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smidsy
11th November 2004, 01:40 PM
Hei Guys,
Anyone here with a VM100 that could measure it for me - I need the length including the insert and the diameter.

Carbatec won't have any until next week but between now and then I need to rethink my tool box for turning gear, I looked on the Vicmarc website and I couldn't see any specs.
Thanks
Paul

gatiep
11th November 2004, 02:49 PM
There are some at your woodturning club.

Cya
:)

rsser
11th November 2004, 04:58 PM
70mm long exc. jaws; 88mm with standard jaws; 96mm diam.

smidsy
11th November 2004, 05:22 PM
Thanks Ern.
I know my turning club has them but I'm not back there till Tuesday and I'm thinking about a new tool box as a weekend project - at the moment I have my chisels in the case they came in (but I have three chisels that aren't part of the set) and I use a plastic bucket as a tool box.

I may be getting a Vicmarc tommorrow, a guy that I sold some R/C gear to on ebay had to get out of turning when he moved in to a unit - he said he's got a 3 month old VM100 NIB with a 30mm adapter and he'd let it go for about $150.

Thanks for doing that for me Ern.
Cheers
Paul

rsser
11th November 2004, 05:36 PM
Pleasure.

Mine's 3 years old though, and measurements may have changed.

BTW - allow a bit more length for the shark jaws that you'll end up buying sooner or later ;-}

Hooroo

chunter
11th November 2004, 11:11 PM
I'm with Ern - had mine about a year - hold everything the standard jaws hold, and more, plus they give you finger room down the back of bowls etc clear of the face of the chuck.

Interesting that two of the four demonstrators at Sydney Woodturn 2004 were using them and swore by them.

I use mine on a H&F WL18 - probably the strongest part of the whole setup.

cheers

Colin

smidsy
11th November 2004, 11:45 PM
I'll be using mine an MC900 which is the same as the WL18.
I'll just use the stock jaws for now and get other jaws as I see a need.

When I posted this morning I was waiting for Carbatec to get some stock, but I got an e-mail from a guy I sold some R/C gear to, I'd mentioned in chatting to him to that I'd got out of R/C and was now woodturning. He mailed me this morning saying he had an NIB VM100 that he'd bought 3 months ago and never touched - apparently his marriage went to crap, he bought the chuck thinking he'd still be turning but had to move in to a unit and give it away.
He said it's NIB, so it looks I shall score a bargain.

Cheers
Paul

TimberNut
12th November 2004, 08:47 AM
Backing up what colin said. I was at Turnfest 2004 and saw Richard Raffan using the Shark Jaws too. I bought a 120 about 3 months ago with all the jaws. Couldn't be happier.

Hadn't used the Shark Jaws much before Turnfest. Since then, have changed over to them and use them for EVERYTHING.
Don't delay getting them - beg, borrow or steal - they are a must have.

smidsy
12th November 2004, 09:30 PM
Hie Guys,
I got the Vicmarc today and it sure looks a nice piece of gear.
When I was working with the clone chuck I would cut a recess in the back of the bowl about 5mm deep - just enough to take the chuck jaws.
Woould you need to cut deeper with the chark jaws?

Also, how do you go for using a screw with the shark jaws on or do you need to change back to the stock jaws to use the screw?
Cheers
Paul

gatiep
12th November 2004, 10:33 PM
Shark jaws and the screw don't go together and is really designed for compression onto a spigot. There is no point in having long jaws sitting in a 6 to 10 mm recess.............anyway the timber grain in the shallow recess is the weak link not the jaws.


:)

smidsy
12th November 2004, 11:23 PM
Hei Joe,
So you're saying that the shark jaws are really for longer pieces like vases and the like that would benefit from the longer reach of those jaws, but for standard bowls you wouldn't use them?
Cheers
Paul

gatiep
13th November 2004, 01:22 AM
Paul.

