Help me pick a chuck

[David Gunn]

I have a Jet 1014 lathe. I have made a few pens, and want to do some bowls and hollow forms. I need advise on buying a chuck for it. Below are links to 4 differents chucks. A grizzly, PSI Barracuda system, PSI Barracuda micro system, and a Nova that woodcraft has on sale. Which one should I get and why? Any experience with any of these? They are not ranked in any order.

Choice #1
http://www.amazon.com/Grizzly-G8784-4-Jaw-Chuck-Pieces/dp/B0000DCZBZ/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1232979791&sr=8-1

Choice #2
http://www.amazon.com/PSI-CSC2000C-Barracuda-Lathe-System/dp/B000KICC62/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1232979791&sr=8-2

Choice # 3
http://www.amazon.com/PSI-Woodworking-CSC500-Barracuda-System/dp/B000KICC9Y/ref=pd_bbs_sr_8?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1232979791&sr=8-8

Choice #4
http://www.woodcraft.com/product.aspx?ProductID=145899&FamilyID=5185

The barracudas come with different sets of jaws. I do not want a chuck I will outgrow with this lathe (if that is possible). If I need additonal jaws for the Nova, where is a good source?

[Chris Huybregts]

Not really that experienced, but the Nova Midi is nice, "cheap" and I figured, if/when i outgrow my 1014, it'll still be useful for smaller work, the nice thing is it's on sale and it's nice and small so it doesn't eat into the 14" much.

Yeah, sure, it has the 2 bar grip action, but since I haven't used the key twist lock, I don't know what I'm missing :) And seriously, the 2 bar action... not that annoying.

Chris

[Gordon Seto]

I would get this $50 Original Nova instead. It would still leave your some money for extra jaws.
http://www.timstoolcrib.com/products.php
Tim Geist is the service rep for Nova. I got several with our club members last week. As I understand, Tim has very limited supply on the 1" X 8.
This is a chuck with tommy bars and the chuck size is larger than the Precision Midi and doesn't come with woodworm screw. It has a larger range of movement on jaws than the Midi. The Midi has a faster action. This is the chuck that Nova built their reputation on. This is a direct thread chuck also. The best thing about Nova chucks is all their jaws (except 1) are compatible with all their chucks. That would save some money when you grow into larger chucks with lathe upgrades.
I have all the Nova chucks. Now I like the chucks with tommy bars. They are faster acting than chucks with single geared key. Use the tail stock as your third hand to hold the blank. With spindle lock, you can use one tommy bar to operate the chuck. Use both bars for final tightening.

Talking about jaws, I would save my money on Cole jaws. They have limited application. It can't do any natural edge turning. If you have a means to do NE without Cole jaws, you can use the same on regular bowls. I know it may be others' favorite; it is not mine.

[Paul Douglass]

I had to vote for the Nova. I have a SuperNova 2. (it's big daddy) I bought it after I bought the Grizzly on and used it for a while. I love my SuperNova 2. The Grizzly on in my opinion was just barely adequate.

[Peter Lamb]

I have two Oneway chucks, the Talon and the Stronghold . Both have performed very well. I have # 1,2 and jumbo jaws for the Stronghold and #2 for the Talon. I would do it again.
Peter

[Scott Conners]

Value-wise, it's pretty darn hard to beat the PSI Barracuda system that comes with 4 sets of jaws. I am SO glad I bought it over a chuck with only one set of jaws, as I'd have been out buying the other jaw types very quickly, and that would have killed my budget for other tools. I added the large cole jaws when I bought it from amazon, and change jaws far more frequently than I ever expected.

[Brian Brown]

I am not going to vote on your poll, because I think all of the choices will work well for you mini lathe. The only thing I'll mention is that the Barracuda comes with a set of 4 jaws and a screw chuck, and the 1X8TPI adaptor. The others don't come with extra jaws, and don't have a spindle adaptor (if needed) included in the price. I use all of the jaws, some more than others (I use a barracuda 2). The Barracuda also has a chuck key rather than tommy bars. I find tommy bars to be a pain. The Barracuda is not sealed in the rear, which makes it easy to get sawdust inside. You have to keep it clean, and use a dry lubricant, but that is not a big issue. At twice the price or more of the other chucks you listed, it seems expensive, but when you add the cost of jaws for the others, the price suddenly becomes very reasonable.

[Ken George]

I have 2 Grizzly chucks, a Vic, a Nova G2 and a Barracuda. I would recommend any of the chucks, except the Barracuda. The mechanism is lousy. I have had nothing but problems with it. Trying to tighten or loosen the chuck has never been smooth. I am considering buying another Grizzly! It is nearly identical to the Vic and the jaws are interchangeable.

