Page 3 of 5 FirstFirst 12345 LastLast
Results 31 to 45 of 63

Thread: Screw chuck recommendation

  1. #31
    Join Date
    Aug 2007
    Location
    Hampton Roads, Virginia
    Posts
    894
    Thanks John, I am wondering what is the diameter of the part of the screw that is secured in the chuck.
    Surprisingly I got a pretty quick response from Vicmarc indicating that they will change their design.

    "Hi Richard,

    Thank you for your email, I really appreciate it as if no one gives us constructive criticism we can not improve. I believe that drilling larger like you did is a must in that situation however it certainly can be changed to make this better. I think as we use the same tool for these screws and being that the diameter is smaller on this screw, that is why this is flat on top.

    I have now changed the drawing to make this part more like our other screws (like your modified one) and this should rectify this for the future, thanks again!

    Many thanks
    "

    RD

  2. #32
    Join Date
    Apr 2010
    Location
    Adelaide Hills, Australia
    Posts
    383
    Quote Originally Posted by Richard Dooling View Post
    Thanks John, I am wondering what is the diameter of the part of the screw that is secured in the chuck.
    Surprisingly I got a pretty quick response from Vicmarc indicating that they will change their design.

    "Hi Richard,

    Thank you for your email, I really appreciate it as if no one gives us constructive criticism we can not improve. I believe that drilling larger like you did is a must in that situation however it certainly can be changed to make this better. I think as we use the same tool for these screws and being that the diameter is smaller on this screw, that is why this is flat on top.

    I have now changed the drawing to make this part more like our other screws (like your modified one) and this should rectify this for the future, thanks again!

    Many thanks
    "

    Richard

    That explains a lot.

    And, it also highlights the advantage of equipment/tool manufactures who are also woodturners. You would never expect to get a Thompson, D-Way, earlier Glaser, Woodcut, Kelton or Munro tool (to name a few) dispatched that was so obviously unfit for its purpose.

    Vicmarc have an established reputation for delivering quality lathes and scroll chucks, which is where they make most of their income. It's a shame they are not doing the hard yards on product development/QA on some of their minor sideline offerings.

    They have had a few hiccups in recent times. For example, there were issues with their bowl gouge offerings, which were then dropped. An experienced woodturners on retainer would avoid such problems.

    I was also quite critical of their gouge jig design, which is a shame as their new Vicmarc CBN Sharpening Station has a lot going for it otherwise.
    Neil

    About the same distance from most of you heading East or West.

    It's easy to see the Dunning-Kruger Effect in others, but a bit of a conundrum when it comes to yourself...



  3. #33
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    E TN, near Knoxville
    Posts
    12,298
    The screw appears to be machined from 3/8" stock. (I can't measure the part secured in the chuck without removing it but holding the points of the calipers close 3/8 looks believable, and Hitec says it's 3/8".) The max thread diameter is just under 3/8". The central cylinder of the screw measures at about .24", good clearance for a .25 hole.

    JKJ

    Quote Originally Posted by Richard Dooling View Post
    Thanks John, I am wondering what is the diameter of the part of the screw that is secured in the chuck.
    ...

  4. #34
    Join Date
    Apr 2010
    Location
    Adelaide Hills, Australia
    Posts
    383
    Quote Originally Posted by John K Jordan View Post

    This is a picture of the HiTec (cell phone pic, not very good) - you might be able to see the flat bottom and the tapered top on some of the threads on the lower side of the screw in the photo:

    Attachment 481141

    JKJ
    ~

    Got around to taking some photos of the screws that came with my Vicmarc and Nova chucks.


    VM buttress thread screw .jpg
    Buttress thread
    on the VMs


    Nova screw thread.jpg
    Nova thread

    VM screw size.jpg
    Measurement of OD
    on VM screws

    The thread on the Nova is quite fine and looks very similar to the thread on the HiTec. I mostly use the Nova screw in both the VM and Nova chucks, preferring the flat shoulders on the Novas that engage with the slides.

    And here is my baby MT2
    screw chuck for doing small stuff, sitting (for scale) in my 1-1/4" roughing gouge... nothing special about the screw, whatever will fit in it...
    Last edited by Neil Strong; 06-22-2022 at 9:26 AM.
    Neil

    About the same distance from most of you heading East or West.

