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Beware of rusty chucks.

W

W4MAN

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Feb 10, 2006
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I came across this discussion of chucks. I believe that the opinions expressed are honest. I'm in the process of buying a chuck for my Jet 1642 and am a little concerned about getting one that would be too heavy, like the Axminster, which is very attractive.

I am also a little put off by the comments about rust. Can you offer a little advice?

Thanks

http://www.woodcentral.com/russ/russ7.shtml
 
I don't know much about the other chucks. I have the Oneway Stronghold. It easily has over 500 hours on it and probably over 1500 hours. It has seen sopping wet wood and dry wood as well. The jaws can be cranked so hard that I can't turn it any further. It has held 120 pound pieces (between centers during roughouts and 1 pound pieces during fine turning.

And with all that activity it continues to perform. It still impresses me that a $300 piece of equipment can take so much abuse. I think the other chuck products at similar prices probably perform similarly. And there is no rust on my Stronghold either. Never thought about it....but it pretty much is rust free.

The only problem with getting a chuck is that they are addictive. They simplify many types of turning operations.

If you use the chuck to grip green wood, make sure to regularly tighten the jaws on any chuck since the wood will compress over time.
 
chucks

Hello there,

I have just taken a look at the Jet1642 (online) and it looks to be a considerably heavier lathe than my old lathe, which was a Perform CCBL (a copy of the Axminster 950, but also made my Axminster Tools). I had the Axminster Super Precision on that and it certainly wasn't too heavy and performed very well indeed.

I now have a Wivamac DB1200V and have two of the Axminster chucks constantly in use...well one at a time, but you know what I mean! And they are good solid accurate chucks. But then so are Nova, Oneway and Vicmarc.

There is another alternative, and that's the Versa Chuck, from www.toolpost.co.uk. Essentially it's a copy of the Axminster, but comes with three different sets of carriers enabling you to use either Axminster, Nova, or Oneway jaw sets on the same chuck. My club has just bought one and it's a great chuck for a very good price.

Details here:

http://www.toolpost.co.uk/system/index.html

So now it's down to you!

Andy
 
Russ has a good article about the Chucks. I have the most the ones he listed with no rust on any, including the Vicmarcs which is a favorite. I also enjoy my Axmister. Hex keys are much faster than the gear keys like the Oneway's and the old Nova. The Nova goes backwards, I just flat don't like that. I also don't like poking down in a hole to find the place to insert the key. Said before, I would like to have my time back I wasted trying to find the right spot on the Oneway's and Nova. I use all the chucks but will reach for the Vicmarc everytime followed by the Axmister. Green wood gripping is very good with the Oneway's. I have 5 lathes or is it 6 and I use chucks in different ways for each one. I would worry more about rust on your bed ways and tools than rust on a chuck. I don't know about the China clones and avoid them. Also consider more than one chuck. Yes you can change jaws, but my arthritis does not like it. GT
 
The new supernova II does go backwards but, other than that, has a nice, exposed hex key crank and gives excellent pressure. I find it really nice that you can get a large hex key from the local hardware store as a backup and for leverage when cranking down hard. Can't do that with the geared keys. No rust on my supernova or my little nova, which has hundreds of hours, including turning oak (really bad for rust/oxidation). Also, the jaws interchange.

Dietrich
 
W4MAN said:
I am also a little put off by the comments about rust. Can you offer a little advice?
Click to expand...
Any tool will rust given the proper conditions. Given proper love, it won't.
After reading Russ' article, I will say that I agree with his comments on the Oneway Stronghold jaws, but it must have been written before they came out with dovetail jaws.
 
I have mostly vicmarc chucks and I love them. I have never had a problem with rust except the one time I stupidly left a green oak blank in one overnight. That's operator error not the fault of the chuck. If you wipe them down regularly you shouldn't have a problem. I did dissassemble my oldest chuck and clean it but that was just a dust and gunk problem and that chuck was close to 6 years old with hundreds of hours on it.
I believe the 1642 would handle any chuck out there. I've even run my vicmarc's on my Carbo-tec mini lathe without any problems. It takes a second to come up to speed but runs great after that.
 
Wish I had two

I like my Stronghold on my 1642. Its not too big for most project on that model lathe. I wish I had a second one so I could leave the jumbo jaws on one and use the other as the primary chuck. After I get my second Stronghold I might look at a little vicmarc for very small projects. My two cents worth.
Frank
 
The 1642 can handle any of the chucks on the market. You can easily use the 5" size. Axminster makes a great chuck as well as Vicmarc and One-way. Super Nova II would be a good choice also. The outward appearence of a chuck will show some rust and gunk as it gets used but if you clean it after turning with wet wood and dry it , it will give you years of use. A clean, new looking chuck is one that doesn't get used.
 
