Has anyone tried the New Easy chuck?

[Roger Chandler]

http://www.easywoodtools.com/images/easy-chuck-content-one.jpg
Thought that I would ask this question here on this forum.........I have not seen one personally, but this really looks to be an innovative product.......jaws can be changed out without screws, etc.

Anyone have a review? Well........now I see it is available on Dec. 15th, so I guess no reviews as of yet.......however, what do you think of the design and snap lock jaws?

[James Combs]

Will definitely be watching for it as well as some reviews. A great concept. Hope implementation is as good as it looks.

[Mark Hubl]

Thanks for posting Roger. New to me, looks pretty cool. EWT seems to do a good job on quality, so I am interested in seeing the reviews. Pretty much a Nova guy right now since I have three, but Santa is coming to town! Who knows.

[Sid Matheny]

I think they need to send me a sample to try so I can give a review. :D

Sid

[Jason Clark2]

I've heard it's going to be $500. For that price I'll buy 2 or 3 Supernova 2s and I won't have to worry about changing jaws at all.

[Reed Gray]

It looks interesting. I could swear I saw a Brittish chuck that would change out like that in San Jose last summer. He changed the jaws one at a time, and they slid out. Brittish turner anyway. For the price though, I would seriously think about another Vicmark.

robo hippy

[Kyle Iwamoto]

I've heard it's going to be $500. For that price I'll buy 2 or 3 Supernova 2s and I won't have to worry about changing jaws at all.

I agree with that!

On the other hand though, does it come with several jaw sizes? Even if I bought 3 SN2s, still have to buy jaws. It does look interesting. Wonder how solid the bite is. Snap out, snap in jaws would not seem to be as solid as something with screws. Good to see some innovations!

I think I'd rather have a OneWay, since I can't afford that either.

[John Keeton]

I've heard it's going to be $500. For that price I'll buy 2 or 3 Supernova 2s and I won't have to worry about changing jaws at all.Or....five reconditioned SN2s! The convenience of interchangeable jaws comes at a high price, and, I still like the idea of being able to have several chucks in use at the same time. As far as buying extra jaws, 95% of what I do requires only the 50mm jaws. I have three of my six chucks set up with 50mm, one with 25mm, one with 35mm and one with soft jaws. I do have a couple of additional sets of jaws for that rare time I might need them.

One can often buy a G3 package on sale that comes with 4 sets of jaws, then sell off the G3 and net the extra jaws for not much money.

I agree this chuck seems extremely well designed, and Craig is a local boy now (Lexington KY), so I hope he does well with it. But, if the price is in the $500 range, it would have to significantly change the way I turn AND substantially improve the end result in order for me to justify the purchase.

That said, it seems the ultra high end stuff has a definite market, and no doubt, this will be a much sought after item.

[Eric Holmquist]

I saw this chuck a few weeks ago when Craig Jackson was in the area to give some demos. It seemed pretty nice, build quality was similar to Vicmarc. It is heavier than my Talon, but lighter than my VM120. Not sure how it compares weight wise to a VM100 which is closer in size.

Did not examine the latching mechanism for the jaws to try and assess the strength. If you press an Allen wrench into the hole on the outside of the jaw, that releases the latch.

One nice feature is the rounded corners on the base of the jaws which reduces risk of exposed sharp corners when the jaws are open wide.

[Andrew Kertesz]

From the picture it looks like the jaws are made from some sort of composite material. I highly doubt they are steel if they just snap in and out. I would think that there would be a wear factor on the snapping area of the jaws. If your tenon was not sized right could it cause the jaws to snap loose?

[Roger Chandler]

$500 seems pricey to me........not worth the changeover now that I have 4 SN2's.........might just want to get one more and put that second set of 50 mm jaws on it.......however my 75 mm spigot jaws will contract to a little smaller than the 50mm will, but the jaws are much heavier and beefier.......cannot get in behind an item nearly as far with those.......might have to change out the pin jaws and put the 50mm back on that and just have to suffer :rolleyes: changing those out once in a while!

Where did you hear the $500 price from, Jason?

[Dale Miner]

I have three of my six chucks ....

John, you are giving me a serious case of 'chuck envy'. I have a pitifullly low chuck count of five......

