PSI Baracuda 2 Chuck System

[Kurt Aebi]

I received the Baracuda2 Chuck system yesterday by Big Brown Truck. I've opened it and removed the dreaded Chinese shipping oil/crud from all the parts and it indeed looks like they have a much better machine finish on the parts over the standard PSI chuck. (not better than a Nova, Vicmark or One-Way, but for Chinese machining, it looks good!). The wooden box was solid and inside even had a "shipping clamp" to hold the parts in place, had to remove a screw to take out the clamp.

I will be testing out this chuck and all 3 sets of jaws along with their version of the woodworm screw that came with it. I have both 3/4" x 16 and 1" x 8 lathes, so I can check it for "true" on each system. The jaws on this chuck also have "teeth" for better holding power, and it has a square recess "T" handle for one-hand tightening rather than the Tommy-Bars that the Utility chucks have. I will also test whether the jaws from this chuck will interchange with the Utility Chuck.

[Keith Burns]

I'm looking forward to your offical test. I've been looking at these but have been hesitant to order.

[Mike Ramsey]

I'm looking forward to your offical test. I've been looking at these but have been hesitant to order.

Same here, I've been waiting on Kurt's (the Guinea Pig:) ) results/review
before I ordered one also.

[Alan Mikkelsen]

Ditto on the guinea pig test!:D

[David Dixson]

Kurt,

Glad to hear somebody finally got that chuck in their hands. I've been looking at it for a while, but they put it in their catalog before they actually had stock. I also am looking forward to your review.

Dave

[Wes Bischel]

Ditto on the guinea pig test!:D

Gee, I thought it was only good for wood.:eek: :eek: :D

Wes

[John Hart]

Gee, I thought it was only good for wood.:eek: :eek: :D

Wes

Yeah...I would think that the guinea pig would put up a fuss when you started cranking down on him. :rolleyes:

[Kurt Aebi]

Only got to do a little with the new chuck this weekend.
It is an extreme improvement over the PSI Utility Chuck (don't get me worng - the 2 utility chucks I have work fine I'll continue using them - 1 will get the jumbo flat jaws mounted permanently), the "T" handle for tightening makes it so much easier to grip your piece.
The gears for the "T" handle are a little rough, but a little bit of lithium grease smoothed them out pretty well (I am sure if you use a One-Way, Nova or Vicmark - they would be a lot smoother - but again you get what you pay for!).
The Jaws from the Utility chuck have the same bolt pattern, but the locating key (or groove) is just opposite from the Baracuda, so they are not interchangeable. This is not a problem because the chuck system comes with the #1, #2 & #3 Jaws as well as the Pin jays and screw adapter - so it comes with everything you would need, except the Jumbo Flat Jaws.
The Gripping "teeth" seem to hold well - more on this when I get a little more turning time.
Ran true on both the 1" x 8 and 3/4" x 16 lathes (notorious problem with the Utility Chucks and almost always the problem was the adapter, not the chuck).
So far, I like it and think I'll probably be using it more and more.

More on the review as I get more time to get to the shop and give it a real workout!

Now the excuse for the delay in the product test!

The weather was in the upper 50's - low 60's here (almost Never seen at this time of the year in Vermont) so I spent most of the weekend outside buttoning up for winter. Putting the porch furniture and lawn equipment away and getting the snowblower ready for the long, long cold, cold winter ahead. And of course cleaning up the shop furnace and getting it ready for a busy, busy winter of woodworking!!!!

[Kurt Aebi]

Got a chance to turn a little with this chuck. I started a Confetti Lamp.

I first used their version of the "Woodworm Screw" and it held fantastic in the little piece of walnut that I was working on - never once slipped. The jaws held the screw firmly and if I took too big a bite, the lathe would stall rather than the screw slipping. Big, Big, Big improvement over the utility chuck!

I turned the piece into a cylinder and cut a tenon on the tailstock end. I turned the piece around and chucked the tenon and started the profile. This chuck really holds the piece well. I usually had to retighten the utility chuck at least a few times, where this one was a one-time tightening and then go for it. It held the piece very well while drilling out the hole for the oil lamp with a 1-1/2" forstner bit. I drilled the hole deep enough for the top of the bottle to show and took the piece out of the chuck. I purposely did this so that I would have to put the piece back into the chuck to finish the hole and to test how well it handled the rechucking task. It worked flawlessly and the piece was absolutely true (or at least true enough for woodworking - I didn't put a dial indicator on it, as I would have with a metal piece) when rechucked and I finished boring the hole.

I installed the inside-gripping jaws and gripped it in the bottle recess to finish the bottom. I rough turned the tenon off last night and will finish up tonight and post a picture of the final result.

All in all, for the price of $160.00 for the entire set - it is a real good bargain. Anyone who cannot afford or doesn't want to spend the big dollars for the other brand chucks, it will be a good investment.
The only problem I encountered was the delivery delays, but that seems to be standard with Penn State Industries when they launch a new product and it gets much better the longer the product is on the market.


I like it and would recommend it for anyone who either doesn't already have one of this style chuck or for someone who wants an affordable bachup.

[Keith Burns]

Thanks Kurt for your review. Very well done.

[David Dixson]

Good review Kurt. Thank you.

I didn't see where you'd bought the jumbo flat jaws. Did you? And in your opinion are they a good size to use with a Jet 1236 or HF 34706?

[Kurt Aebi]

David,

I have the Jumbo Flat Jaws for the Utility Chuck and am probably going to use the it strictly for them and not get the ones for the Baracuda2. I have the Harbor Freight "Jet 12" Knock-off and it seems to be a good size for that.