I have a couple of Axemister chucks that I use on a regular basis. Love them. The body of the chuck does not seem to get rusted. But, when I leave a green piece of oak attached overnight - the jaws seem to pick up a bit of rust. I just take a piece of steelwool to them and then oil them up slightly. I agree with Jeff - once you start using chucks you can't turn without them.
Hugh
 
Some folks mentioned wishing they had two chucks, one for regular jaws and one for jumbo jaws. I took a slightly different approach after looking at the cost of jumbo jaws. I skipped ahead to a vacuum chuck and use it for lots of things including what the jumbo jaws would have done for me. I now use my second chuck with a special fitting that has 1 1/4 x 8 thread on one side to fit the chuck, and a # 2 morse taper on the other end to fit my tailstock (a jet 1642 by the way). Now when I am ready to reverse chuck a piece that I want to keep on a 4 jaw chuck for some reason I mount the second chuck in the tailstock and push it up against the piece and grab it, then undo the chuck attached to the headstock and remove it. Then I take the morse taper adapter off the second chuck and mount it with the attached workpiece onto my headstock. The end result is that the piece is reverse chucked and as centered as I could possibly hope for with almost no effort on my part. This has worked very well for me.

I also use this little morse taper gizmo when I go from the 4 jaw chuck to the vacuum chuck. I will take the chuck and workpiece off the lathe, screw in the morse taper adapter and stick that in my tailstock. then I can push it up to my vacuum chuck and the piece is centered and ready to go. No fussing.

Hope this helps.
 
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dkulze said:
The new supernova II does go backwards but, other than that, has a nice, exposed hex key crank and gives excellent pressure. I find it really nice that you can get a large hex key from the local hardware store as a backup and for leverage when cranking down hard. Can't do that with the geared keys. No rust on my supernova or my little nova, which has hundreds of hours, including turning oak (really bad for rust/oxidation). Also, the jaws interchange.
Click to expand...

It isn't backward if you're using it in a mortise, of course. Leftie loosens, righty tightens. You just have to consider a new mnemonic - "Lefty Lucie doesn't spread 'em for Chuck" is the one I use.

I think the rust problem is the reason for the black phosphate finish you see on almost all the jaws. I don't consider it nearly the problem I consider the accumulation of finishing materials when finishing on the lathe. After all, they're slick, where surface rust increases the coefficient of friction. Answer to both problems is to keep the chuck clean. Becomes more difficult to control rust after you hit the jaws a few times with sandpaper or a tool (which we never do) and remove the black, of course.

Slick jaw holds center easier than holds where you may have crushed the fibers, of course. The dovetail helps wedge and snug the face of the jaws up to the flat bottom of the mortise or the shoulder of the tenon, too. That's why keeping the hold close to the size that gives most contact area is a good idea. Try them, David, and you'll be surprised how easily they work.
 
Chucks article

I have posted an updated version of the article on chucks on my website.

http://woodturner-russ.com/Chucks.html

There have been several new chucks to consider since that original article was written, some manufacturers have expanded and improved on their products, and Nova has chosen to discontinue their old basic scroll chuck.

The most significant improvements have been made by Vicmarc. Their accuracy has improved with better tolerances in the machine shop, their operation is smoother, they now have a larger selection of accessory jaws, and being able to replace a lost chuck wrench with an Allen-Wrench from the local Ace Hardware has to be a positive deature. If you don't think this is important, try losing a chuck key that has one of the gears attached to it, and then discovering that the new ones work, but not very well because somebody chose to change the gearing.

Some things haven't changed, and I still think the shaped Oneway jaws give me the best grip on green wood. And, I still prefer the Axminster for things where accuracy and repeatability are important, because they are still the most accurate and repeatable of the chucks.

Rust is still a problem when you live in a climate with a high dew point in a shop without any climate control. All exposed steel will rust on North FL in the summer and in Western WA in the winter, enless you have AC or heat. My concern with rust in the chuck article is based on living in both places, and having chuck jaws turned into masses of rusty steel. If you have a rust problem in a shop, you will have it on everything that has exposed bare steel of cast-iron. If you don't, then the chuck is no different from any other exposed surfaces.

The simple solution to rust is a light coating of a light oil to protect the surfaces, or use one of the commercial products like BOshield. The best solution is still buying a chuck with a protective coating. Finishing on the lathe and a thick coating of lacquer and dried oil finishes on a chuck also works. I solved the problem by moving to a more tolerable climate.
 
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How much wood can a wood chuck chuck?

Thanks to everyone who responded so quickly. Your comments really help. I can't say that I've made up my mind, although I like the looks of the Axminster.