[Bernie Weishapl]

I have 3 of the $99 Grizzly's one H-6265 & two H-6267, Grizzly G-8784 (first one you listed), a Vic VM100, and a Nova Midi. I would not get #3. It won't hold anything but very small stuff. Of the one's you listed I would get #4.

[Rick Hutcheson]

Ken,
I had a Barracuda that always seemed to hang up too. I finally discovered that you take the 2 spider gears out of it. Now use JB weld and put one of the spider gears on the handle. Now without the 2 gears fighting each other in the chuck it works a lot better. You will notice that is the way the newer Barracuda chucks are made now.

[Kyle Iwamoto]

I picked up a Nova G3 scrolling chuck. 1 key. I really like it. Upgraded from a non scrolling 4 jaw craftsman. What a POS. But, can turn off center.

1 thing I like is the Novas have smooth dovetail jaws. Other chucks have grippy serrated stuff, which tear the grain, and I personally don't think it's necessay to have the serrations. The smooth jaws hold just fine. It's also small, which makes it easier for the 1014 to spin. Oh, all Nova chuck jaws are interchangeable if you didn't know that either, so upgrading is easy.

Bottom line is, whatever you pick up, it will make you want to turn every day. SO easy to turn with a chuck instead of a faceplate. No screws, wasted wood or gluing on a waste block. I guess you can still put a waste block if you want to use all of the wood. Probably the best "upgrade" I made......

[Jeff Nicol]

I have three chucks, a nova, a PSI BarracudaII, and a Oneway Stronghold. The two smaller ones are 1x8tpi and the Stronghold is 1 1/4x8tpi. I use the small chucks on my PM3520B with an adapter that goes from 1 1/4x8 - 1x8. Just because it is a smaller chuck does not mean it won't work on a bigger lathe. You still can only turn what the chuck will handle no matter what lathe you use it on. If I were you I would by the PSI Barracuda II it is a very nice inbetween chuck for the price and you get all the jaws. It also is a one hand key tightening system not the 2 rods like the others you showed. My nova is that way and it works fine but it is just like having a 4x4 truck, once you have it you can't live without it!

It is all about money and how much you want to spend.

Jeff

[Dean Thomas]

I'm with Peter. I'm a Oneway guy. I've used all of them and some that are not listed there. For consistency, for quality of service, for availability of parts, it's hard to beat a Talon on a mini. And if you grow to a larger lathe, you can be perfectly save on the largest projects that would fit on a 16" swing lathe with your Talon. If you go Mustard large or extra large, you could still use the Talon, but would not want to use it on really large chunks of wood. Stronghold country.

I think that it's Nova (or is it Vicmarc?) where ALL of the jaws fit ALL of the models? If you pick that one, you can grow and the jaws won't become obsolete.

Someone else said that you probably can't go wrong with ANY of the ones you listed. I think that's mostly true. Early on with one of PSI's Barracuda models and lately with one of the Nova models, you often had to have your hands on 3 or 4 or more chucks to finally get one that was "right". Kudos to PSI who worked with countless turners across the country and ate a LOT of postage getting those turners a chuck where the scrolling mechanism worked correctly and where the jaws all came together to form a perfect circle. Nova's problems seemed to have been in quality control. Uncompleted, underfinished, rough edges, crappy plating, and bad craftsmanship plagued them on at least one model that Woodcraft was selling a year or two ago.

Don't stop, WHATEVER you buy, until it's right. Do not settle. Caveat emptor means more than ever when safety and security is involved. Let alone quality and excellent craftsmanship. :(

[Richard A. Rivera, M.D.]

PSI barricuda 2 (CSC300C)...cant beat the price an it is as stable as me Talon and Super Nove2 and a great price also. I now have three "bodies" with the jaws mounted all on them all the time.

Richard.

[Ken George]

Ken,
I had a Barracuda that always seemed to hang up too. I finally discovered that you take the 2 spider gears out of it. Now use JB weld and put one of the spider gears on the handle. Now without the 2 gears fighting each other in the chuck it works a lot better. You will notice that is the way the newer Barracuda chucks are made now.

Thanks Rick. I have removed one of the spider gears and it now works much better.

Ken

[Burt Alcantara]

Be aware that the Nova chuck tighten "backwards," that is, counter clockwise. I could never get used to that and switched to Talons and Strongholds. However, Nova chucks are excellent and there is a great selection of jaws.

Vary May Milage Your,
truB

[RL Johnson]

I vote for option #5, none of the above.
I too have a Jet 1014, I spent more money on the chuck than I did on the lathe 4 years ago. I bought the Vicmarc VM100, a great little chuck that I now use on my Jet 1642. I would suggest that you get the best quality chuck you can find. There are others out there like the Oneway which are just as good.