New to Turning-Looking at chucks, Which to buy?

[George Courson]

A friend of mine gave me an old Lathe mad by Sears, back before it had the Craftsman line of tools. It's got a pole instead of the bed like today's lathes have. But it will work ok, to get me started. I was able to pick up a basic set of gouges and stuff off eBay and have ordered the Wolverine sharpening system.... I understand that you have to keep them sharp, to make shavings... otherwise you just end up flustered and possibly hurt.

My head-stock is a 3/4x16 tpi with an MT1, as is the tail-stock. I've got a couple of dead centers that I can use for a while to practice with, to see if I really want to invest the money in a new lathe. But before I even do that, I know I need to look at getting a chuck for the head-stock. Thus my question.... I'm looking at these:

http://www.grizzly.com/products/Adapter-1-x-8-TPI-to-3-4-x-16-TPI-RH/T10806?utm_campaign=zPage
Apprentice 4-Jaw chuck:
https://www.woodturnerscatalog.com/p/100/1111/Apprentice-4-Jaw-Chuck-8-Piece-Set
or this Grizzly:
http://www.grizzly.com/products/3-75-Wood-Lathe-Chuck-Set/T10809?utm_campaign=zPage
adaptor:
http://www.grizzly.com/products/Adapter-1-x-8-TPI-to-3-4-x-16-TPI-RH/T10806?utm_campaign=zPage

While I'm pretty sure that I will not get into turning pens, I've been watching Captain Eddie Castelin youtube channel and he has a lot of little projects that I'd like to try... but I've no clue as to how to chose a chuck....

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated..

[Vince Welch]

Hi George,
Welcome to turning! There is a saying that goes "it's not the lathe that will cost you money ...it is all the accessories!" With that said the question is do you want the good stuff the first time or spend up to the good stuff? Oneway Talon and Stronghold chucks are among the best chucks out there IMO! You just get the needed adaptor for 25.00 when you change lathes. Many of the chucks as the ones you have listed some might consider inferior. When you are holding a piece of wood spinning 1000-2000 you want the best IMO! Others will be joining in with more opinions. Good luck. Vince

[Brice Rogers]

I started on a 1950's Sears lathe. 9" x 36" and flat bed. I turned a bunch of stuff on it. It was a good platform for turning and for learning. I started with a couple of faceplates and would use glue blocks. I think that is what was also used about 50 years ago.

Then I upgraded to a Grizzly chuck because it was inexpensive and because I could get it in the semi non-standard 3/4 x 16 thread. It has worked find. I think that it cost around $60. If you buy it on Amazon, you might get free shipping.

Eventually I got hooked on wood turning and decided to upgrade to a much bigger lathe. I bought a new chuck system. I made an adapter and also use the old chuck too. Even if I didn't use the old chuck, it has served its purpose and I would sell it along with the old lathe. One limitation of the old Griz chuck is that I have not found other chuck jaws that fit it. I ended up making some other jaws....

[John Keeton]

You are getting ready to spend a couple hundred dollars on a chuck for a $50 lathe, not knowing whether you will enjoy turning. I think I would scour the internet for something cheaper/used. You can easily get by with one set of 50mm jaws, instead of multiple jaw sets. 99% of my turning is done with one size of jaws - 50mm.

Or, do as Vince suggests and buy a name brand chuck that you can later buy additional jaws for if you find you need them. I use Nova chucks, but the Oneway are excellent, as well.

Just my thought.

[Aaron Craven]

I can only speak to what I use as I've never tried any others, but I've been very pleased with my Teknatool SuperNova 2 chuck (you'd want to look at their line to determine the best product for your uses... this one is a mid-sized chuck that should be able to grow with me if I buy a larger lathe). One of the nice things about their line is that the accessory jaws are cross-compatible across almost all their chucks.

[Marvin Hasenak]

A PSI Barracuda chuck with 4 sets of jaws will set you back $130. https://www.pennstateind.com/store/CSC2000C.html

Not the best but a good starter chuck at a reasonable price. It also has the adapter to fit the threads of your lathe.

[Steve Huffman]

In addition to what John said, I prefer the Super Nova II, but Woodcraft currently has the Nova G3 on sale for $99.00 ( a good chuck for the money) plus the insert you'll need for you threads (spindle). Comes with 50mm jaw which you can replace with other sizes should you need them. I have also used this chuck before too. I would say it's a very good starter chuck.

