New Chuck Guidance Needed

[Jon Minerich]

Hi All,
I am thinking about purchasing a new chuck and want to make a good investment. I currently use a Nova and it works well. However, I would like to take a step up in quality. Everyone talks about Vicmarc and Oneway, but I have heard little about the midpriced chucks such as Axminster and Hurricane. EasyWood is getting a lot of good press about their quick change chuck. The concept of one good chuck with quick change jaws does sound appealing. On the other hand, it seems like several of you guys have more chucks ready-to-go on your lathe than I have socks in my dresser. Any pro/cons on the quick change chuck concept? Any general guidance on quality chucks you can give me wood be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Jon

 

[Mark Jundanian]

I have all Nova so no comment on the other brands.

I will comment that I am very glad to have two chucks, though. I always take the jaws off when not in use, but having two chucks lets me keep two different projects, or two parts of the same project on chucks. I have a spindle for the tailstock so I can pass a piece from one chuck to the other concentrically tranfering the mount from top to bottom.

 

[Peter Bergquist]

I just bought the Hurricane HTC100 and I'm very impressed. Runout is less than I can measure, it's solidly built and the gears operate like butter. I would keep it on your consider list.

 

[Mike Johnson]

What size of projects do you normally turn or want to turn helps determine your chuck needs. If you plan on upgrading your lathe in the future it is worthwhile investing in a chuck system that can be adapted to a different spindle size. If you want to turn bigger bowls and bigger hollow forms you might want to focus on the larger jaws and design of the jaws that hold the work piece. If you turn smaller pieces you might consider other types of systems for holding the work piece like a collet system.

 

[Dean Center]

I have Nova chucks, primarily so that all jaw sets can be used by all chucks. There might be a small increase in production quality with Vicmarc and Oneway, but I do not believe you will find any increase in functional quality. I believe the Record chucks are the same design as the Nova chucks.

 

[Jon Minerich]

Thanks everyone for your input.
Mike, I intend to turn bowls up to12” and perhaps platters up to 16”.
Anyone have experience with the EasyWood Chuck?

 

[Mike Johnson]

Owning one of each type available in the marketplace will instantly elevate you to the level of expert with experience and knowledge when this question comes up again.

 

[William Rogers]

I have several chucks Barracuda 2 and 4 that get very little use anymore. First chucks I bought since they cane with multiple jaws. For my larger turnings I use the Hurricane 125. Very nice chuck. I have two Nova chucks, one with 70mm jaws and one with pin jaws. I recently bought a Record SC4 chuck. Very similar to SuperNova 2 however the jaw slides are larger and "feels" tighter. You can also use Nova jaws on this chuck and it tightens and loosens as some say the correct way, opposite of Nova. I will buy this chuck again and if I needed a larger chuck I would buy the Hurricane 125 again.

 

[RichColvin]

Jon,

I started with a Nova Compact chuck, and then upgraded to a SuperNova2 chuck. The SuperNova is good. But then I choose to buy a Vicmarc VM120 chuck when I wanted to upgrade to a larger one.

When I compare the SuperNova to the Vicmarc, I greatly like the Vicmarc better. It seems better made, and works quite well. If nothing else, I prefer the Vicmarc‘s “righty-tighty” approach over the Nova’s “lefty-tightly”.

Kind regards,
Rich

 

[Jon Minerich]

Mike I could follow your advice but then my budget would in flames.

 

[john lucas]

I don't think you can beat Vicmarc chucks. I've worn out 2 of the vicmarc copies in fairly short order and have owned 2 nova chucks. I've turned on a lot of other chucks and nothing holds as good as the Vicmarc. One of mine is well.over 15 years old and still looks like new.
The est part is the chuck key that is a 10mm Allen key. No teeth to break off, you can buy a new one at your local.hardware if you lose one.

 

[Jon Minerich]

Thanks, John. Your point is well taken. I do believe I should buy the best I can afford and keep it for a lifetime.

 

[hockenbery]

Thanks, John. Your point is well taken. I do believe I should buy the best I can afford and keep it for a lifetime.

As the saying goes you only cry once when you buy it.

The ONEWAY strong hold is excellent too. Talon is great on a small lathe.

I prefer the Vicmarc for bowls and most face grain tenons. the hex key is great.

I prefer the stronghold for spindle work of all sizes and endgrain hollow forms.
Stronghold has a more jaw choices but the vicmar has most of the jaws you might need.

Using either effectively requires turning a suitable tenon for the jaws being used.

 

[robo hippy]

The only complaint I have about the Vicmarc chucks is the plastic handle on the chuck keys. I have broken them all off, and replaced them with some T loop type handle hex wrenches. They all have a little twist in them now, but they have seen thousands of tightenings....

robo hippy

 

[Bill Boehme]

The only complaint I have about the Vicmarc chucks is the plastic handle on the chuck keys. I have broken them all off, and replaced them with some T loop type handle hex wrenches. They all have a little twist in them now, but they have seen thousands of tightenings....

robo hippy

Have you broken any anvils?

 

[Zach LaPerriere]

Here's a vote for the Strongholds and Talons. I have a pile of them and use them almost daily. They are exceptional quality. I do have my eyes on a very big Vicmarc or two, but for now have been happy with Strongholds for up to 16" bowls.

 

[Gerald Lawrence]

Jon there are advantages and disadvantages to all chucks. I have 4 SN2 and a Barracuda 4 (need to get rid of that). I have stuck with the novas because of standardization. Once you get really used to a system you do not have to contemplate a long time on usage. As for size like probably a majority of turners I have turned my large bowl and am done with that.
So I would suggest you consider what you want to accomplish with the new chuck......flexibility of a system or large work.

 

[Hy Tran]

I have a Oneway Talon and have added various jaws over the years (and changed the insert when I changed lathes) Currently, my Oneway is setup with 1x8 for my smaller lathe. I also have a Teknatool (nova) Supernova2 (1 1/4x8) for my larger lathe.

While all the nova jaws work with all the nova models (unlike Oneway, where the Talon jaws don't work on the Stronghold chuck & vice-versa), I like the Oneway better--it just feels more solid. I'm thinking of (selling or giving away) my Supernova2, and getting a replacement chuck.

I've used a friend's Vicmarc, and another friend's Axminster. I like both. The Axminster has integral threads (built in) and uses stainless steel (not sure if it's 300 or 400 series). I would take either of those in preference to the Supernova2.

One more item to consider in addition to Hurricane, if you're looking at lower cost chucks: Bulldog chucks from ChucksPlus.

Best,

Hy

 

[Jon Minerich]

Thanks Hy! I haven’t heard of Bulldog, but will check them out.