaller items I glue to a waste block held in the jaws (or to a faceplate), and I haven't turned something so large that the 50 mm jaws won't hold it - though I do admit the largest stuff has been around 33 inches, maybe if I went above 4 ft I'd need something else. Remember also that you can use a faceplate when balance is important, though with a shopsmith, you can't mount things that are too big for the 50 mm jaws.
Yep.. I collected 3 different jaw sets for my Talon, plus the "jumbo" jaws..
I use 2 chucks, the main one has the standard (#2?) jaws on it and they stay on.. The other chuck has the spigot jaws and almost never gets used..
The standard jaws also use the wood screw, which I use a lot.. I was never happy with the Jumbo Jaws and they were a real PITA to put on and take off.. I spent less than $200 on the vacuum setup from Bill, and should of applied the $100 I spent on the Jumbos on the vac chuck.. "If I knew then", right?
My Talon has been used on a Shopsmith, a Jet mini, a Jet 1442 and now a 16" Nova, and I just don't come across situations where I need to change jaws..
I couldn't disagree more. I know I could get away with the 2" dovetail jaws for everything. I did that for a long time. I find it vastly easier, more pleasing, less expensive in time, etc. to have the right jaw for the job I'm doing. Yeah, I could use a 20 oz hammer for everything too. Sometimes a tack hammer is more appropriate, sometime a ballpeen, sometimes a sledge. I have 3 Axminster chucks and 8 jaw sets all of which have the mounting hardware permenently attached. I REGULARLY use all of them, usually more than one set on each piece. Two of the jaw sets are Cole's, both small and large. I use the small ones for custom made jaws and the large one has removable custom made extenders that reach to about 18". If I had the money, I'd have an Axminster chuck for each set of jaws.
cole jaws are just an longworth style chuck that you pay a lot more for - if you like them, that's great - I use vacuum for what a cole/longworth could do and find it easier and quicker. The jumbo jaws for my Nova are there, I used them a few times but I haven't had them out of the box in 5 or more years. I actually used the small jaws on the Nova to hold something last week, for the first time in quite a few years - I was working miniatures and it was easier to have the small jaws and a small glue block (I was making stuff about 1/8 inch in diameter) - but that is rare.
I guess it is a matter of different tools satisfy different folks - read the advice from all of us and make up your own mind.
A lot depends on what you turn. Bowls - I would agree. But sometimes I turn treenware, wands, small boxes, goblets, etc.
I have not been too successful with cole jaws. Last time I tried, I turned a nice thin bowl, and wanted to finish the bottom a little bit more, and the Cole jaws cracked the outer rim. Or else the bowl popped out while turning.
Beg to disagree. I would bet a lot that my Axminster Cole's are a sight more precise than virtually any homemade Longworth chuck. Moreover they hold with 8 buttons not 4, are faster and easier to use, and take less time. All big plusses for me. The cost is a one time thing. If you use the tool a lot it's worth having the best you can afford. Penny wise - pound foolish.
My main problem with Cole/Jumbo jaws was moving all the damn screws and bumpers for different size or shape bowls.. After the first day of vacuum chucking, I "chucked" the jumbo jaws into a back drawer... I have several different sizes of vac chucks, which cost about $5 each to make..
In the time it would take to install/adjust/setup the jumbo jaws, I can thread the right vac chuck on the lathe and have the foot removed and the bottom sanded......YMWV
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