Hurricane HTC Chuck review

[Mike Cruz]

Olaf, that is pretty much my point/thoughts in a nutshell...

Dennis, I wasn't trying to "convince" you, but I hope you are as happy with yours as I am with mine.

[David C. Roseman]

I just spoke with owner Steve at The Instrument Store, LLC ("The Woodworking Store") about the set screw issue. Thoughtful guy. He has seen this thread and plans to post on it when he has a chance, so I'll just summarize my takeaways.

The hole that we see in the photo of the back side of the HTC 125 insert on his website is not threaded. It’s for a rod or lever to assist removing the chuck from the spindle, instead of using the chuck key for leverage.

There are four sizes of inserts available for the HTC 125, but at present only the 33mm x 3.5 insert is machined for set screws. This is intentional, although he is still evaluating whether to add the feature to the other sizes. The set screw location in the 33mm x 3.5 exactly matches the groove, or race, in the spindle of the Oneway lathes, so when tightened it has a shoulder to bear against should the screw slip while turning in reverse. It also avoids the risk of galling the smooth surface of the spindle, even if there is no slippage.

For the other sizes of insert, he knows that some lathes have no groove in the spindle at all, and with those that do, the location of the groove may vary. He has some concern about the risk of the set screw not being in the right place, hence being less secure in reverse, or simply galling the shaft from normal tightening. So up to now he’s intentionally left that feature off all but the 33mm x 3.5. But several of his customers have asked about it, and it’s come up before elsewhere on the web. One idea he’s considering for folks that want the feature is offering to have them measure and mark on their insert where they’d like set screws. Then they could send it back to him in New York and he’d do the drilling and tapping, if they did not want to do it themselves.

I know from my own experience what Steve’s talking about. The set screws on our Oneway inserts don’t center exactly on the groove in our Grizzly G0733’s spindle. I could easily align them by adding a very thin spacing washer between the insert and the shoulder of the spindle, and may do that. But the area where the set screws bear is not critical, so IMO a couple of gall marks aren’t a problem as a trade off for safety when spinning in reverse.

David

[Dennis Nagle]

You might want to check this out before you sell all your stuff. I have an Oliver lathe with a 1-7/8" 6TPI spindle and these guys have an adapter to fit. Scroll down to the bottom of the page.

http://bestwoodtools.stores.yahoo.net/precspinad.html

I read the thread about Hurricane chucks a couple of months ago with great interest because I'm a new turner with a limited budget already overtaxed by the necessary accessories. A good chuck at half the price of name brand is what I needed to make turning more convenient and fun and as a beginner I had no experience to judge chucks.

The fact that Steve responded knowledgably and appropriately prompted me to take a chance and buy one of the Hurricane 100 chucks via Amazon. I haven't posted about this chuck before because it's the only chuck I've ever used so what do I know? I'd hate to steer someone wrong.

Initially I had a problem with too much run out and I called Steve on the phone and he sent me a new adapter. At first I didn't think the new adapter really solved the problem (but how would I know how much runout is okay anyway?) but then I realized that the adapter could be rotated and installed in one of three positions. I got out the dial indicator and tried all three positions with both adapters and found one with incredibly good readings.

The chucks works well for me. I've had some problems with poorly formed tenons or recesses and forgetting to re-tighten while turning green wood but those are beginner problems that would happen with any chuck.

I've accumulated two more sets of jaws and a set of Cole jaws and my total cost is still well short of $300. (Shipping was free on all chuck and jaw orders) I do hope there are more sizes of jaws in the works.

My friend (we bought bought Rikon Mini lathes when WC had a Black Friday sale) bought a Oneway Talon chuck. He said the Hurricane is more substantial and looks like a much better deal (but we're both beginners). He likes the chrome plating on the Hurricane and the fact that the back is enclosed and he likes the integrated indexing holes on the rim of the back.

I just bought an old Oliver lathe and was considering trading most of my Hurricane stuff to my friend in exchange for the Talon because I can get an adapter for the Talon which would fit the unusual spindle size on the Oliver. Now I'm not sure what I'll do because I wrote Steve and he said the factory is in the process of making 1-1/8", 8tpi inserts so the Hurricane chucks will be able to fit directly on the smaller Oliver and Yates lathes. The only problem for me is that it will probably take 8 weeks for the adapters to get to the stockroom shelf.