    It's easy to see the Dunning-Kruger Effect in others, but a bit of a conundrum when it comes to yourself...



  5. #35
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    E TN, near Knoxville
    Posts
    12,298
    Quote Originally Posted by Neil Strong View Post
    ...

    Nova screw thread.jpg
    Nova thread

    The thread on the Nova is quite fine and looks very similar to the thread on the HiTec. I mostly use the Nova screw in both the VM and Nova chucks, preferring the flat shoulders on the Novas that engage with the slides.
    ...
    Either you got lucky with the Nova screw or something has been improved. I have a dozen or so, most look like this:

    chuck_screws_Hitec_Nova.jpg

    The surface looks cast rather than machined, for example look at the second from the bottom. The screws are flat on the outer diameter, not sharp, not easy to attach the wood. After using some a bit I got the Glaser and never used the Novas again.

    JKJ

  6. #36
    Join Date
    Aug 2007
    Location
    Hampton Roads, Virginia
    Posts
    894
    Quote Originally Posted by Neil Strong View Post
    ~

    Got around to taking some photos of the screws that came with my Vicmarc and Nova chucks.

    The thread on the Nova is quite fine and looks very similar to the thread on the HiTec. I mostly use the Nova screw in both the VM and Nova chucks, preferring the flat shoulders on the Novas that engage with the slides.

    And here is my baby MT2
    screw chuck for doing small stuff, sitting (for scale) in my 1-1/4" roughing gouge... nothing special about the screw, whatever will fit in it...


    Thanks Neil the thread on the Vicmarc looks nothing like their 3 in 1 screw. Makes you wonder why.
    RD

  7. #37
    Join Date
    Aug 2007
    Location
    Hampton Roads, Virginia
    Posts
    894
    Quote Originally Posted by John K Jordan View Post
    Either you got lucky with the Nova screw or something has been improved. I have a dozen or so, most look like this:

    chuck_screws_Hitec_Nova.jpg

    The surface looks cast rather than machined, for example look at the second from the bottom. The screws are flat on the outer diameter, not sharp, not easy to attach the wood. After using some a bit I got the Glaser and never used the Novas again.

    JKJ
    There's a level of inconsistency for sure but Neils Nova screw looks more refined than any I've seen.

    Thank you for the Glaser Hitec measurements!

    The guy at Vicmarc has written me again to say they have made adjustments to their CNC machine. I'm curious what they end up with. It does beg the question though, why did they ever release the current version?
    RD

  8. #38
    I have a few Nova screws and like Neil, I prefer them for their square shoulders. I don't need to crank down on the chuck just to drive the screw.
    Not making excuses at all for them but Nova,(I still refer to them as Teknatool) moved some manufacturing from NZ to PRC a while back.
    Now I know the Chinese are perfectly capable of producing any level of quality the parent company requires but the QC seems to be a bit lax these days.
    The bottom one has never been used but no two are identical
    IMG_1884 (600 x 400).jpg

  9. #39
    Join Date
    Apr 2010
    Location
    Adelaide Hills, Australia
    Posts
    383
    Quote Originally Posted by John K Jordan View Post
    Either you got lucky with the Nova screw or something has been improved. I have a dozen or so, most look like this:

    chuck_screws_Hitec_Nova.jpg

    The surface looks cast rather than machined, for example look at the second from the bottom. The screws are flat on the outer diameter, not sharp, not easy to attach the wood. After using some a bit I got the Glaser and never used the Novas again.

    JKJ
    Agreed, John. Yours appear to be cast with no machined finish.

    Some of mine are quite old, most over 20yrs, so may predate the move to manufacture in PRC, which Edward suggests may explain the change. You get what you pay for with PRC manufacture and Teknatool may have decided that the average user of their chucks would notice the price more than the machined finish.
    Neil

    About the same distance from most of you heading East or West.

    It's easy to see the Dunning-Kruger Effect in others, but a bit of a conundrum when it comes to yourself...



  10. #40
    Join Date
    Apr 2010
    Location
    Adelaide Hills, Australia
    Posts
    383
    Quote Originally Posted by Richard Dooling View Post


    ... the Vicmarc looks nothing like their 3 in 1 screw. Makes you wonder why.
    Yes, if it ain't broke, etc., etc.
    Neil

    About the same distance from most of you heading East or West.

