Nova Compac Chuck

I had bought one and returned it within one hour of using it on my Mercury. Extremely limited in jaw travel (not to mention STIFF movement) and couldn't hold anything very well. Personally, I would not recommend it at all. Better to delay gratification and save up for a better chuck.

Peter Teubel Milford, MA

Delay gratification?? What newsgroup do you think you are on!! *G* I have one and it works just fine.

Mercury. Extremely limited in jaw travel (not to mention STIFF

recommend it at all. Better to delay gratification and

So does mine. Apparently there has been a lot of variation in these chucks, but I've have mine for about two years now and had no troubles whatsoever. It is important to understand that this is a chuck well suited for miniature and small scale work, but that never was intended to be, and won't perform well as, a general purpose chuck. For a Carbetec, I think it would be a very good match.

Lyn

Lyn, I haven't had an opportunity to use a Compac, but isn't it just a smaller version of the original Nova chuck? Ken Moon Webberville,TX

Hello Bill,

A recent check of Teknatool's web site shows that the Compac Chuck has been temporarily removed from the market pending redesign. Apparently, there have been some problems with the chuck and the manufacturer is attempting to fix said problems. I personally never had any problems with the chuck that I have; however, my wife complains about it and refuses to use it.

Fred Holder

Hi Ken, Actually the Compac Chuck is/was quite a departure from their previous chucks. Though it did share a Tommy Bar operation system with the standard Nova, it was only available available direct threaded, and had it's own unique jaw sets. The most prominent difference though, was the implementation of round jaw slides that worked more like a screw than a rack. I have found mine to be very smooth and precise in operation, but wonder if tolerances were more of an issue with this design than others, and thus, perhaps, some of the variations in success. Overall, though, I think it the problems have had to do more with marketing and expectations rather than performance. Teknatool advertised this chuck as capable of dealing with anything suitable for a 12 inch swing lathe (and furhered this perception by offering jaw adapters that would allow mounting of the standard Nova spigot, step, and #2 jaws--which IMO both were asking people to do things with the chuck beyond it's capabilities). I think many of us have shown that one can take on some awfully bit projects on even a Minilathe, such as hollowing out deep hollow forms. Those big projects simple overwhelm a chuck such as this.

I've always felt that chuck should have been marketed as desirable for working with miniature and small scale work, regardless of lathe size. Working with projects of this size, which can easily be mounted one handed, the Tommy bar system wasn't any issue at all. Work of this nature I can usually hold into the chuck between a couple of fingers while having one hand and a couple of fingers of the mounting hand available for operation. The jaw sizes (both smaller than their comparable Nova numbers, e.g., the #2 jaws were 40mm rather than the usual 50mm) were very appropriate to this size work and I found to have holding power fully adequate to the task. Most of all, the overall size of the chuck was small, allowing excellent clearance to the headstock side of the smaller workpieces.

As I've repeatedly said, except for the very smallest lathes (such as the Carbatec), the Nova Compac was best considered an inexpensive SECOND chuck to compliment the broader capabilities of a larger chuck. For a minilathe, I think having a Talon as a primary chuck and a Compac as a secondary chuck is still affordable and greatly increases the efficiency and capabilities of such lathes. Same goes for a full size lathe, having a Compac fitted with it's small jaws was great for those occasional small scale projects.

Alas, at one level this conversation is presently moot, as Teknatool has withdrawn the chuck for "design review." I personally hope to see it return.I like mine a lot and continue to prefer it over my Talon (and other larger chucks) for miniature work.

While the Compac is no longer found in the Teknatool website menus, it can be seen by going directly to this page.

Ken Mo> Lyn,