I especially agreed with the comments about one tool rusting any faster than any of the other tools in my shop. When I re read Russ's article, I took particular notice to where he lives. I lived in Seattle for one year, and I was beginning to rust!

As far as lefty vs righty tighty, did it occur to anyone that toilets flush and sinks drain in the other direction below the equator? You now have permission to kill me.

Seriously, folks, not having used wood lathe chucks before (have done lots of spindle work, though), maybe holding the work with the right hand while tightening with the left is a good rationalization for lefty tighty, righty loosey. But then again, the comment about clamping inside vs outside is well taken. What's a fella to do? This reminds me of the debate about left tilting vs right tilting saw blades. IMHO, table saws are built backwards!

What do I know?
 
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Oneway, all the way.

I have several Oneway strongholds for use on any of 4 lathes in and around the shop. I bought my first whenI was turning on a Sears tube rig and then on a mini, on the 16" Delta and the 20" Woodfast. It also works on my ornamental lathe, Lathezilla.
If everything in my shop was built as good, I'd be one happy camper. I've used these chucks on just about everything and put them throught everything else. I've never worried about the weight difference of chucks, heck you do have a little weight with that wood thing you've chucked up.
Mine get dirty and even have occasional surface rust. I clean them up and apply a little wax for protection.
When the get sluggish moving because of dust, dirt, finish,etc. I stick the entire chuck in a bucket of mineral spirits and run it in and out with a modified "Screw Stick" from B&D. I made an attachment for the handle, mount that in the slow turning screwdriver and clean out the threads, wayes and grooves. They come out like new. Like i said, if everything in my shop worked as well as my strongholds....
 
W4MAN said:
As far as lefty vs righty tighty, did it occur to anyone that toilets flush and sinks drain in the other direction below the equator? You now have permission to kill me.
Click to expand...

The boring truth is that water drains every which way no matter what hemisphere you're in, for reasons which have to do mostly with the shape of the drain, the way you poured in the water in the first place, and so on.
 
Eddie---

Do you have any pics of Lathezilla? Is it a custom job, production model, or restoration?

Thanks,

Henry C. Gernhardt, III
 
RussFairfield said:
The boring truth is that water drains every which way no matter what hemisphere you're in, for reasons which have to do mostly with the shape of the drain, the way you poured in the water in the first place, and so on.
Click to expand...

Now the geostrophic wind is yet another matter.

I must have tried every sink in the place first time we landed in Australia.

What gets me are places with the hot on the right.
 
Lathezilla

Lathezilla is my custom made ornamental lathe. You can see photos of it at www.eddiecastelin.com look for "The Good Stuff" section. The photo is intentionally fuzzy because I'm trying to prevent a design robbery. Hope this helps.
 
Beware of rusty chucks

I am really confused or just working to softly today. I know the man who taught me was stuck in his ways but the only one to mention wax was Captain Eddie, I understand these chucks are coated . I have several cans
of paste wax around my shop and I am constantantly coatining everything
from chisels to machinery . If I use any of my lathes after cleaning up it gets waxed drive spur , chucks ,tool rest , and what ever the whole thing.
I always thought it was normal maintenance. Some of you are talking about
oils which would attract dust , which of course none of us would ever make.
Oh well that is my penny worth from frgid N.H. (cow hampshire ).

Captain Eddie ,have you ever turned Southern Yellow Cypress (swamp wood) and if so with what results ?

Matt
 
cypress

I've turned almost all local woods and Cypress isn't my favorite. It gets stringy, punky and tears easy. It's not so much the turning, but the sharpening. I think I became extremely proficient in sharpening because of this wood. I once turned 28 8" round balls for bed posts, out of cypress. Lots of sharpening and scraping. I found a good 3/8" thick scraper was a valuable tool for cleaning up the cypress.
 
Cypress

Thank you Captain Eddie. That is a real bummer about cypress. I have been using this wood a lot in restoration. It machines nice, finishes beautiful and has a glorious color. Mama likes it a lot! Besides, good old swamp wood is rot resistant. But I've only had to turn it once and that was for a finial for a weathervane tower. That was only 85' in the air! It worked okay, but it did take a lot of skew work. Thanks for the comments! Have a good day.

Matt
 
Chucks

I've three Nova chucks - a mini that uses bars, an old Super with the holes that I've had for about four years, and a Titan that I got just after they came out. Although the old Super has an open back, I've never had any problem with it at all, and I use it an awful lot. The Titan with it's closed back has gotten clogged with dust twice now. It takes a small amount of time to clean, but the first time I lost the dumb C clip (Technitool sent me another overnight). My old Super just blows out with my air compressor (if that's ever needed!).

Bottom line is I really think the old design is better. Maybe I don't get it, but ease of use is more important to me than clean sealed up gears.

Walt
 
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