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need advice on chuck

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hey everyone new woodturner here and i just started turning bowls and i am in need of advice on selecting a chuck for my lathe .I have narrowed it down to the supernova 2 and the record power sc3 [both in the 150.00 range]
my lathe is a coronet record power clc3 with 3/4 x 16 spindle {love the lathe }
my concern is if the supernova 2 will be to heavy for spindle
also if the record sc3 can handle 16" bowl it has heavier jaw slides than the novas and states it will handle all of records jaws ALSO ITS RIGHTY TIGHTY LEFTY LOOSEY
the record is also available with direct threading to my spindle i dont plan on upgrading and i have heard of people having trouble with inserts
any advice will be greatly welcomed
THANKS
 

john lucas

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Well I have turned some pretty big chucks on a mini lathe so I really don't think chuck weight should be a consideration. I'm a fan of the Vicmarc chucks but they are quite a bit higher than the ones you are looking at. There are copies out there that are pretty darn good chucks and use the Vicmarc jaws. I have one from Grizzly and one from Chuck's plus. They are not as well build as the Vicmarc's but they are really decent chucks for newer turners who won't wear them out like I do. Mine are both probably 10 years old and who knows how many pieces I have turned with them. Both are probably right around your price range.
 
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All but one of my chucks are SN2 and they have not failed me , maybe I failed them a time or two but not the question. I have used mine on a Delta Midi and no problem. It does take a while to get used to the reverse tighten bot that is part of the learn to turn curve. The key is a hex and that is a very good thing for me. My oldest one is about 10 years old and has never been cleaned with no failures of mechanism. I sometime retighten it but 99.999 percent of the time the first tightening is enough.
 

Bill Boehme

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There aren't many axioms in woodturning, but here is one that ought to be carved in stone (or perhaps carved in wood):
"It's the size of the wood not the size of the lathe that determines the size of the chuck."

I have a Robust American Beauty lathe which one might say is a pretty good sized lathe (25½" swing), but for probably 95% or more of the turning that I do I use a Oneway Talon chuck which is what I would consider a borderline small chuck. My point is that a small chuck can hold a piece of wood just as well as a big chuck for most things. Additionally, it is easier to work on the headstock side of a turning when you don't have an oversized chuck interfering with your access to the area close to the foot of a bowl. I do have several big chucks, but I match the chuck to the wood (16" and under I use a Talon or Vicmarc VM100).

I'm not familiar with your lathe, but with a ¾" spindle, I would suggest using a small chuck and you won't ever have a problem with it not being large enough.
 
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I'm not familiar with your lathe. I have the Nova chucks, SuperNova 2 and G3. I would suspect the Re ord is also a good chuck. My advice is to get the insert type. I didn't plan to upgrade, but did do. My G3 is a direct 1"-8 tpi and I wish I had bought the insert. Yes I use an adapter, but not as good. Going from a 3/4"-16 tpi is a greater jump. Almost all chucks have inserts and the only horror stories was when Woodcraft sold a non Nova insert ( no longer available ).
 
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I started with Nova G3 chucks, then got Vicmarc VM100 with 4” jaws. The inside profile of the jaws are different, I like Vicmarc’s jaws more but I do use the G3 for special purposes. G3’s jaws are flat with slight dovetail at the end.
 
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I . G3’s jaws are flat with slight dovetail at the end.

That is not a dovetail. I have read some who say to do a straight tenon with a slight incut at the bowl but happened to look at the manual someone posted and found that Nova says to not do the cut . That swell is supposed to compress the wood and create a better holding tenon.
 
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Up to two years ago I was using a record CL3 lathe. I used a Oneway chuck as well as a Oneway Stronghold. In both cases I had to use an adapter to reduce to 3/4" X 16 TPI. No problems at all.
 

odie

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Up to two years ago I was using a record CL3 lathe. I used a Oneway chuck as well as a Oneway Stronghold. In both cases I had to use an adapter to reduce to 3/4" X 16 TPI. No problems at all.

Same here.......I have four Oneway Stronghold chucks, and they all run true.

The inserts are a tight fit, and I suppose one could screw up the installation process and get a cocked fit........and, my bet is Murphy's law applies......there are likely those who have indeed screwed it up! Some of these complainers would be more correct to turn their complaints towards themselves, rather than blame the chuck that uses the insert. :eek:

-----odie-----
 

Bill Boehme

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Same here.......I have four Oneway Stronghold chucks, and they all run true.

The inserts are a tight fit, and I suppose one could screw up the installation process and get a cocked fit........and, my bet is Murphy's law applies......there are likely those who have indeed screwed it up! Some of these complainers would be more correct to turn their complaints towards themselves, rather than blame the chuck that uses the insert. :eek:

-----odie-----

The great thing about machine tapers (Morse, Jacobs, Jarno, Brown & Sharpe, and a host of others) is that being conical surfaces they are automatically self aligning and can't go together any way but straight. Murphy needs to look elsewhere if he wants to cause problems. :D

However, I've been told that there are those who can break an anvil.
 

odie

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The great thing about machine tapers (Morse, Jacobs, Jarno, Brown & Sharpe, and a host of others) is that being conical surfaces they are automatically self aligning and can't go together any way but straight. Murphy needs to look elsewhere if he wants to cause problems. :D

However, I've been told that there are those who can break an anvil.


Well Bill......there is a right way and a wrong way to seat an insert.......if that is not true, then there is only a right way! :rolleyes:

Murphy is alive and well! ;)

-----odie----- :)
 
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i pulled the trigger on the supernova 2 got it with the insert , 50mm + 70mm jaws, woodworm & the spur center price was 166 from woodworkers specialty. as you could tell by my post i was really leaning towards the record sc3 but i decided to get one with an insert after advice given. my luck i would have gotten it and my lathe would have crapped out . cant wait to turn some bowls the easy way, now i need to get some more blanks ready

thanks everyone for your imput
 
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I have the SN2 and really like it. The most recent Woodcraft sale flyer has the Record chuck on sale. However, what caught my attention was the Record chuck has a statement that the chuck has a proprietary internal thread that can only use Record inserts. For me........that would be a negative. If you bought another chuck for something else, the inserts would not interchange- unless you had 1-8 threads and another thread pitch, or another Record chuck. I prefer to have standard threads.
Compared to me, Murphy was an optimist!
 
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John, that wouldn't bother me. With Nova you should really only use a Nova insert. Woodcraft offered a third party insert for the Nova chucks and even with the correct threads it was a disaster with runout and fit. For me I would only use the chuck manufacture insert, so propriety thread for the insert wouldn't affect my decision.
 

john lucas

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All of the inserts in the various chucks are proprietary. The thread sizes for the lathes are all standard. For example if you buy a Nova Chuck and Vicmarc chuck with 1"x8 inserts both would have that. However you can't swap the inserts between chucks because they are completely different. some of the off brand chucks will let you swap inserts. For example the Grizzly copy of the Vicmarc and the Chucks plus copy will both swap out with the Vicmarc as well as the jaws. However neither of these will swap with any other brand of chuck. also be aware that all chuck jaws won't fit alll chucks from the same company. vicmarc makes a very large chuck and a smaller chuck. The jaws are not interchangeable. Same is true with several other companies that make 2 sizes of chucks.
 
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All Nova jaws can be used on all the Nova chucks, within reason. (5" jaws aren't recommended on a 3" diameter G3, but who would want to do that anyway. OOPS, just answered my own question--somebody using them as Cole jaws, duh. :rolleyes:)
 
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