Greg - Here's a pic of the Axminster SK114 with the button jaws. Not sure if this is a good practice but after almost finishing the bowl I went back and reduced the depth of the recess using the button jaws to hold the bowl in place.
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Contributor
Greg - Here's a pic of the Axminster SK114 with the button jaws. Not sure if this is a good practice but after almost finishing the bowl I went back and reduced the depth of the recess using the button jaws to hold the bowl in place.
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[OP]
Contributor
Originally Posted by Steve Mathews
Thats exactly how I would have done it. I've only got the nova mini cole jaw set but look forward to a more stout larger set some day soon.
Member
I just started turning a few weeks ago and had bought a Nova SuperNova2 through Amazon. I got around to checking the chuck for run out today and have about .015" about 1/4" from the face of the chuck. Ugh.. No wonder I was having problems.. Being new to turning I figured it was me not knowing what the heck I was doing... I think I'm gonna order a Axminster Evolution from Lee Valley... This woodturning hobby sure is expensive..
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The Vicmarcs are loved by the owners - great quality. If you get to the point of trying to track down the problem with the Novas I'd be glad to test them here if you could ship them without too much cost. I have several lathes for testing, chucks and inserts to compare, and good measurement tools.
If they do turn out to be a problem that you can't or don't want to fix, I might be interested in buying them. I like to keep extra chucks to loan out and the children's program we support is in need of some.
I too want a perfect chuck, but truth be told, even moderate runout on a chuck makes almost no difference unless the work is removed and remounted. Mount a block in a chuck and turn it round and it will be perfectly concentric with the axis of the lathe for the entire job. It's when a piece is removed then remounted that problems come up but because of the way the wood deforms under the jaws, a problem with even the most perfect chuck! (You can get the closest if you mark the jaw position on the wood before unmounting so it can be put back in the same position - I make a line on the wood between jaws #4 and #1. I also use a dial indicator to aid in getting the piece in the best position.)
Avoiding unmounting/remounting partially finished work is one reason I like to keep multiple chucks. I think I currently have 5-6 things mounted in chucks in various stages of completion, some end-grain things, a few bowls. This lets me start on something then stop and think about it for a while and do something else. In fact, I'm slowly working on a fairly large bowl now I'm taking from green to dry without taking it from the chuck. It is fun to put it on back on the lathe after a day or two and turn off a bit more- it gives me a better "feel" for exactly how the wood is moving and it should actually dry faster since it gets a little thinner each time.
JKJ
Member
Ken, Welcome aboard. There is an abundance of talent on this forum that can identify and remedy any wood turning issue. But I am not one of them. I am curious though, what issue was happening with the out of round chuck? Once the piece has been shaved down, as John mentioned the piece should be round unless remounted(?)
Member
I have learned to immediately mark the number one jaw as soon as I put it in the chuck. Then runout does not matter. A crisp shoulder helps reduce wobble to a minimum although differences it compression will leave a little if you cannot align it with the tailstock.
Member
Those that have been around long enough will or should remember that The Nove chucks have had problems off and on, though for the lower price people have been attracted to keep on buying these chucks, having moved the production to China didn’t improve the quality of them.
I personally have always bought and used the Oneway chucks, both the Talon and the Stronghold chucks, their quality is superior, but the most important reason I have always gone with the Oneway chucks is the freedom they give me, of choosing the sizes of my recesses or tenon, rather than be forced to make the recess or tenon a size that fits the jaw sets to have a secure hold.
Yes I know there are a great many sizes of jaws available on the Nova chucks, they do cost $$ and would have me keep changing jaws or buy ever more chucks, like some here have done, but I rather do not have to do that.
With the patented Jaws of Oneway, I am free to choose the size of the recess or tenon that goes with the piece I’m making, and the greater range of motion of the these jaws also mean I do need less different jaw sizes or chucks.
Their tapered adaptor that fits into the chuck’s body means no runout ever, and the easy and low cost to change it out and use it on a different threaded lathe.
The chucks having the back open means shavings are flung out if any are falling into the back of the chuck, also having the gears not in the chuck prevent anything from getting stuck in behind and between the gears and the scroll.
