And now for some accessories

[Jim Kountz]

Ok, I was warned and yet I willingly stepped right in and fell into the infamous "black hole" that is turning. Im already looking at some accessories, mainly chisels but I am eyeing those chucks too! I know the HF chisels and the Penn State or Benjamins Best have been discussed here alot but I wanted to see what a good step up starter set would be from those two? Im not too scared of the sharpening process since I already possess adequate skills for that. Also what should I be looking at as far as a chuck if I wanted to do say small boxes and perhaps a 7-8" bowl?? Any other "must have" for a newbie??

Thanks!

Jim

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Jim...........I don't know what to tell you about the BB's starter set. I don't have any. I have a set of HF given to me and I very quickly found a local (35 miles away) hardware store that stocked Robert Larson tools. I was given some RLs and have bought several others. They are Sheffield steel made in England but handled here in the US and not quite as expensive as other more famous brands. Best of all...they were locally available and I didn't have to wait for delivery or drive 220 miles to obtain them.

Chucks....well that'll bring a lot of discussion. I was given a SuperNova2 and just bought a new adapter for it. It worked on my Jet and now will do duty on my new PM3520B as soon as I get the shop finished.

[Jim Kountz]

Ok Ken forget all that just introduce me to this person who has been giving you all this neat stuff!! LOL Thanks for the advice I will look into those Larsons.

[Mike Golka]

I too am new to this "vortex" they call tuning, I bought a small expanding collet chuck that was realy quite cheep but seems to work well ( if you don't get any catches:o ) I also built a Longsworth chuck on the weekend that works realy well and was easy to build, 2 pieces of 3/8" MDF some 1/4" bolts and 6 rubber chair leg feet.

[Jim Kountz]

Got any plans for the chuck Mike?

[Neal Addy]

Any other "must have" for a newbie??
Face mask/respirator, DC, chuck, sharpening system, more tools, buffing system, spindle steady rest, more tools, bigger lathe, captured hollowing rig, more tools, bowl steady rest, even bigger lathe, more tools, laser system, photo studio, pickup truck, trailer, bigger shop...

But most importantly, an extensive list of excuses for SWMBO. I have a four-volume set on sale in the lobby for only $24.95. :D

[Mike Golka]

Here is a link: http://www.fholder.com/Woodturning/chuck.htm. I Used my homemade CNC router to cut the disks but the method used in the plans will work just fine. BTY I made mine with 6 fingers.

[Gary Garmar]

The BB's I have - 1/2 and 3/8 bowl gouges seem to have "softer" steel. They have to be sharpened more often and feel lighter than my Sorby gouges.

[Richard Madison]

On the other hand, can't tell that my BB gouges are any softer than the Sorby. Different flute shapes, so used somewhat differently or for different "jobs". Apples and oranges to me.

[Rich Stewart]

You might as well go ahead and buy three chucks now. You are going to get them anyway. Save yourself some shipping. You won't last long changing the jaws everytime you need to. All them little bitty allen screws. The penn state utility chucks work fine. I tell everybody this.

[joe greiner]

I'd suggest you consider Grizzly's 4-jaw chucks, H6264-H6267 & H7820 (for different size spindle threads). About $100 for the smaller sizes, and includes intermediate jaws. Pin jaws and dovetail jaws for about $20 each. Changing jaws isn't too bad, until the hex sockets become rounded. I replaced all of them with Phillips head countersunk machine screws from Ace hardware, and got a few extra, just in case. The pin jaws use only 4 screws, whereas the others use 8 screws; I store them in a pill bottle. I've been told that the jaws interchange with one of the higher-grade chucks, but I've forgotten which; and the only lesser quality is slightly rougher scroll slots - not a big deal IMHO.

Google ["longworth chuck"] for lots of plans. I also made mine with 6 buttons, because it's easier to lay out a hexagon than a square or an octagon. As a safety feature to avoid orbiting satellites, I add a couple strips of duct tape around to the back disk. Here's the router compass I used:

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=59221

Joe

[Bernie Weishapl]

If you are looking for a good chuck for a little less money you can get the grizzly H-6265 or whatever your spindle size is on page 121. I have found that all the Vicmarc jaws fit this chuck. I was trying to be cheap at $99 but they turned out to be a really good chuck and ended up I bought 3 of the for what some of the Oneways and Novas are selling for one. These are nice chucks and just bought a 4th just dedicated for my cole jaws so I woudn't have to change them out all the time.

Jim just my opinion I would not buy a set. Every time I do I have some I don't use and are just collecting dust. Just my $1.298.

[Jim Kountz]

Thanks everyone for your thoughts, I wasnt sure what was what when it came to lathe chucks so this gives me a direction to go in at least. Let me ask one more if I may, what are the other style of chucks used for (Grizz catalog pg 120-121) such as the H8034, H8042, G1082?? Are these metal chucks? They are made completely different is the reason I ask.
How bout a face plate, aluminum or cast iron??

[Barry Stratton]

Face mask/respirator, DC, chuck, sharpening system, more tools, buffing system, spindle steady rest, more tools, bigger lathe, captured hollowing rig, more tools, bowl steady rest, even bigger lathe, more tools, laser system, photo studio, pickup truck, trailer, bigger shop...

But most importantly, an extensive list of excuses for SWMBO. I have a four-volume set on sale in the lobby for only $24.95. :D


......and a chainsaw:D Count your money now, its soon to be GONE. Congrats on tumbling in.

P.S. Neal, check is on the way for the 4 volume set:p

[Dean Thomas]

Hey Jim,

Lots of answers are going to depend on your situation.

