Chuck Recommendation, Please :)

[George Farra]

Hello All,

I have a Rikon 70-220VSR lathe and I would like to buy a chuck for it. Seems like an better way to go versus the face plate for turning small bowls, urns, ornaments, etc. Is there anything I can guy of decent quality for between $100-150?? A few that I have found available in 1" 8TPI threads are

Nova G3
PSI Barracuda

Thoughts on either? Any other choices?

Thank you!

George

[Dwight Rutherford]

Other options;
Hurricane tools and Grizzly

[David C. Roseman]

George, suggest you do a search on SMC for "Hurricane HTC chuck" and you'll find several threads reviewing/discussing the HTC 100 and the HTC 125. The HTC 100 would be the size for your lathe. There's also a youtube video on it. They are very well made and in the price range you gave.

[Josh Bowman]

George,
Consider looking ahead to a new lathe, and since tooling adds to the expense consider a chuck that can be used on a bigger lathe. A Super Nova 2, Oneway Talon are good choices that can grow with you. There are many good choices, but like sharpening equipment try to settle on one brand.

[Thom Sturgill]

At novatoolsusa.com they have reconditioned chucks. While the G3 and midi chucks are currently out of stock they do have the SN2 for $179. Nova has the advantage of a wide range of jaws that fit all the chucks and work as advertised. I currently use 4 SN2s and a G3 and have two PSI chucks. The nova chucks use thread adapters so that they can still be used if you upgrade to a larger lathe in the future.

While the PSI chucks work well I can not say the same for the default jaws (even in the set with 4 sets of jaws + cole jaws.) The extended jaws and dovetail jaws do work well. The serrations are just too small. The do not use thread adapters except to adapt to a smaller metric thread.

I cannot speak to the Grizzly for the Hurricane other than to say that both have their advocates.

[Doug W Swanson]

$179 for a reconditioned chuck from Nova? They sure jacked the price up. I bought two of them 18 months ago for $119 each. Here's a new SN2 for $155 and it includes the threaded insert:

https://www.kmstools.com/nova-super-nova-2-standard-chuck-410

[Thom Sturgill]

$179 for a reconditioned chuck from Nova? They sure jacked the price up. I bought two of them 18 months ago for $119 each. Here's a new SN2 for $155 and it includes the threaded insert:

https://www.kmstools.com/nova-super-nova-2-standard-chuck-410

I thought so too, but reconditioned put the price closer to the OPs range, $155 with insert is even better. The SN2 may be a bit heavy for that lathe, but it has a 1hp motor so should be OK.

[Doug W Swanson]

I thought so too, but reconditioned put the price closer to the OPs range, $155 with insert is even better. The SN2 may be a bit heavy for that lathe, but it has a 1hp motor so should be OK.

1hp should be fine for the SN2. Anything less and I'd go with the G3 or Barracuda. I had a couple of the Barracuda chucks and thought they were pretty nice. I sold them when I upgraded my lathe but otherwise I'd probably still have them...

And the reconditioned SN2 chucks I bought looked and functioned as new. I would buy another one if it was still $119 :)

[Dan Masshardt]

Nova g3 is a great choice for your lathe.

[Joe Shanaphy]

I'm going to jump on the Hurricane bandwagon. I replaced a PSI Barracuda 2 with a HTC-100 and the difference is staggering ... in the Hurricanes favor ... yet the money is about the same and the HTC-100 can be used with various size spindles with it's adaptors.

[Mike Goetzke]

I'm going to jump on the Hurricane bandwagon. I replaced a PSI Barracuda 2 with a HTC-100 and the difference is staggering ... in the Hurricanes favor ... yet the money is about the same and the HTC-100 can be used with various size spindles with it's adaptors.

I'm a fairly new turner and read the early reviews for the Hurricane chuck after just receiving a reconditioned SN2. I sold the SN2 and bought the HTC100 with 8 jaw sets. Don't know if it is still offered like this but worth a phone call. I have had it about a year and used 5 of the jaws so far. Only problem is I understand now why turners have more than one chuck body :D.

Mike

[charlie knighton]

you can turn with a faceplate everything you can do with a chuck,,,,,,use bigger or longer blanks

if you have to have chuck, I am a stronghold oneway advocate......you can get different sizes of insert for different lathes.....always take the screws out of the jaws at the end of the work session and you will only need one chuck.....need #1 jaws and #3 jaws......learn to jam chuck to clean uuuup the bottoms

enjoy your journey, be safe, use facemask and dust protection

[Ralph Lindberg]

$179 for a reconditioned chuck from Nova? They sure jacked the price up. I bought two of them 18 months ago for $119 each. Here's a new SN2 for $155 and it includes the threaded insert:

https://www.kmstools.com/nova-super-nova-2-standard-chuck-410

KMS has some great bundle deals also. I bought a bundle (chuck, multiple jaws, spare screws, etc) from them and saved a bunch.

[gary jarvis]

The hurricane jaw sets sell for about 1/2 or less than all the other brands.

[Brian Brown]

This chuck uses the same jaws as the PSI Barracuda, and has a better chuck key setup. It is a bit out of your range at $179, but it comes with 4 jaw sets and a screw chuck. I really like mine, but it does not have a non marring jaw set. You'll also have a hard time beating the service at CSUSA.
DubDubDub.woodturnerscatalog.com/p/100/1111/Apprentice-4-Jaw-Chuck-8-Piece-Set?term=aprentice%20chuck (http://www.woodturnerscatalog.com/p/100/1111/Apprentice-4-Jaw-Chuck-8-Piece-Set?term=aprentice%20chuck)

[John Keeton]

You may want to consider the type of jaws you prefer before considering the brand as they differ among the brands. Personally, I prefer the Nova jaws that have more of a dovetail compression and expansion mode as opposed to serrated jaws. Others probably prefer serrated jaws.

[jeff oldham]

I have the barracuda csc3000tn,,it comes with a lot of accessories that would be extra with other chucks,,,and before I bought it I read the reviews on all of them and for the value and what the reviews said this is the one I bought,,,and reguardless of what chuck you purchase,,,buy it from amazon,,,if you do not like it or you change your mind and want something else,,the return policy cant be beat,,,