John--I, like you, have a 1442. I have only the larger Vicmarc, so I can't offer a comparison with other chucks. I can, however, say that the Vic is a precision tool that meet my needs perfectly without exception. The 14" Adjusta-jaws are wonderful for reverse-chucking bowls to finish off the bases. Thanks to the 1442's pivoting headstock I can reverse a 15" bowl with ease.
Operating on the assumption that Vicmarc's lathes are built as precisely as this chuck, my next lathe will likely be a Vicmarc VL300.
I have the 1442VS and 2 talon chucks... My brother is getting back into turning and has been researching chucks for a while.. he's leaning toward the talon or stronghold (overkill, IMHO) but has been getting demos of several... I have no experience with vicmark, but he said that they were the "nicest looking" chuck.. lol (He's a retired jet mechanic) Mac
The real difference between those chucks is the jaws profile, they al have tapered gears, either inside or on the wrench, the self centering metal chucks have them also and they are inside the chuck body, and a T style wrench is inserted to tighten or open them. Some wood chucks have the gears captured and a T wrench is used to operate them, and some have the gear right on the wrench, not much of a difference if they are well made and fit. Some wood chucks are closed and some are open, while the chuck is turning very little if anything will get inside the chuck, if it's open, any dust and shavings that get inside are flung out in my experience, if closed, it is trapped and if it has the captured gears there is another place for debris to get stuck. I do not spray turnings with any finish while on my lathe, if you do that than that sticky stuff will hold shavings and dust, and it will gum up the works. Both the Nova and the Oneway are good chucks, but my preference goes with the Oneway chucks, for the patented shape of the jaws, it gives you a size flexibility that none of the other chucks have, and the reason I use both the Oneway Stronghold and the Talon for wood turning and use a couple of metal chucks for metal turning.
But Leo you forgot the one most important caveat ...... (A hush fell over the crowd as they waited with bated breath) Oneway jaws crush wood........ !!! There George I saved you the trouble.....
Oneway jaws aren't the only ones that can crush wood, my Vicmarc can also, it is all in the wrist torque. But then again, I use mortice, and expanding jaws rather than tenon and compression . robo hippy
The SuperNova2 uses a ball head allen wrench to tighten the jaws - with just one hand. THAT's really really handy when you've got the big cherry piece slice sized jaws on the chuck. And because the provided ball ended allen wrench hat a nice T-handle on it, you can tighten those jaws down as tight as you want to.
All edges and corners that your knuckles are capable of making contact with have their edges eased or actually rounded. Contact will get your attention -but won't remove flesh. You have to have made contact with the old machinist three or four jaw chuck to REALLY appreciate this little detail.
While I haven't chucked up any green two foot long, 18" diameter chunks of wood in one, the SuperNova2 has held a 10" diameter by 8" long piece of green claro walnut while I cut away everything that didn't look like a bowl.
Don't have a Stuby or big OneWay to try the SN2 on so I don't know if it'd hold a tree trunk, but I'm guessing the beefiest jaw set for the SN2 could do it.
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