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Axminster Chucks or Vicmarc

William Rogers

William Rogers

Joined
Mar 19, 2016
Messages
1,349
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1,696
Location
Haubstadt, Indiana
I need to buy a new chuck to use my Axminister eccentric chuck. I have been using a Supernova 2, however it is on the very outside edge of the internal grip needed for the eccentric chuck. the max opening of the Supernova is 2.844 inches and if I get even a small catch it loosens. The recommended chuck is the Axminster SK100 with 69mm jaws. The range for the 69mm jaws is 2-9/16" to 3-9/16". So ideally the jaws are near the bottom of the range. This chuck is a key chuck (not my preference), direct thread and stainless steel. However I don't know much about Axminster chucks. My other option is a Vicmarc VM100 and it's range is 1-3/4" to 3-1/4". It's clamping is more in the middle of the eccentric chuck range. Both chucks are comparable in price. i know the Vicmarc is a excellent chuck, but not sure about the clamping.
So those that have Axminster chucks are the good? Would you get the Axmister that is chuck close to the required clamping or is the Vicmarc clamping sufficient?
 
The chuck key is the main reason I chose Vicmarc over Axminster and Oneway. Those 3 chucks I consider to be the best. Vicmarc uses a 10mm hex wrench instead of a keyed chuck. I have takes short pieces of old 10mm hex wrenches and welded it to a bar to extend my wrench for easier use with the Cole Jaws. You can also get a hex wrench with a sort of ball end that will work at any angle which is a lot nicer. When snugging a chuck up against the spindle I feel a lot more secure using the hex wrench instead of a geared key. I don't think I would ever damage the Hex wrench using it as a pry bar to get the chuck on and off.
 
The geared key of Oneway does fits inside the chuck and then also at the shoulder of the chuck, stronger and more secure than a hex wrench in a hex opening, also the Oneway geared key is longer than the jumbo jaws when fully opened, also on the Oneway Stronghold with the Mega jumbo jaws.
You can see the ends on the Keys here, the ends and then above the gear the part that rubs in the chucks outer shell opening.

Chuck keys.jpg

The only time I have to slide the crossbar is when I use the extensions on my Mega Jumbo Jaws, as shown, as they aren’t that long, my Stronghold is already used better than 20 years and still imperfect shape.
extension.jpg
 
William Rogers said:
I need to buy a new chuck to use my Axminister eccentric chuck. I have been using a Supernova 2, however it is on the very outside edge of the internal grip needed for the eccentric chuck. the max opening of the Supernova is 2.844 inches and if I get even a small catch it loosens. The recommended chuck is the Axminster SK100 with 69mm jaws. The range for the 69mm jaws is 2-9/16" to 3-9/16".
Click to expand...

Can you not use the 70mm (JS70N) jaws for your Supernova? The ones I have are the same profile as the 50mm stock ones, just a tad larger. They're the jaws that live forever on my Supernova 2. Mounted on a SN2 you get a 2.76"-3.54"
 
I own a stronghold, talon, VM120, VM150 and an old axminster. As far as quality. the axminster chuck has them all beat by a longshot. The best fit and finish of my 5 chucks and that translates to less run out and vibration when holding another piece of round metal. Although my axminster is not the same model, I would go with this quality manufacturer for this application.
Btw I own the McDonald jaws, step jaws and custom jaws.
 
Davis Stevenson said:
Can you not use the 70mm (JS70N) jaws for your Supernova?
Click to expand...

I initially bought the Nova 70mm jaws thinking they would work. However they are just a little large and won't fit over the dovetail. The dovetail smallest diameter is 2.721".

I ordered the Axminster SK100 chuck and jaws. There are plus and minus to both chucks, but the Axminster will give the best fit.
 