They can be used but because of the limited depth that one would make the recess there is really no advantage over the standard jaws. Should you have a spigot on the blank, then the shark jaws really come into place. When turning a bowl with a recess for the chuck it is usually not the chuck that lets go but the wood that splinters off during a dig in. When I turn timber say 250 mm long, I turn a spigot of 50 mm on it between centers, put the chuck on, open the standard jaws so that the spigot is loose in the chuck. I then bring the tailstock up with the live center that I used when I did the spigot, force the spigot into the chuck and then tighten the chuck. In that way the piece is perfectly centered and the shoulder formed between spigot and work is tight up against the jaws. This ensures that the work will stay put, unless one doesn't tighten the chuck properly. It is an extra precaution against wood flying out. I use this method to turn my peppermills and that is how I teach my students to turn them. I use a 235 mm piece of wood to turn a 175 mm peppermill. If one has a longer piece of wood the shark jaws on the spigot will be very good. However dont be fooled by the shark jaws in thinking that they are the bees knees.......sloppy technique and poor workmanship, not tightening the chuck properly etc, will still land you in the dirt..........you'll only get away with more sloppiness than with standard jaws. The reason for the 50 mm x 10 mm spigot is that the Bonham, Nova, Vicmarc 100 and chinham standard jaws are the closest to a perfect circle at about 50 mm which will ensure that the spigot is clamped right around by the jaws. Close the chuck all the way and the jaws are out of round, open them up and again they are out of round. Opened up they only clamp at the ends of each jaw onto the spigot and only in their center when expanded into a recess. By using them close to the full circle you get maximum gripping from them. Bear in mind that they are adjustable to make it easy for us to use less than perfect technique, not for perfect grip! I only use standard jaws, 25 mm long jaws,the glazer screw, cole jaws ( very seldom though) and a Vicmarc vacuum chuck. My chucks are, 1 x Bonham 100 with std jaws, 1 Nova (black) with the 25 mm long jaws, 1 x Nova (black) with standard jaws ( sometimes these are replaced with the Nova cole jaws, 1 x Vicmarc VM-120 with standard jaws, also a Vicmarc VMVAC vacuum chuck and a 30 mm screwchuck.( I have a set of Nova shark jaws, new in box,been there for a few years but never had the situation where the above jaws etc couldn't cope). I also use the glazer screw, hotmelt glue and jam chucks often. Hope this helps. I feel that it is better for me to improve my technique rather than overkill on my chuck. By concentrating on that, it makes it possible to turn with hotmelt and also jam chucks with confidence. Although Richard Raffan uses shark jaw chucks he is also the inventor of step jaws for the Vicmarc chucks. Have a look at the pic of step jaws in the CT cattledog...........they have even less grip than standard dovetail jaws!
Thats my 1/2 c's worth, enjoy the weekend.

:)

chunter
16th November 2004, 08:54 PM
Paul

as Joe said, for bowls the shark jaws don't hold any better or worse than the standard jaws. What they do give is clearance between the chuck body and the base of the bowl, for sandpaper, fingers or tools. I don't normally use a recess any deeper than I did with the standard jaws.

What I have used them for is to make lidded boxes where the lid is domed or deeply recessed - I sometimes make a recess like the base of a bowl inside the lid, which makes it easy to hold the lid sucurely to finish off the top of the lid, as an alternative to making a jam chuck.

where you can use a spigot on spindle work, like a vase or a pepper mill, they work really well.

The demonstrator at WoodTurn from Brisbane - Theo, the drummer - was using them to hold inside bangles, napkin rings etc. He also talked about turning a spigot that was curved rather than parallel, like some allen keys are, and holding pieces slightly angled to the headstock centreline to do off-centre turnings. I am guessing it would be a similar effect to Bruce Leadbetter's eccentric cupchuck. I haven't tried it yet. has anyone else?

cheers

Colin

smidsy
17th November 2004, 12:32 AM
Hei Guys,
I used my VM100 for the first time tonight on a marri bowl about 200mm wide.
The ease of mounting the timber was an absolute pleasure, no more stuffing around with two tommy bars while trying to hold the work and it was rock solid for the entire session.
At this stage I am leaning toward getting the bowl jaws instead of the shark jaws (I have enough finances for one more toy) as it would be nice to be able to finish the bottom of the bowl and not have to hide it under adhesive felt.

There's a newbie at my turning club who was asking about the chucks, I keep my Vicmarc and the clone chuck (which now has small jaws and will be used for light work) together so I showed him the screws for the clone and for the Vicmarc - he was way impressed.
Cheers
Paul