[Dennis Nagle]

No worries Mike. I've been looking hard at all the chucks out there and this one wasn't even on my radar. I've read all the reviews and watched all the vids. It looks good to me.

[Steve Fulgoni]

Hi Guys, Thanks for all of your comments on the chuck. I will try and answer some of the comments here but if I miss anything please let me know and email/call me. First, the grub screws .... Ideally grub screws should not bite down on the spindle shaft but should bite down in a milled recess on the spindle. This is so that if the set screw dimples the spindle, it does so inside the slot. But more importantly, if the grub screw screws down into the slot, it will still positively hold should the screw back off a bit. If the grub screw is tightened simply onto the spindle shaft and loosens even 1/16 of a turn you will lose all of your holding power. So if you use grubs screws, you should have a mating slot in your lathe spindle for maximum safety. Now, with that said, since the adapter bottoms onto the spindle shoulder, we really don't know where the slot is on each lathe, if there is a slot at all. The best way is to screw the adapter onto your lathe, mark a point for a set screw which will align with the slot in your spindle and drill and tap the hole yourself. If you don't have a slot and are comfortable using set screws directly on your spindle shaft then it doesn't matter where the holes are. I just didn't want to put holes in the wrong place so I did not spec holes in the adapter (except M33, more on that later). However, I have had many inquiries on grub screws by customers and I am open to any input and suggestions about locations on various lathes, etc. I did put 2 grub screw holes on the M33 version of the adapter because to my knowledge only Oneway offers that spindle (although I see Robust is now too). These should line up properly on Oneways but I would like feedback to see if all Oneway's have the slot located identically relative to the start of the threads. Last is a comment on turning in reverse. I think it is a very unsafe idea to "turn" in reverse (too much force wanting to remove your chuck). I have friends who claim it is better sometimes for access, etc, but the risks are too great, even with a grub screw. Please never "turn" in reverse with cole jaws!! Now, if you want to "sand" in reverse, that requires a lot less force and I do that sometimes, very carefully. Thanks again for your comments and I will reply to some of the other questions in a separate response

[Steve Fulgoni]

Hi again guys, after I posted my comments I just saw that David Roseman posted what we discussed on the phone and got my thoughts right exactly ... thanks David!

[Michael Kellough]

"You might want to check this out before you sell all your stuff. I have an Oliver lathe with a 1-7/8" 6TPI spindle and these guys have an adapter to fit. Scroll down to the bottom of the page."

http://bestwoodtools.stores.yahoo.net/precspinad.html

Thanks for the tip Dennis! An adapter like that would solve my problem and moving the chuck out some might be good since the headstock on my Oliver 51-D is quite deep front to back.

[Michael Kellough]

I think having tapped holes in the hub would be nice but the chance of a grub screw seating in the right spot on any given spindle is pretty slim.

It's very important for the chuck to be screwed tight against the shoulder of the spindle and if the grub screw is the slightest bit off in the wrong direction it will back the chuck away from the shoulder. In that case thin precision shim washers could be used to back the chuck out to the point where the grub screw wants to seat.

It might be better to supply the chucks with un-threaded holes sized to match the pilot hole of the specified tap and let the buyer do the rest.

The "rest" would be tightening the chuck onto the spindle then running the matching drill bit through the pilot hole into the spindle. Then remove the chuck. There should be little or no galling since the chuck adapter either prevented outward displacement of swarf or there is enough clearance for whatever swarf was displaced.

Use a countersink bit to chamfer the shoulders of the hole in the spindle.

Screw the chuck back on and slowly and carefully thread the hole in the adapter with a tapered tap.

Blow the debris out with air and or WD-40 or the like. (Rotate the hole in the spindle/chuck down below 9 o'clock so the stuff goes down rather than in your face)

Follow with a plug tap and then repeat above and finish with a bottoming tap right into the spindle.
An eight to 3/16" should be just right and I can't think of a more precise way to locate the hole in the spindle.