[John K Jordan]

George,

I started with that same lathe. If you find you love woodturning (which is quite likely!) you can certainly make good use of a chuck almost right away. A chuck allows you to instantly hold things for turning that are difficult or time consuming to attach otherwise.

However, like most people, you will probably upgrade to a larger lathe before long. With that in mind, be sure to get a chuck with a replaceable insert so you can reuse the chuck on the new lathe by simply changing the insert. This way, I would not even worry about getting stuck with an expensive chuck if woodturning turned out to be a passing interest (unlikely!) since you could always sell the chuck. You could probably sell the chuck easier than the lathe.

BTW, when I upgraded to a better lathe I did exactly what your friend did - give the tube lathe to a friend! You might do the same one day! So if you find a great deal on a chuck that fits this lathe but does not have upgradable inserts, you might get it anyway and pass it on with the lathe.

I personally started with and stayed with the Teknatool NOVA chucks. While there are better chucks out there, usually for much more money, the Nova chucks definitely work well and do everything I ask of them. Amazon sells the G3 new for less than $100 and sometimes has the larger Supernova2 on sale for $120. The insert is about $20. You can often buy used NOVA chucks for a great deal - I've paid as little as $30 for an older Supernova chuck. Purchasing used and on sale, I've accumulated a bunch of chucks over the years, all of them Tecknatool simply because of the assured interchangeability of the jaws.

The Teknatool chucks come with a 50mm jaw set that is easy to use with bowls and platters, things you would otherwise need to hold with a faceplate or glue on a waste block. Great for turned boxes too. I mostly turn fairly small things in the spindle mode so I also make heavy use of the 35mm or 45mm jaws and especially the pin jaws. But don't go crazy with jaws before you get further into this hobby.

If you want to keep purchases to a minimum at first, there are other cheap ways to hold things for turning such as homemade jam chucks and collets.

I like this book by Doc Green about holding things on the lathe.
http://www.amazon.com/Fixtures-Chucks-Woodturning-Everything-Secure/dp/1565235193/ref=sr_1_1

Doc's website is also full of good info:
http://www.docgreenwoodturner.com/

Fred Holder (appropriate name!) also has a good book on work holding:
http://www.amazon.com/Guide-Work-Holding-Lathe-Fred-Holder/dp/1861083955/ref=sr_1_1

JKJ

[Mike Goetzke]

I started turning occasionally about two years ago. I actually bought the Craftsman lathe you have new maybe 15 years ago. It is not a stellar lathe and it's one of the reasons I gave up on turning back then. I found a decent deal on a Delta midi lathe and was able to turn a few things without any issues. I enjoyed it so much a replaced the Delta with a PM (and lots of other vortex gear).

I have two Hurricane chucks. I bought the HTC100 when it was paired with 7 or 8 jaw sets for a good price. Recently I bought the HTC125 with jumbo jaws and it's a monster.

Good Luck,

Mike

[david privett]

I to in the 80s had a tube lathe and used it some but not much cause of that spur tang drive , after I needed to turn some stuff for the wife in this century. I broke down and got the psi 3000 chuck it had a good selection of jaws and the required adaptor for that lathe, let me tell you what a joy a chuck makes , but go with one that uses a key vs. the rods unless you got extra hands. Then let the vortex happen. enjoy

[George Courson]

I appreciate all the responses from y'all. I have done a bit of turning, back in Jr. High (woodshop) and then in my mid 20's, I made a 'Walking Spinning Wheel' for my first wife. But now I'm 51 and everything has changed dramatically.

I know that I will end up buying a better lathe down the road, but I've got to make sure I can still turn. I was disabled in an industrial accident in '96 and after finishing with Workman's Comp., I ended up moving to Lima, Peru. The weather here doesn't aggravate my injuries or the "RSD". I've got just enough use of my right hand to be able to hold the tools and turn them as needed to work the wood. I just need to see if my back and shoulders can take it.

My end goal, is to start making wooden toys to give to the kids in the area that I live, that don't have anything to play with. Last year, I moved to a suburb in the south of Lima that's pretty poor, as the rent was something I could afford for the size of the apartment that I wanted. Luckily, I'm within walking distance of the Electric Train, that runs all the way into Lima. The area is also within walking distance of where I will be getting the wood to turn and all the needed hardware to build the toys.

[Brice Rogers]

Good luck and good turning.

There is nothing wrong with the $60 Grizzly chuck. Is it as good as a $150 chuck? Probably not. Is it worth $60? Yes.