# Which chuck to buy????



## Mikhail2400 (Jun 20, 2018)

Ok folks lets hear what yall think about lathe chucks and which one should I consider for my first chuck.

1; 3 jaw or 4 jaw? Im inclined towards the 4 jaw chucks but I dont have a solid reason 

2; What brand? Theres so many to choose from. I figure I will most likely buy one of these; Oneway Stronghold, NOVA SUPERNOVA2, Easy Woods Easy Chuck or one of equal quality. I prefer to spend a little more now and have a tool that lasts for years then pinch pennies and have a junk chuck.

3:Chuck accessories and there ease of use is a pretty big consideration in a chuck. 

Gripe section; Dang just checked the price on the Easy Chuck and I believe ill cross its $400 arse off my possibles list. Im gone have to write them to ask how they sleep at night. Hmm probably just fine on stacks of $100 

Well thats about all I have on the subject. Lets hear what yall think now.


----------



## John Smith_inFL (Jul 4, 2018)

a few of my friends have the Penn State Barracuda2.
I will be getting one next week as I have not had one in years.
I have heard only good things about the Nova.
just for your consideration:
https://www.pennstateind.com/store/CSC3500SE.html?

.

.


----------



## Mikhail2400 (Jun 20, 2018)

John Smith_inFL said:


> a few of my friends have the Penn State Barracuda2.
> I will be getting one next week as I have not had one in years.
> I have heard only good things about the Nova.
> just for your consideration:
> ...


Thanks John, I had not even looked at Penns chucks. Let us know how you like yours when you get it. I wont be buying a chuck for another week or two so your views on the Penn chuck would be helpful. As for the Nova it seems to be extremely popular with great reviews and theres a good chance its the chuck I will buy.


----------



## John Smith_inFL (Jul 4, 2018)

Mikhail - it would help greatly if you tell us what lathe you have.

drop over to www.lumberjocks.com and put
Penn State Barracuda Chuck in the search box. many reviews
will pop up from folks that actually own and use that chuck.
as well as reviews on the other brands for comparison.
I am buying mine based on their recommendations (and price).
the Barracuda is basically a good entry level chuck. after you get
familiar with turning and it no longer suits your needs, you can upgrade
to a more "robust" chuck with more capabilities.
never put a wood chuck on a lathe that is larger than the lathe's tolerances.
have fun and BE SAFE with all your hand and power tools.

.

.


----------



## holtzdreher (Jul 20, 2016)

Check the rpm limits on the chucks. Some are below what any wood turner would ever use. Also avoid the really cheap ones. I have seen a small one that had partial plastic construction. For really fine items, I use a drill check on a morse taper to mount in the head stock. I have the Nova G-3 and a cheap on from Penn State with the tommy bars. I use the Penn state more often, but it doesn't hold as well as the Nova. Also, don't buy a 4 jaw independent jaw chuck (each jaw is separately adjustable) unless you have a definite need for an independent jaw chuck. Next to impossible to center.


----------



## Quickstep (Apr 10, 2012)

So nice jaws aren’t interchangeable between brands, try to think of all the jaws you’ll want to use in the future and make sure they’re all available from the manufacturer for the Chuck you plan to buy.


----------



## Tool Agnostic (Aug 13, 2017)

I am using a Nova G3 "30th anniversary" chuck set for my Delta 46-460 midi lathe. I am pleased with it, but do not have much experience with other chucks to help you decide whether it is better than other brands or not.

The reasons I bought it and like it are:
* It works well and is easy to use. 
* It comes in a set with multiple jaws: 100 mm, 50 mm, pin jaws, and the woodworm screw.
* It comes in a nice plastic storage box that holds the chuck and its accessories. I like having a case, rather than loose parts. 
* I bought a set of Nova pen jaws for it, and they fit in the box, too. 

Caveats:
* You get exactly 8 of the tiny black screws that you need for the jaws. They are easily lost. I bought a spare set of screws to keep in the box for when I loose one of them.
* The chuck jaws are "righty-loosy, lefty-tighty". You get used to it. I don't know if it is common to all chucks.

Here is the set that I have, which fits my 1 inch x 8 TPI Delta lathe:
https://www.teknatool.com/product/nova-30th-anniversary-g3-chuck-bundle/

Here is the same set in the 1.25 inch x 8 TPI SuperNova2 that you mentioned:
https://www.teknatool.com/product/nova-30th-anniversary-supernova2-chuck/

Don't be put off by the "30th Anniversary" moniker. I see the same sets for sale without the "30th Anniversary" label, but could not find them on the Nova website to show you. If you want one of those sets, shop around and don't worry about the label.


----------



## Mikhail2400 (Jun 20, 2018)

John Smith_inFL said:


> Mikhail - it would help greatly if you tell us what lathe you have.
> 
> drop over to www.lumberjocks.com and put
> Penn State Barracuda Chuck in the search box. many reviews
> ...


