Help for hard to turn SuperNova 2

[Roger Chandler]

I have noticed a number of SN2 owners have complained about the chuck being hard to turn. some have had the clip replaced with a thinner one from Teknatool, some have used lapping compound and worked it until the gears turned more easily. My last SN2 was for a Christmas present...have used it for 6 months now, and it had gotten harder to turn as I have gone along........dust buildup,etc.

Last night I decided to take the thing apart, do a good cleaning [used spray carb cleaner....worked great] and see how it helped.......well not much, so I began to think about what was really the issue.....

I found that the backing plate needs some working over to make things run smooth. Here is what I did.....after the cleaning and getting the slides in correct position, and greasing up the scroll gears, I still had the hard turning issue.........

the plastic backing plate has a center hub.......I took it to my belt/disk sander an took a very small bit off the center hub. Also where the hub fits over top of the pinion gears, I took a dremel with a cylindrical grinding stone and opened up the area where the pinion gears fit in the slot...........made all the difference, and now the thing works like a charm.

You can find a maintenance and cleaning .pdf document at Teknatools website, and it will show you how to correctly align the jaw slides [this is crucial!!!] There are pics and descriptions that will lead you through the process.

They don't mention the grinding on the hub of the backing plate, or the slots where the pinion gears seat, but that is part of the problem.....believe me!

I am so glad I did this, and now my newest of my 3 chucks now works super great!

[Richard Jones]

Roger,

The scroll ring was the culprit on my latest SN2. Looked like it had been machined with a Philips screwdriver.................

Glad you got yours going, I really like mine, even with the initial headache.

Rich

[Roger Chandler]

Richard,

Your problem seems to be different than mine was. I guess that each person has to take the chuck apart and do an inspection to find out if it is slop in the machining, burrs left by the machining, or a tight backing plate that needs a little relief. I know that on my other supernova 2 I had to file down 2 small burrs on the jaw slides........that took care of the problem on that one.

Also, that scroll ring where the grooves go into the jaw slides should be carefully looked at for burrs to keep the chuck operating smoothly..........I would say it is a good idea to take the chuck apart about every 6 months, and do a cleaning, inspection, greasing and then that should really enhance the life and function of the chuck. Easy to do ..........might take 30 minutes.

[Richard Jones]

Roger,

Yep, everything was fine on my 2nd one except the scroll ring. Jaw slides worked nice, backing plate OK. Agree that they are all different for sure, wish Teknatool could take that extra 2 minutes to do some QC. Would make a great chuck an exceptional value. I used to clean my reloading press during the State of the Union address. Now maybe it can be my chucks.............. :)

[Roger Chandler]

Roger,

I used to clean my reloading press during the State of the Union address. Now maybe it can be my chucks.............. :)

Richard,

ROTFL!!!

:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D;)

[Roger Chandler]

Thought I would give an update.......after using the repaired SN2 on two turnings, I can report that the work listed above in my posting has proven itself to be just what this chuck needed. No longer hard to turn, smooth as silk operation, and holding power is just great, also runs true..........can't ask for any better than that.

I put this out in hopes that those who have experienced a similar issue with their SN2 will have an idea on how simple it is to correct the problem. Just make sure to follow the re-assembly like the instructions say on the Teknatool .pdf for the SN2 chuck.

[Scott Hackler]

I feel lucky that my last SN2 works great, right out of the box.

[neil mackay]

I got my first three in 2005 when they were still made in NZ and have not problem at all, except the ball on my Allen Key had to be ground away, after it darn near wore completely round. I have heard there was some quality problems when Teknatool moved the factory to China, looks like some of the chucks may have slipped through.

[Greg Just]

I got my first three in 2005 when they were still made in NZ and have not problem at all, except the ball on my Allen Key had to be ground away, after it darn near wore completely round. I have heard there was some quality problems when Teknatool moved the factory to China, looks like some of the chucks may have slipped through.

Neil is correct in that the production is now done in China. They just ain't what they used to be!