[Tim Rinehart]

Haven't seen one, but had heard about it. It looks very well designed to fill the frustration voids any chuck owner has, but as said...at a price. I suspect none of it is made with plastic or composite parts from a liability/durability perspective. Getting a function like 'snapping in' is as simple as a well placed spring and steel retaining clip, and I suspect that's what it does. Look forward to seeing one in person. Like John K said, it's tough to rationalize when you use a primary set of jaws for most work, and having a couple sets of jaws can be more convenient and less costly, but for someone getting their first chuck without $$ as a limiter, wanting convenience over recent tradition, this would be high on the list along with a set of EWT tools and a Sorby ProEdge sharpener (another $500 item).

[John Keeton]

John, you are giving me a serious case of 'chuck envy'. I have a pitifully low chuck count of five......Dale, just remember, the guy dying with the most chucks wins!!!:D If the Lord is patient with you, there is still time!

[charlie knighton]

thanks for the update Roger, i have not seen them, happy with my one oneway stronghold, and three sets of jaws. i do not have a problem with changing jaws out, or changing inserts. i take the jaws off after each session on the lathe......afraid i am getting set in my ways or usage

[Joe Bradshaw]

I was interested in the chuck from Easy Wood Tools also, but suffered sticker shock when I learned the price. For that amount of $ I can get 3 Talon bodies or 2 Stronghold bodies. I am in the easier to change chucks than change jaws group. To John K, the guy dying with the most chucks, his wife has the biggest yard sale.

[Bernie Weishapl]

I had the same sticker shock also. I can add 3 more Grizzly to my 5 now and have all the jaws I need plus never have to change them and have money left over.

[Jason Clark2]

I got the price from the owner of the local Woodcraft franchise. I've also seen the same price reported elsewhere.

J

[John M. Smith]

Just checked Woodcraft website. $499.99.

[Dale Miner]

Dale, just remember, the guy dying with the most chucks wins!!!:D If the Lord is patient with you, there is still time!

LOL

John, I think that is supposed to be with the most toys (might be the same?). Anyway, if you get a chance to cross the river, stop in and get a tour of the barn. If the competition is for most toys not on a count basis, but on tonnage, I have a shot.

[Dave Mueller]

I'm with John, but definitely have to start buying more chucks. Anyway, I can't remember the last time I changed the jaws on one of my chucks. As far as rounded corners goes, I just put a 1" section of old inner tube around the jaws when they extend beyond the body...that keeps me from busting my knuckles. Oh yeah, one last point. All my Vicmarc jaws would not fit the new chuck, so to make use of the features, I would have to buy several of their jaws. Like everyone else, I'll just get another chuck like the four I already have.

[Jordan Gilbert]

I am all for easy wood tools I love my 3 full size I just ordered 3 hollowers and 3 mid size tools . All there stuff is made in america which is reason for the price increase and the tools are alot of money but worth the cash to me .. But 500 .00 for a chuck , sorry but I got my nova chuck with 3 extra sets of jaws for 199.99 . Thats 4 jaws and a chuck for 200 . I think easy wood tools will have a price drop after they realize nobody is going to pay that imo .

[Stan Smith]

Thanks to all the posters on this thread. I was watching some youtubes on Easy Tools yesterday and saw a demo on the Easy Chuck. Don't know about any composite materials, but their other jaws all appear to be metal. The current price on the Easy Chuck is $399 on Amazon with free shipping. I think it's the same price at other online stores, too. $399 is sticker shock to me also. I currently have 2 chucks--a Oneway scroll chuck and a Talon chuck. I keep spigot jaws on one and regular jaws on the other. I am thinking of getting a 3rd chuck and keep a 3rd set of jaws on it. Voila! Jaw changing issue solved. I do plan on getting a good quality 1 x 8" for my only lathe, a Jet VS mini. Now if money was not important, I'd go for the Easy Chuck with some different jaw sets. Looks like the price as dropped $100 since this thread started.

[Harry Robinette]

Nova has just put out there easy chuck and you can get jaws and inner jaws to make your old Nova work the same as the easy chuck, but they are VERY EXPENSIVE!!!!!!!! Woodcraft Cleveland has both chucks Easy and Nova both with all the jaws,EXPENSIVE!!!!!11