    It's easy to see the Dunning-Kruger Effect in others, but a bit of a conundrum when it comes to yourself...



  11. #41
    Join Date
    Apr 2010
    Location
    Adelaide Hills, Australia
    Posts
    383
    Quote Originally Posted by Richard Dooling View Post

    The guy at Vicmarc has written me again to say they have made adjustments to their CNC machine. I'm curious what they end up with.
    I'm also curious to see what what they send you and look forward to hearing your assessment, Richard.
    Neil

    About the same distance from most of you heading East or West.

    It's easy to see the Dunning-Kruger Effect in others, but a bit of a conundrum when it comes to yourself...



  12. #42
    Join Date
    Apr 2010
    Location
    Adelaide Hills, Australia
    Posts
    383
    Quote Originally Posted by Edward Weber View Post
    I have a few Nova screws and like Neil, I prefer them for their square shoulders. I don't need to crank down on the chuck just to drive the screw.
    Not making excuses at all for them but Nova,(I still refer to them as Teknatool) moved some manufacturing from NZ to PRC a while back.
    Now I know the Chinese are perfectly capable of producing any level of quality the parent company requires but the QC seems to be a bit lax these days.
    Agree with you there, Edward.
    Neil

    About the same distance from most of you heading East or West.

    It's easy to see the Dunning-Kruger Effect in others, but a bit of a conundrum when it comes to yourself...



  13. #43
    Quote Originally Posted by Neil Strong View Post
    You get what you pay for with PRC manufacture and Teknatool may have decided that the average user of their chucks would notice the price more than the machined finish.
    The machining quality/tolerances with Teknatool was never top tier IMO. Then let the QC slip and you get what you get.
    I have some Nova chucks and I like them but I'm under no illusions about their quality.
    If I had to do it all over again, I would probably buy all VicMarc and not look back.

  14. #44
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    E TN, near Knoxville
    Posts
    12,298
    Quote Originally Posted by Edward Weber View Post
    The machining quality/tolerances with Teknatool was never top tier IMO. Then let the QC slip and you get what you get.
    I have some Nova chucks and I like them but I'm under no illusions about their quality.
    If I had to do it all over again, I would probably buy all VicMarc and not look back.
    Opinions vary. I have 20 Teknatool chucks in four "flavors", some bought used, and I'm extremely happy with their quality. I've measured runout, etc. And yes, I've used Vicmark, Oneway, and other chucks.

    After initial satisfaction, I stuck with Nova partly because all the jaws are all interchangeable, except for the 12 screw jaws on the big Nova Titan chuck.

    I haven't bought any new in the last three years so if the quality has gone down I don't know about it.

    JKJ

  15. #45
    Join Date
    Apr 2010
    Location
    Adelaide Hills, Australia
    Posts
    383
    Quote Originally Posted by edward weber View Post
    the machining quality/tolerances with teknatool was never top tier imo. Then let the qc slip and you get what you get. I have some nova chucks and i like them but i'm under no illusions about their quality.
    If i had to do it all over again, i would probably buy all vicmarc and not look back.
    Quote Originally Posted by john k jordan View Post
    opinions vary. I have 20 teknatool chucks in four "flavors", some bought used, and i'm extremely happy with their quality. I've measured runout, etc. And yes, i've used vicmark, oneway, and other chucks.

    After initial satisfaction, i stuck with nova partly because all the jaws are all interchangeable, except for the 12 screw jaws on the big nova titan chuck.

    I haven't bought any new in the last three years so if the quality has gone down i don't know about it. Jkj
    I have a half dozen of each, plus a few strays, and in most 'flavours'. Can't say that one make is better than the other... both have their pros and cons, but none have failed in any way and some have done a lot of work.

    None are recent. I went with the VMs for their jaw range, particularly their larger sized jaws, which Nova didn't have and not out of any dissatisfaction with my Nova chucks.

    My turning predates the 4-jaw scroll chuck for woodturners, so I know firsthand just how invaluable an innovation they were and appreciate any of them every time I use one on the lathe... I expect far more than most 'more recent' woodturners can imagine!
    Neil

    About the same distance from most of you heading East or West.

    It's easy to see the Dunning-Kruger Effect in others, but a bit of a conundrum when it comes to yourself...



Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •