Nova Midi Lathe Chuck

[Scott Loven]

Saw this NOVA Midi chuck on ebay and wanted to know if any one has any experience with it. I just ordererd a Jet Mini lathe and want a chuck to go with it. Am open to other suggestions.
Midi chuck (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=42282&item=4349719415&tc=photo)
Scott

[Dick Parr]

I haven't used it, but I have put my hands on it. :) It is a nice chuck and the vendor I have bought from not to long ago. He is very good and fast delivery with the best prices. :D I have the SuperNova and am saving to get the SuperNova 2 companion chuck. :)

Good luck, you will love you Jet Mini. Great little lathe.

[Kenneth George]

I have that chuck and it works very well on the Jet mini lathe. To use it on the larger I lathe I have to use a spacer on the spindle. Fit and finish on the chuck is very nice and it holds very well. I would have like the jaws to have a bit more travel than they do. It is a scroll chuck that uses Tommy bars which almost requires two hands to operate so I often use the tailstock to hold the piece while tightening.

My favorite out of all my chucks is my Vicmarc but at the price the Nova Midi is a good deal.

[John Shuk]

I've not used the chuck but buy with confidence from that seller. Great prices and good service. I recommend them highly as nothing but a happy customer.

[Jack Diemer]

I did not like it. I had it for a week and returned it. The fit and finish were fine, but I did not like having to use three hands with those tommy bars, and I did not like having to always cut dovetails to work with the chuck. I now have a talon and love it.

[Charles Bjorgen]

I bought the Nova Midi chuck to use on my Mercury lathe a few weeks ago. As others have pointed out it uses Tommy bars to tighten the jaws onto the work piece. My reason for buying this chuck was specifically for the Mercury lathe. My Oneway Talon chuck, because of its larger bearing surface on the spindle side, rubbed against the Mercury headstock. I solved this problem by using a machinist bushing between the Talon and the headstock. This works but those bushings have a way of getting lost in my shop. For lathes like the Jet mini. I much prefer the Oneway Talon.

The Nova Midi has some limitations in size of the work piece it will handle. This is explained in the Midi manual that you can download in pdf format by going to the Teknatrool site at:

http://www.teknatool.com/

Look for the midi chuck description and along the left side of the page you'll see a listing for the manual.

You might be better off buying this chuck locally rather on eBay. The Buy it Now price plus shipping is pretty much what you'd pay at a local Woodcraft store. Returning it locally would be much easier if you decide it won't do the job for you.


Saw this NOVA Midi chuck on ebay and wanted to know if any one has any experience with it. I just ordererd a Jet Mini lathe and want a chuck to go with it. Am open to other suggestions.
Midi chuck (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=42282&item=4349719415&tc=photo)
Scott

[Scott Loven]

I have also been thinking of the talon chuck as I have a stronghold chuck on my Powermatic 90, I just didnt want to spend the money.
Scott

[Scott Loven]

I appreciate your suggestion of buying local. My problem is that I live in NE Iowa and am about 160 miles from the nearest Woodcraft or Rocklers so buying on Ebay is a viable option for me.
Scott

[John Shuk]

Scott,
Where you save a ton of Moola with that outfit is when you buy the chuck with accessories. You might want to look into the Supernova as well just in case you ever want to upgrade. I think you might outgrow this chuck but not the Bigger Supernova.
John

[Mark Hulette]

Scott-

I don't have any experience with this particular chuck but I do have a Nova Compac chuck for my Jet Mini.

Based on that experience, I would probably not buy another chuck (regardlessof brand) that use the 2 tommy bar system.

Novas are well-made but I'd opt for one with a key. It's much easier using it on a Jet mini which has no spindle/shaft lock.

Let us know what you decide.