Well I don't own a Vicmark chuck, but have 2 Axminsters and I love them both. I am not sure how you change jaw sets with a Vicmark, but with the Axminsters, you just spin them out and spin in a new set. No allen keys or screws involved. This is why I initially bought an Axminster 10 or 15 years ago. It is still a champ. I recently purchased one of the newer stainless steel chucks and I like it even better. One of the nicest features these have over other chucks is the Odonnell jaws. I have 3 different sets of them. All jaws fit both chucks. You do have to purchase extra jaw slides to make this work, but it is worth every penny in my opinion.
 
You can purchase extra jaw slides for the Vicmarc but you do need to remove the pin that keeps you from over extending the jaws.
 
basicly you want to make bigger multi-axis turning.....how big a turning do you plan turning
 
charlie knighton said:
basicly you want to make bigger multi-axis turning.....how big a turning do you plan turning
Click to expand...

Well so far I have only done finials. I would like to do a goblet at some point and not sure what else. Right now don't feel I can even do a finial with the Nova chuck because of the clamping.

mfoster said:
One of the nicest features these have over other chucks is the Odonnell jaws. I have 3 different sets of them. All jaws fit both chucks. You do have to purchase extra jaw slides to make this work, but it is worth every penny in my opinion.
Click to expand...

I saw these and they are in my future. Thanks for the input as I am looking forward to getting this chuck. I had sent two inquiries to Axminster and they were super fast providing answers.
 
Last edited:
Bill Blasic said:
Mike I'm not familiar with the Axminster chuck that has spin on and off jaws. Can you show that chuck?
Click to expand...
Bill, all of my Axminster chucks have this capability. I have the old chuck (the larger chuck on the left in the back) that I don't know their name for it, the Patriot in the foreground on the left which I got for my Jet mini lathe (1 x 10 threads) and the Evolution, which is their latest and one fine chuck (stainless steel). I show a couple of jaw slides in the pic. The Evolution and the old chuck both use the square drive key (of which I have a long version for my set of Cole jaws. All of the jaws I show will spin in and out of all 3 chucks (but it does require buying jaw slides for each set of jaws, which I consider worth it). The smaller chuck (the patriot) has a different key that is like an overgrown drill chuck key and is not as easy to spin the jaws in and out as there is a spring loaded ball that slows down the action (I think to prevent possible accidents) and I find very annoying.256A7356.jpg256A7361.jpg
 
Mike As I mentioned earlier my Vicmarc chucks have a pin that keeps the jaws from accidentally, or on purpose, from coming out. You have to remove this pin to get the inner jaws out. Does the Axminster chuck have this safety feature or some other way of preventing this. Just curious. Ive always been impressed with their chucks.
 
Okay Mike now I understand "spin the jaws out". I went the other direction with many many chucks with different jaws. I have three Axminsters among the mix of Novas, Vicmarcs, Oneways and Bulldog chucks. I do not consider one brand better than the others as they all work as advertised. I choose a chuck from the cabinet dependent on what jaws are on it. Different strokes for different folks. I can't answer the question above about a pin in the Axminsters as I have not ever backed them out far enough to see if they stop.
 
Mike, thanks for posting. I'll get the SK100 tomorrow. You have made me think about way to use chucks. Instead of multiple chucks I may sell my other chucks and get the Evolution with different jaws and slides. The jaws will also fit the SK100 iI bought. I'm really wanting the O'Donnell jaws.
 
john lucas said:
Mike As I mentioned earlier my Vicmarc chucks have a pin that keeps the jaws from accidentally, or on purpose, from coming out. You have to remove this pin to get the inner jaws out. Does the Axminster chuck have this safety feature or some other way of preventing this. Just curious. Ive always been impressed with their chucks.
Click to expand...
The older axminster chuck does not have a safety pin and if opened past the capacity, the jaws can fly off! Possibly for that reason, Craftsupply discontinued the line. I’m not certain if the newer models sold by Lee Valley have a safety pin.
 
Dennis Weiner said:
The older axminster chuck does not have a safety pin and if opened past the capacity, the jaws can fly off! Possibly for that reason, Craftsupply discontinued the line. I’m not certain if the newer models sold by Lee Valley have a safety pin.
Click to expand...

