Barracuda Chuck Excessive Wear.

[Russell Neyman]

My neighbor, Dave, and I are veteran woodturners, and between the two of us we own 10-12 chucks manufactured by various companies. You know how it is; you pick up one here and there at garage sales and when stores have deals, so you end up with a motley collection. We both really like the One-Ways best, but that's not the point of my discussion.

Some time ago Dave purchased a Barracuda, which I understand is designed to be an inexpensive alternative to the One-Ways and Novas. The Barracuda is similar to other designs, and has a pair of square-drive bevel gears mounted in the chuck's main casing that drive a matching, larger bevel gear. After using if for what the thinks is two years, the teeth of the angled gears have gotten worn to the point where he really can't use the darn thing. We're only talking about wear on the two smaller gears, and not the larger primary one. Both of these can be removed by withdrawing the screws that hold them in place. It would appear that these smaller gears have not been hardened.

So, I have two questions: One, has anyone else had issues with excessive wear on the Barracuda? Two, are there sources for replacements parts for the Barracuda chuck?

[Alan Zenreich]

Penn State Industries should have parts for their Barracuda chucks.

[Jason Clark2]

I experienced the exact same issue on an older Barracuda. I also had issues with the threads for the jaw screws stripping out. Add to that the fact that it only could be used on 1" X 8 or 3/4" X 16 TPI. All of those issue combined made the decision for me. I threw it away and bought a pair of SN2s and haven't looked back.

Jason

[Jim Burr]

Mine is heavly used and have never had a problem. +1 on PSI for parts.

[David Warkentin]

And welcome here.

[Michael James]

Welcome Russell! How about some photos of your work? We LOVE pics.
mj in NM

[Russell Neyman]

Thanks. I'll post something in a different post.

[Jeff Nicol]

I have 2 Barracuda II chucks and I use them all the time on 3 different lathes. I have an adapter to go on my PM3520 to use thm on it and I have had no trouble at all. Just like anything find out the best length of tenon and recess to cut and do not crank them down so hard they wear out. One thing that happens to me is if I get a little finish, dust or glue on the key or in the chuck the key may not seat all the way in and it may slip, so make sure that the key seats all the way into the gears before tightening.

Jeff

[Russell Neyman]

Well, we finally got through to Penn State Industries, and it turns out that they recognized the problem and came up with a rather simple solution. For about $6-7, they'll sell you a toothed chuck key that doubles as the gearing system. Pull out the pair of miter gears (they loosen with that set screw right on the edge of the main ring) and toss them in the trashcan. This is one of those slap-the-side-of-your-head moments that the original designer is going through right now. A classic keep-it-simple senario.

[Jim Sebring]

Sounds an awful lot like a Nova G3 when the extra parts are removed.