Don't buy too much chuck. I know a couple of people who bought the Oneway Stronghold for their Jet Minilathe. Way too much chuck for the machine. Oneway has good info on what chuck to buy for what size lathe.

Jaws are going to depend on what you're wanting to do. Mostly bowls on a 12-16" lathe? Standard jaws on a Oneway Talon (middle size chuck) will do you well. Going to turn tops on a Jet Mini? A set of what I think Oneway calls their #1 jaws (other manufactures call them pin jaws or other things). These jaws protrude about 1-1/2" from where the jaws screw onto the chuck. Nice way to stay away from the knuckle busters near or on the chuck. (wanna see my scars??)

If you purchase the PSI Barracuda or one of the Grizz chucks, test it out IMMEDIATELY on receipt. This may be old news, or it might still be current events, but numbers of e-friends have ordered these and found that the chucks had jaws that would not close, or that had scrolling mechanisms that were so loose that they would not keep the wood tightly held in the jaws. PSI was stellar in their response and paid for return shipping and everything. One guy had to hold 4 chucks in his hands before he got one that was not flawed. Have heard similar stories of Grizz owners. Once the issues were solved, they were all satisfied with their chucks.

Shopsmith and Woodcraft both had troubles with one of the Nova chucks they were touting. It was as though no one did a final inspection on the tools. Poorly finished, metal flashing interfering with jaw closure, rough working, all sorts of dopey stuff that should never have escaped the factory. Factory made good on all of them, but it's still disconcerting when you $75 to $200 or more, expecting a quality chuck in the mail, to get something that looks and/or feels bad.

Grizzly sells several wood chucks. Some of them (like the 3-jaw chucks) are for either metal work, or for very specialized woodwork, and should not be a first choice. Same for any chuck with independent jaws. Their H7820 seems to be a Vicmarc look-alike. The H626x series looks to be pretty much the same as the 7820, but might be smaller. Can't really tell from the pix. The differences have to do with spindle size & thread configuration.

IMO, the Grizz & PSI chucks are pretty recent entries on the market. The jury is still out on whether or not they will last a long time or if their apparent levels of quality will prove to have long life.

My personal recommendation is currently to Oneway or Vicmarc. Used to include Nova, but they've had some rough stuff leave the factory within the last year. I hate to part with bigger bucks for tools, but I hate worse having to spend twice to end up with the quality I could have had in the first place. It's about what you're willing to hope for or what you're willing to accept as quality or risk. Again, IMO.

[Jim Kountz]

Dick, wow thanks for the very in depth response, I feel blessed to have so many experienced people out here to learn from. I think I will take some time, do some looking around and then make a purchase on a chuck. Hopefully in the meantime I will actually learn how to use the chisels first!!

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Ok Ken forget all that just introduce me to this person who has been giving you all this neat stuff!! LOL Thanks for the advice I will look into those Larsons.

Jim,

You are surrounded by them. Nearly 2 years ago shortly after Thankgiving the inmates here in the turning forum were having an "Itty Bitty" contest. I got into a "push me ..pull you" contest" with a number of them. This continued until early January 2006 when they announced if I didn't buy a lathe they were going to bomb me. Well....On Tuesday before Superbowl Sunday 2006....check this thread....
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=30423&highlight=Bomb

If you do a search on itty bitty contest you can find the thread that lead up to it.

Now I was about 1 week from having my new shop finished. The lathe showed up and until about 4 or 5 weeks ago I was still about 7 days from having my shop finished!:D All I have done is turn for the last 18 months. They insisted I get to turning so I took my Little Giant ladder system and made two A-frame ladders out of it...placed a 2x12 between the two halves and the "diving board" turning bench was brought to life. I mounted the Jet VS Mini to it and that's what I've been turning on for 18 months. Now if I brought the LOML into this thread she'd back up what I'm about to say......I'd guess I ended up with $800-1000 worth of tools.....I've spent 10 times that amount in less than 2 years. DO NOT MESS WITH TURNERS.....THEY DON'T GET EVEN.....THEY GET AHEAD.......WAY AHEAD! I've found a new passion......I may never be a good turner.....but I'll do it passionately!:)

[Dean Thomas]

You asked about faceplates, too, and no one seems to have answered.

When I first started turning, I had no chuck. I used a faceplate with pine attached to it and glued all sorts of things to the wasteblocks. Small boxes, tops, cribbage pegs, bowls, all sorts of stuff.

Faceplates are not bad things. I do like them for jigs and for certain applications where a chuck might not work. And a body can buy a heck of a lot of glue and 2x4 pine for wasteblocks before feeling as though the chuck would be cost effective.

FWIW, I have not used any of the many, many faceplates I own since purchasing my chuck. Not one in 10 years!

Some guidelines for faceplate purchase and use:

Be leary of aluminum faceplates. Steel costs more, but is a way better value.
Use faceplates that are size appropriate. Using a 2" faceplate on a 16" log is not wise. Using an 8" to mount a 4" block makes life difficult.;)
Do not use drywall screws to mount stuff. Use screws or lagbolts that fill the holes and dig deep enough into the wood to ensure your safety and the security of the wood that's mounted.
For small projects, you can use a Bonnie Klein trick, using double sided "turning tape" to mount wasteblocks to your nice smooth faceplate. Mount it in a vise overnight to make sure that the tape works. It's a good trick and keeps LOTS of wood between your chisels and the middle of your wasteblock. I think most users of faceplates have tried to cut through the screws with their parting tools.Hope that helps