I'll find out tomorrow, but guessing they do not. I guess for me I always size my tenons to the smallest diameter, so for me it is not an issue. I'll extend the jaws to the jaw max range and see if the or how far the slides extend beyond the body.
 
Never say never. I was going to say I never extend the jaws all the way open but thinking back I'll bet you anything i have done it at least once. I prefer to pick the correct size jaws and then make my tenons so they are slightly larger than when the jaws are closed. that being said when doing one off kind of projects I have occasionally expanded the jaws a pretty good ways to hold something long enough to turn a tenon on the other end.
 
20190411_154617.jpg
William Rogers said:
I'll find out tomorrow, but guessing they do not. I guess for me I always size my tenons to the smallest diameter, so for me it is not an issue. I'll extend the jaws to the jaw max range and see if the or how far the slides extend beyond the body.
Click to expand...

Very tight tolerances do not matter very much when you are holding wood because it is turned true. When turning a given diameter of metal (you have a chuck that attaches to a chuck) it may matter. The axminster chuck is advertised as having less than .0005 runout along the body. My axminster model was designed like a metal lathe chuck that’s what sets it apart from the oneway and the Vicmarc Chucks that I also own and love.
Here is a. Photo of the step jaws holding a piece of 1.25” aluminum 12” rod. At the end of the rod he runout is .002 +- . I had a video of it spinning true on my oneway but it’s too large a file to upload and I get an error message to that effect. (Help AlanZ.)
Anyhow let us know how you like it.
 
On my SK100 there is no retaining pin like the vicmarc or talon ( on the jaw ).
As the jaws are extended the scroll releases each slide. They are pretty far out when they release, one at a time as the key is turned. At least for me.
I would probably put some red mark at the 'point of no return'.
 
No retaining pin to remove on any of my Axminster chucks. I understand the possible safety drawback, but I just never run up against that. I almost exclusively use dovetail jaws. (I do have a set of the gripper type jaws, but can't remember the last time I used them). I dovetail jaws superior in all respects, but I pay attention to sizing the tenon to fit the jaws. Dovetail jaws are circular (and make the most contact with the tenon, so the best strength) when they are close to closed, but not quite. The axminster jaws are actually circular when the outside of the jaw is flush with my older chuck. I have written down the best fit for the inside dovetail, outside dovetail and the interior spigot on the board below where the jaw is stored. I take the time to size the tenon for the jaw set I'm using. Much of my work requires remounting the work multiple times and I find using this method is by far the most accurate. If the tenon is too big, the jaw corners bite into the wood and getting that bite just right when remounting can be tricky and sometimes impossible. Because I use the chucks in this manner, I am never at risk of the jaw slides flying out because I am never expanded that far. On the rare occaision that I decide to use a chuck with the jaws open wide, I always check, and check again to make sure the jaw slides are engaged. I have never had one fly out while turning, but it is because I am aware of the possible problem and always check.
 
Right as rain Mike dovetailed jaws are the best, all of my chucks have dovetail jaws except one Oneway that has gripper jaws as I had one pro in for a hands on that wanted that chuck jaw combo.
 
I got the Axminster SK100 chuck yesterday afternoon. I must say I was impressed. Things I noticed different from my other chucks is the jaws are a little thicker. It uses cap head screws to attach the jaws. The 69mm jaws I bought have an external dovetail and the internal is similar to the Nova with a "birds beak", except the beak is square. The jaw dovetail angle is much bigger compared to the Nova/Record jaws. IMO the Axminster chuck is very robust. The best thing is my eccentric chuck fit very well and I do want to get the O'Donnell jaws. I'm would think I would also be impressed with the Vicmarc chuck, but would not have the same fit for my eccentric chuck. Now the problem I have is too many chucks with similar jaws. I have 70mm and 50mm jaws on my Novas and 70mm heavy bowl jaws and pin jaws on my Record chucks. The Record and Nova chucks have served me well and no problems with either brand, preferring the Record chucks over the Nova. I will use the Axminster as a go to chuck seeing how I like it for the next couple of months and may eventually sell the Novas.
 
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