Bonham/Carbatec Scroll cuck

[smidsy]

Hei Guys,
I have the Carbatec scroll chuck which is a copy of the Bonham 100.
I would like to be able to take it apart and give it a good clean but I am not overly game without a diagram.

Does anyone here know where I could find a diagram online, or alternatively does anyone had a copy that they could scan and e-mail to me.
Cheers
Smidsy

[colbra]

Hi Smidsy
If I am pulling something apart I use a digital camera, I take pictures as I am stripping down from a few different angles. It’s also useful if you require replacement parts using the photos to reorder whatever is required. If you have camera I hope this input is of some help to you
Regards Colbra

[gatiep]

When next at the woodturning club as Reg to show you. They are a piece of cake to do.

[adrian]

I'm interested in why you want to take it apart. I have the same chuck and find that it tends to spit the dummy when I get a catch on the larger pieces. Does your chuck have the same problem?
When mine was delivered one of the screws holding a jaw was missing and neither of the steel rods, that are used to tighten the chuck, fitted in the holes. I had to grind them down slightly. I can understand why carbatec was selling them for $20 with a lathe. I'm only new to the game but the chuck seems to be typical of many chinese clones and is only suited to light work. Or maybe mine was just a "friday afternoon special."
As a beginner I am tending to use green timber because it costs nothing and is easy to turn but it does have more give because of it high moisture content and is more likely to come loose from the chuck. I can see myself shopping for a good chuck in the very near future.

[smidsy]

Hei Adrian,
The main reason I wanted to take the chuck apart was to try and fine tune it.

The main issues I had were an inability to get the work in the dead centre when putting work back in the chuck or when changing work from the screw to the jaws, and when using the screw I sometimes had to wind in the screw with vice grips and then fit the chuck because the chuck wouldn't grip the screw tight enough to wind in to the timber.

One thing I noticed last night was that the screws holding the jaws on were loose (a couple of the screws up to a full turn loose) which may have been the hassle because I just finished a 180mm Jarrah bowl, I had the MC900 running at full speed for polishing and the chuck gripped the bowl fine.

Other than what I've mentioned I have had no hassles, it seems a good chuck for the money - I wouldn't buy one retail because I don't the quality is there when you consider that it's only $50 cheaper than a bonham.

From what you're saying I would say you got a Friday night special because apart from a few glitches and appreciating that it is a chinese copy, mine has worked fine.
Cheers
Paul
(AKA Smidsy)

[Baz]

Guy's do yourself a favour and buy a decent chuck, Vicmarc or Nova.
Cheers
Barry

[adrian]

Paul.
All the screws were loose on mine as well (apart from the missing one which was so loose I couldn't find it!). I checked today and one is very loose again so I am going to have to make it part of my routine to check it. Maybe it was made early sunday morning.
I shouldn't be surprised though because many people will tell you that it's not the first time I've had a screw loose.
Barry.
The thought of upgrading has crossed my mind. Maybe I'll put it on my list with the jointer, thicknesser, bandsaw, chainsaw and bigger garage.

[smidsy]

Baz,
You need to remember that not all of us have unlimited funds - some of us have to do our hobby on a weird thing called a budget.

The Carbatec chuck is by no means a Vicmarc or a Bonham, but at $20 (with the MC900) it is good value and a good beginners chuck - apart from some minor niggles mine works fine (I just used it on a 200mm x 200mm x 100mm block of Jarrah) and I think that Adrian was unlucky enough to score a Friday night special.
Even when I upgrade to a Vicmarc I will still hang on to the Carbatec chuck for small jobs.
Cheers
Smidsy

[Red neck]

The Chinese economy scroll chuck from Carbatec retails at $145 plus insert $22 (total $167). This seems a little expensive compared to the Nova chuck with insert for $159 from Gary Pye Woodworking. http://store.yahoo.com/gpwoodturning/chucks.html

My first chuck was a Nova and I found it cumbersome trying to juggle a pair of tommy bars and the work piece, so I bough a Super Nova and a Vicmarc VM100. I think I paid around $230 each for them. Both these chucks are easy to use. I probably prefer the ‘T’ bar on the Vicmarc to the system supplied with the Super Nova. This is a bit hit and miss as the pivot head pinion on the ‘T’ bar doesn’t always engage with the crown wheel inside the chuck, but I see that they have now released the Super Nova 2 which is very similar to the Vicmarc and would correct the problem.

Last year I upgraded my lathe to one with a spindle lock. I can now use the Nova with just one tommy bar and find it so convenient that I prefer it to the Super Nova. So much so that the last chuck I purchased was another Nova. At $159 with insert and glasser screw you can’t go wrong.

Yeah, I know, I’m a ‘chuck junkie’ but I have about ten sets of jaws and get a bit ‘pinged off’ changing the damn things every five minutes.

[Baz]

Smidsy, I wish I did have unlimited funds, I started out using a face plate and removing the screw holes with jam chucks. When I had saved enough I bought a Nova chuck,what a difference. One thing might help, before you remove your timber from the chuck make a mark on it that lines up with No 1 jaw (or any jaw) when remounting realign with the jaw.
Cheers
Barry

[smidsy]

Hei Red (or is that Mr Neck lol)

I agree with you that the Carbatec chuck is not a good buy if bought stand alone - the current catalogue shows it for $145 + $22.40 for the insert and given that the Bonham 100 is only $199 including the insert you would be mad to get the Carbatec.
But Carbatec are doing the chuck for $20 with the MC900 which is less than the cost of the insert (and no doubt people would be swayed to the MC900 from Carbatec as opposed to Timbecon and others because of the chuck),

If Carbatec could retail the chuck for around the $100 mark it would be good value.
As I have posted, I've had a few niggles but the chuck generally performs pretty well - obviously not up to the standard of a Bonham or a Vicmarc, but more than adequate for newbies.

I spent 7 years in radio control planes and there was a range of Taiwanese & Chinese gear coming on the market when I was in the game - some of this gear was actually marketed as being copies of the name brand stuff.
When I was flying I used both the name brand and the chinese gear, and generally it performed well - what we found was that the name brand might last 5 years but the chinese gear only lasted 2 or 3 years.

Lets face it, it may not be a Vicmarc or a Bonham but it has to perform at least reasonably well or it simply wouldn't sell.

Cheers
Smidsy

[Red neck]

Smidsy,

Mr Neck … now that’s formal. Usually I get @#$%&## or something less polite!

I don’t know too much about the Bonham chuck but I would imagine it is very similar in design to the Nova as I understand the jaws are interchangeable between the two. If that is the case you could follow this URL to the Teknatool site. They have their manuals in PDF format and it may give a clue to the strip-down of the ‘Chinese Bonham’. If not it makes exemplifies the support that Teknatool provide for their customers.

http://www.teknatool.com/products/Chucks/Nova/downloads/Nova%20Chuck%20Manual.pdf


Regards

[smidsy]

Hei Red,
Thanks heaps for the link, even if the chuck isn't exactly the same that file will give me enough of an idea to be able to pull it apart confidently.
Cheers
Smidsy