[Mike Cruz]

Michael, I don't think anyone is suggesting that there should be a grub HOLE on your spindle. Rather a GROOVE in the spindle. That way the set/grub screw would seat inside that groove. Having a single hole would mean that it is aligned for THAT adapter and that adapter only. If you put another adaptor on the spindle it will not line up with the hole you made.

One more thing... while you might be willing to drill out a hole in your spindle (which I mentioned above isn't the right thing to do), and then tap the adaptor, I don't think the general public is willing to do that sort of thing. So, I don't think that is a business decision for Steve.

But it is good that you are thinking about this... Does your lathe have a "groove" in the spindle, Michael? If not, you could drill a hole in the adapter, thread it onto your spindle, mark the center of the hole in your adapter, remove the adapter, then cut a groove in your spindle....

[Michael Kellough]

Michael, I don't think anyone is suggesting that there should be a grub HOLE on your spindle. Rather a GROOVE in the spindle. That way the set/grub screw would seat inside that groove. Having a single hole would mean that it is aligned for THAT adapter and that adapter only. If you put another adaptor on the spindle it will not line up with the hole you made.

One more thing... while you might be willing to drill out a hole in your spindle (which I mentioned above isn't the right thing to do), and then tap the adaptor, I don't think the general public is willing to do that sort of thing. So, I don't think that is a business decision for Steve.

But it is good that you are thinking about this... Does your lathe have a "groove" in the spindle, Michael? If not, you could drill a hole in the adapter, thread it onto your spindle, mark the center of the hole in your adapter, remove the adapter, then cut a groove in your spindle....

My lathe doesn't have a groove but turning in reverse is too advanced for my skills anyway.

But, it seems like a groove in the spindle would be just about as specific to an adapter as a hole...still hit or miss with a different adapter.

[Mike Cruz]

Apparently the lathe manufacture that Steve listed (Oneway?) has a groove. The point is that the groove is a consistent distance from the shoulder. All the adapters would have a hole at that same distance from the end of the adapter. But WHERE the hole is drilled in relation to the beginning of the threads would be inconsequential. If you had only a hole in the spindle (as opposed to a groove), the hole in the adapter would need to be exact to the beginning of the threads as well. And from one manufacturer to another, that might be quite difficult. For example, some manufacturers might thread 1" of an adapter, while others might thread 1 1/16 or 1 1/8 or 1 1/4".

And as Steve mentioned above, turning in reverse really isn't a good idea... Sanding in reverse is, on the other hand, standard practice for a lot of turners because many feel they can get a better finish that way.

[Michael Kellough]

Mike, I've never seen a groove in a lathe spindle so maybe I'm thinking about it all wrong. I figured the groove would be parallel to the spindle like a keyway. I realize now that if it went around the circumference of the spindle it would fit your description.

Such a groove would keep the chuck from un-threading (it also keeps galling below the surface) but it could allow the chuck to move enough that a long blank to wobble quite a bit.

A hole drilled into the spindle like I described would keep the adapter tight against the shoulder even in the case of a catch. That adapter would be dedicated to reverse turning but it could still be used for CW turning.

[Jeffrey J Smith]

Just for the record, I measured the groove in my Robust AB and compared to the grub screw hole in the Oneway adapter for the Stronghold, OneWay and Talon chucks and they all center up on the groove.
Even though the Robust spindle is really well hardened, I've been using brass tipped set screws on all my chucks since galling the spindle on my older Jet 1642 with nicely hardened set screws a while back.
I do turn in reverse on occasion, and often hollow in reverse so the set screws see a lot of action.

[Mike Cruz]

Okay, if you feel that is the best way to do it... It seems Oneway, one of the best lathes you can get uses a groove. Just sayin'.

[Michael Stafford]

Maybe you already answered this question and I missed it.

Do jaws from any of the big name chuck manufacturers fit on these chucks? You know, like from Oneway, Vicmarc, Nova etc.

The price certainly is tempting and I would jump all over it if the jaws from any of the chucks I own would fit on this chuck. I just don't want to invest in another chuck and have to buy more sets of jaws.