Newbe seeking chuck advise

[art pfenn]

I just bought a new lathe and now I'm in the market for a chuck. I'm new at turning so I look to the experts for advise. I have been looking at three brands and models within brands but can't figure out which I should get. I would like to make bowls, vessels and boxes, the usual stuff I guess. So what would you recommend and why? I've looked at the Oneway Stronghold and Talon models, the Vicmarc VM100 and the VM120 and the Robert Sorby Patriot. If there is something else that I should consider chime in, thanks.

[Grant Wilkinson]

What is your lathe? I use Oneway Stronghold chucks, but the Stronghold may be more than you need.

[John Keeton]

I am not familiar with the Sorby, but the other two are fine chucks. There is a Grizzly clone for the Vicmarc VM100 that gets rave reviews by many and is one to consider. I have Nova SuperNova 2 chucks, and really like the dovetail jaws vs. the serrated jaws of the Oneway, but that is a personal thing.

The Nova's can be purchased reconditioned, and on sale, usually for considerably less than the Oneway and Vicmarc.

Whatever you do, buy one brand and stick with it so the jaws and chuck keys will be consistent. Nothing worse than having multiple incompatible jaws/keys to keep up with!

[Alan Trout]

Art,

I have used all of these chucks including the Novas. They are fine and will work well for most of use. I personally have both Oneway and Nova chucks. I am somewhat the opposite of John, in that I have really grown fond of the serrated jaws of the Oneway chucks which comes standard on the chucks. I do mostly vessels with tenons to grip. They are removed so I really don't care what the tenon looks like after they are done. What I like about them is that you do not have to be as exact with the tenon size. The way the jaw is made it is very forgiving to size of the tenon. I have also found that they re-chuck amazingly accurate. I always mark the tenon and as long as I put them back in the same spot they re-chuck spot on. I have found the dovetails on my large Nova jaws are no better.

Any one of these are fine. If you are turning things about 14" the Talon, the small Vicmarc, or the Nova G3 are a good choice. If you are also turning bigger items go with a chuck with a bigger body.

Good Luck

Alan

[art pfenn]

What is your lathe? I use Oneway Stronghold chucks, but the Stronghold may be more than you need.

I bought the Powermatic 3520B and waiting for it to be delivered. John where can reconditioned chucks be found?

[Peter Blair]

I'm with Alan on this one. I too have multiple chucks but when push comes to shove I reach for my Stronghold.

[charlie knighton]

i have only the one oneway stronghold, with the spigot Jaws i bought extra. it comes with the #3 jaws and woodworm screw. i also own the jumbo jaws but you can learn to jam chuck and not have to buy that set of jaws. if you take the jaws off the chuck after each session on the lathe you will not have to have a chuck for each set of jaws because the screws have set up. a oneway talon could be used also and is easier to work around sometimes, but for larger turnings use the stronghold. i like the profiled jaws instead of the smooth jaws, as i turn away the tendon. join a club or take lesson at woodturning store for how to shape your tendon, very important whatever chuck you buy.

[Dick Mahany]

I have several (4) Stronghold chucks and like them very much. I did get a set of dovetail jaws for them, but have yet to use them over the standard serrated jaws. The only negatives I see with the Strongold chuck is the minimum diameter of a tenon for the number 2 jaws, which at times is a little too large for things like small turned boxes. I do have a set of tower jaws that will handle things like pen blank drillig and much more but they protrude further and I don't quite like them as much when needing to turn smaller diameter tenons. I can say that the Oneway chucks are extremely well built and have been problem free for over 8 years of use. I don't have experience with any other chucks so I can't offer a qualified opinion there.

[John Keeton]

John where can reconditioned chucks be found?Art, this (http://www.novatoolsusa.com/RECONDITIONED-SuperNOVA2-Wood-Turning-Chuck-23055-R.htm) is the link for the reconditioned chucks. They do not have any in stock presently, which is why it directs you to the dealers for a new chuck. You will need to check in periodically to catch them in stock.

[Brian Kent]

Reconditioned Nova Chucks:
http://www.novatoolsusa.com/Reconditioned-Products_c10.htm

[Reed Gray]

Kind of like toys, you can never have too many. I have the Vicmark chucks. I do prefer the dove tail jaws to more straight ones. They make an adjustable locking wedged joint. Used in woodworking forever because of the mechanical advantage. I suppose the big names are all good. I do prefer the keyed chucks as opposed to the lever/tommy bar type chucks. Never learned to 'properly' use them. It is easier to change chucks than to swap out chuck jaws. You will most likely want at least a small inside down to 1 inch or less, medium inside down to 2 or so, and large set of jaws down to 4 or more.

robo hippy

[Chip Sutherland]

I bought into Teknatool chucks ( 1 midi, 2 SuperNova2, 2 G3s) primarily because it was sold at my local Woodcraft so I was able to inspect it. Oneway was also sold at Woodcraft but only the jaws were in stock. I came down to funds. I have no complaints or problems with any of my chucks. I tend to like the SuperNova2 better than the G3 but only because I tend to use the G3 for lighter duty and the SuperNova2 for larger pieces. Like someone said....pick your vendor and you will likely stay with them as few of the various vendors are interchangeable...and you will end up buying more than one chuck (IMO).

Vicmarc's are extremely nice but hard to buy if you are a tactile buyer like me. There are other vendors: Wood River, Barracuda, Sorby, etc. that have come onto the market that I have no knowledge of. Unless I win the lottery, I will stick with Teknatool. I'm mulling over another chuck purchase right now. Woodcraft has Nova Titan's on sale.

[art pfenn]

Reconditioned Nova Chucks:
http://www.novatoolsusa.com/Reconditioned-Products_c10.htm

Thanks I gave them a call but they are out of them right now.

[Leo Van Der Loo]

For me it is Oneway chucks, I use both the Talon and Stronghold X 4, I rather change chucks than jaws ;)

The standard jaws are what I use, they hold the best and don't need to have exact size tenon or recesses made to hold well like all the other jaws need to have them made.

Also I always rework or remove the recess or tenon of a turning, who would leave a tenon on anyway :rolleyes:, so the saying "they chew-up the wood" is first of all a big distortion of the facts, and secondly the marks that are visible, and they are, will be removed anyway.

Yes you can go cheaper, same with your lathe or anything else, but you get what you pay for in this instance, HTH.

[Greg McClurg]

I use the Vicmarc 120 and love it.

[Jeffrey J Smith]

I've been using the OneWay chucks, got a selection of the originals (1) the Talons (2) and the Stronghold (2). As for the serrated jaws vs the smooth, I guess it's 'horse for courses' as they say. OneWay offers both. I'm not a big fan of the serrated jaws personally, so I use the smooth jaws on mine most of the time. I lost a couple of wet pieces early on in my turning carreer - probably got carried away with overtightening the jaws, to be honest - but switched to the smooth jaws after using Vicmarks. They're very secure, haven't lost a piece since.

[charlie knighton]

I'm not a big fan of the serrated jaws personally, so I use the smooth jaws on mine most of the time. I lost a couple of wet pieces early on in my turning carreer - probably got carried away with overtightening the jaws, to be honest

suggest you keep the gears oiled, blanks will jump out for some reason if the gears get dusty and dirty

i use 3 in 1 oil, but there are a lot of other stuff turners use to keep them oiled