All these little things add up to a superior chuck that yes, it cost a little more, but certainly is well worth it and will last a lifetime
Last edited by Leo Van Der Loo; 04-09-2017 at 10:13 PM.
Have fun and take care
Contributor
Greg, I don't remember seeing anywhere here whether you tried clamping anything without the jaws installed and checking that for runout. For instance clamping your item using just the sliding portion of the chuck. This would show if the jaw set is where the runout is being introduced. If the item runs true here the chuck itself could still have an issue if face the face of the slides weren't perpendicular to the axis of the lathe, but less likely if the item clamped in the jaws is without runout.
You could also also check your jaw sets buy installing them on another Nova chuck that doesn't have runout, if you there is one you can access.
FWIW, I have, and use both a G3 and Supernova from Teknatool, Talon and Stronghold from Oneway as well as a couple Vicmarc VM120s. The Nova's are the last I typically grab, because I don't like the fact they tighten in what I consider a backwards direction, but I've never had any issue with either of them not running true.
Clint
Member
I have two BD 275s and one BD 575 (which weighs in at ten pounds without jaws). I have 8" Vicmarc jaws on it. I have found no issues with these chucks and I believe I have a Vicmarc spindle adapter on the BD 575. Many of my chucks have specific jaws for specific purposes and I use a chuck for a certain reason not because it is a certain brand. I have found that a lot of complaints about out of round are brought up because a person making a bowl does the outside and then puts it in the chuck and they see a wobble. In most cases they have made the tenon at the beginning, done all the work on the outside and then put it in the chuck. I do the tenon then finish the outside and before putting it in the jaws I recut the tenon so that it is running in tune to all the work done before putting it in the chuck. Wood moves by drying and relief from tension and if you have not recut the tenon after all that wood removal it will wobble and even doing that you may see a few thousands wobble. I have only been harsh about one chuck and that was the re-release of the Nova Titan. The original had a three screw slide and took the 5" powergrip jaws (but still took every jaw set available). The new Titan only has 2 screw slides and comes with 4" power grip jaws which makes no sense to me as this bigger chuck uses jaws made for the Super Nova II and work well with the SN II.
Contributor
+1 to what Leo said about the Oneway chucks. I like to have 4 chucks for each of my lathes. I like to have #2 jaws on two chucks, #3 jaws and the spigot jaws on the rest I use Oneway Talons on my 16" and smaller lathes. I save my Oneway Strongholds for my Oneway 2436. I also have the jumbo jaws and mimi jumbo jaws mounted on chucks. Your chucks are not where you want to go cheap. Quality shows. YMMV.
Joe
[OP]
Contributor
After reading the above comments I cancelled the vicmarc order and decided to give it a little more thought on which way to go.
The axminster and oneway both look like good options. Also I found that you can get the vicmarc in a direct thread version just like the axminster. Ugh. Too many choices. Lol.
Contributor
I'll add my 2 cents worth to what Leo and Joe said..... I have the Oneway Talon chuck with various jaws including the Jumbo set and have never had a problem with them...
Member
Since the run out is on the chuck (not just the blank).... a long shot... do you have one of the plastic washers installed to help remove the chuck from the spindle? They can get deformed.
Leo is correct that they were lots of problems with some Nova chucks. Nova's quality went up about the same time Woodcraft stop selling their own insert which was too short. Amazing.
"I became insane, with long intervals of horrible sanity." - Edgar Allan Poe
[OP]
Contributor
No plastic washer installed
on another note I decided to go ahead and reorder a vicmarc 120 but I ordered a direct thread model in 1.25 X 8 so no adapter involved. Taking a gamble that I won't change spindle sizes but most of the lathes I might consider upgrading to one day have the 1.25 X 8 spindle too. I only ordered the basic chuck setup though so it will only come with one jaw set. Once I confirm this one runs well I'll consider additional jaws then.
Member
Yes the problem shows up when remounting the part or when turning it end for end. I turned a small bowl and the rim on one side was about .25" thick and about .21" thick on the opposite side of the bowl. I thought it was something I did wrong until I came across this board. Also the chuck body has only .001-.002 of run out so the run out is being caused by so-so machining in the slide jaws or the grooves in the chuck body they ride in. Now that I know about the run out I can work around it... I think..
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