My bad John. I bought the Colt Stratos CO230 lathe. Its 2hp, has a 1.25" x 8tpi spindle, has a touch over 9" between spindle center and the bed and has a working length of 27.5"- 43" w/extension. So far I absolutely love it! I thought I had a problem the other day and was thinking I shouldnt be able to bog this down like that. Turned out I never bogged it down the spur was slipping. Man if I cant do any thing else I can make a ton of wood shavings thats for sure. Oh yeah Im beginning to really like the skew to.

holtzdreher I plan to get one of the drill chucks also. they are fairly cheap and I can see how handy it would be. Thanks for the tips on the chuck styles to.

Quickstep you make a good point about thinking ahead to what size jaws I will likely need and Im thinking about buying a bundle.

Tool Agnostic your the third to mention the Nova on this thread and I like all the options that bundle offers. Its at the top of the list for sure.

Theres the Grizzly T10809 - 3.75" Wood Lathe Chuck Set also. Ive read its a Vicmark VM100 clone basically amd comes with a nice set of different jaws. The only down side ive read on it was that in extremely delicate stuff requiring very precise alignment its noy as accurate as the Vicmark.
Quite alot of options out there. Cost quite alot of bucks to but hey most everything is. Thanks for all the help folks. Its much appreciated.


----------



## Tool Agnostic (Aug 13, 2017)

I also have a 1/2 inch drill chuck and matching MT2 taper for it. I use it to drill pen blanks. I put the pen blank in the pen jaws, which are mounted on the Nova G3 chuck and attached to the headstock. I put the drill bit in the drill chuck on the tail stock.

The pen blank turns. The drill bit does not. For pen blanks, I drill the next 1/2 inch and then back the entire drill bit out of the wood to clear it out. Don't drill much more than 1/2 inch without clearing out the drill bit flutes. Don't leave your drill bit in the wood with the lathe turning or you will burn the wood. Give your drill bit plenty of time to cool. 

This is the best way I have found to drill small thin parts lengthwise, like pen blanks. Do it on the lathe.


----------



## firehawkmph (Apr 26, 2008)

I have. Jet 1642 and I have several chucks. My main chuck is a Vicmark, I forget the model number, but its about 5" in diameter. It is very solid, no slop, and uses a T- handled hex wrench, which is very easy to use. I have several sets of jaws with it, 2 1/2", 4 1/2" and a large set of bowl jobs. I also have a Nova G3. It's a smaller chuck that I use when turning small items. It came as a set with four sets of jaws including bowl jaws. It works well also but turns opposite when tightening. I wrote on it with a magic marker showing arrows on which way to turn the wrench. I did have a barracuda chuck set when I hadn't my Jet midi lathe. It worked fine, but I would say the Nova is a better chuck and if you catch it on sale, there's not much difference in price. 
Mike Hawkins


----------



## unburled (Mar 10, 2019)

Norris


----------



## epicfail48 (Mar 27, 2014)

Your first question caught my eye, on if you should go 3 or 4 jaws. I say go 4 jaw, 3 jaw chucks cant hold square stock. Course, 4 jaws cant hold hexagonal pieces, but one of those things is more common than the other it seems


----------



## Bob Willing (Jul 4, 2008)

https://www.woodturnerscatalog.com/p/177/6477/Record-Power-SC4-Chuck

If I were starting over again this would be my choice


----------



## Mikhail2400 (Jun 20, 2018)

Bob Willing said:


> https://www.woodturnerscatalog.com/p/177/6477/Record-Power-SC4-Chuck
> 
> If I were starting over again this would be my choice


Record Powers got a great rep in Europe and I was thinking about buying one of their lathes but couldnt find a N.American distributor. This is one chuck ill be looking in to. Thanks for the reminder.



epicfail48 said:


> Your first question caught my eye, on if you should go 3 or 4 jaws. I say go 4 jaw, 3 jaw chucks cant hold square stock. Course, 4 jaws cant hold hexagonal pieces, but one of those things is more common than the other it seems


Yeah your pretty much the only person who answered that question and you make a good point. How often will I be chucking up octagonal items after all. Four jaw it is



unburled said:


> Norris


Man I was 2 seconds from googling Norris chucks before the lightning bolt hit.:bangin:



firehawkmph said:


> I have. Jet 1642 and I have several chucks. My main chuck is a Vicmark, I forget the model number, but its about 5" in diameter. It is very solid, no slop, and uses a T- handled hex wrench, which is very easy to use. I have several sets of jaws with it, 2 1/2", 4 1/2" and a large set of bowl jobs. I also have a Nova G3. It's a smaller chuck that I use when turning small items. It came as a set with four sets of jaws including bowl jaws. It works well also but turns opposite when tightening. I wrote on it with a magic marker showing arrows on which way to turn the wrench. I did have a barracuda chuck set when I hadn't my Jet midi lathe. It worked fine, but I would say the Nova is a better chuck and if you catch it on sale, there's not much difference in price.
> Mike Hawkins


Thanks for the insight on the Nova. Im about 90% sold on the Nova right now.


----------



## Mikhail2400 (Jun 20, 2018)

For anyone curious I went with the Super Nova 2 chuck bundle with the 3 different size jaws sold on Amazon. Havnt tried it yet but it appears to be well built and I like the case it came in as it will keep me from losing parts.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07CT3NVM4/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1


----------

