Thread: First chuck

I'm not a fan of Nova's chuck jaw designs, or the spindle insert system due to its design & imo not having large enough registration surfaces between the spindle / insert / chuck body. Many turners have experienced issues due to basically poor maintenance as a bit of crud in the wrong place can cause misalignment of the insert. Timbercon's website does not show images of the insert design for the Torquata 100mm scroll chuck. If its similar to the Vicmarc design, with far superior registration surfaces, its probably OK.

I would be inclined to spend the extra $20 (over the Torquata) - check out Vicmarc VM100 Chuck Special.

Small details can make a huge difference in the long haul and are worth the extra $$$, things like choice of steel - "bright steel" vs the more rust resistant steel alloys other manufacturers use.

I don't know whether Teknatool has revised this or not, but the older Nova chucks are unintuitively tightened/loosened in the opposite direction to most other brands or, come to that, most other "rotate to tighten" objects. (RH threads, household taps, etc.)

All of my chucks are Teknatools (SN2's and a few midis) and even now there are occasions where I'll accidentally loosen the chuck, with an embarassing drop of the blank onto the lathe bed, when all I 'm doing is checking that the jaws are still tight.

It's not a big deal, really. But you do want to at least check the chucks before you buy so that you know what you're in for.

Originally Posted by Mobyturns

I would be inclined to spend the extra $20 (over the Torquata) - check out Vicmarc VM100 Chuck Special.

The vicmarc includes a thread insert so the price difference is only $4 which makes it even better

Rick

Well thanks to me looking at this thread, I've just purchased a couple of VM100 chucks with goodies.

The extras are a face plate ring, which for bauple58 are really handy for attaching blocks of timber safely using your chuck. I use these mainly for bowl turning, but there are a myriad of uses for face plate rings, with the handiest feature being, that you can take off the chuck and place back onto the chuck something attached to a face plate ring without normally having any imbalance problems occurring.

Go to the link and scroll down to see the very short video on face plate rings.

https://vicmarc.com/index.php?option...=17&Itemid=449

There is more, the chuck special also has a set of 8 replacement screws to replace those that get damaged; usually by rounding the Allen keyed top of the bolt.

Assuming those bolts are of the same standard of the OEM Vicmarc jaw bolts, then the special starts to get better.

You get a chuck with standard jaws, an insert to suit your lathe spindle thread, a face plate ring and a spare set of 8 chuck jaw bolts.

To answer the question put by bauple58, think of chucks as similar to 35mm film camera systems. Once you have bought a camera, in general, only that manufacturers lenses fit and some manufacturers have a huge range of lenses, others not so many, or maybe almost none.

Vicmarc and Nova chucks are world brands and really are in the top 4 or 5 chuck manufacturers. Both have extensive different jaw accessories, both are good. I myself use Nova chucks at my Men's Shed, they are alright, but I cannot wait to get back to my own lathe and my Vicmarc chucks. To me, they are so much easier to use.

As for Torquata, it may be a very well manufactured product and probably is, but unless I know it's provenance, I wouldn't suggest it for someone starting out if the price difference between a world renowned product and a local re-badged unknown source unit is only a nominal cost difference.

My Vicmarc VM100 chuck is designed to work up to 3,000rpm, as it is stamped on the back stating that. Most others of a similar size I have seen don't have any rpm rating stamped on them, but when I have asked they have been; in two instances 2,000rpm and one instance 1,500rpm.

Some food for thought.

Mick.

Vicmarc or Nova?

I have about a half dozen of each.

I've never had any trouble with any of them.

Each make has its strengths and weakness, and IMO there isn't much between them. Both are good chucks.

I'm happy with both and would buy more of both. My chuck purchasing decisions are usually based on jaw requirements.

I engrave which direction to open next to each key port to avoid any momentary confusion... }



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When I needed a chuck for my 20 inch swing Woodfast, I asked a professional 40 hour a week bowl turner about chucks. At a wood show he had a Vicmarc on his Stubby Lathe and a Oneway beside it. He thought the Vicmarc was the best chuck made with Oneway second.

I looked at both and bought a Oneway because it was considerably cheaper here in the US, I have not been disappointed. I expect the price advantage would be to Vicmarc in OZ.

Originally Posted by Paul39

When I needed a chuck for my 20 inch swing Woodfast, I asked a professional 40 hour a week bowl turner about chucks. At a wood show he had a Vicmarc on his Stubby Lathe and a Oneway beside it. He thought the Vicmarc was the best chuck made with Oneway second.

I looked at both and bought a Oneway because it was considerably cheaper here in the US, I have not been disappointed. I expect the price advantage would be to Vicmarc in OZ.

I'm a bit biased being a Queenslander, however I have seen many Vicmarc chucks in club situations that are over 20yo and still performing very well with very minimal maintenance (i.e. almost none!) and suffering all manner of mishaps.

I've never seen a Oneway chuck being sold by an Australian based vendor.

Hare and Forbes have the Record Power Scroll Chucks on sale at the moment, I have the no 3 and im very pleased with it. I believe it will accept the Nova jaws.

I have a pair of Teknatool Nova Infinty chucks with the 1 to 7 jaws for over 18 months and not a single issue to complain about. I am very happy with this chuck and the quick jaw change the Infinity allows. I’d buy them again.

I always go with Vicmarc chucks. Apart from the fact that they are Aus made they are beautifully constructed and solid. The only thing i don't like about Nova is the "reserves " way you expand and contact them. Just my 2 cents worth.

Peter