Starter chuck set

[Fumbler]

Gents,

Can anyone advise if the HAFCO WSC-100 chuck linked here W370 | WSC-100 Scroll Chuck -100mm | For Sale Sydney Brisbane Melbourne Perth | Buy Workshop Equipment & Machinery online at machineryhouse.com.au (http://www.machineryhouse.com.au/W370)

and the jaw set linked here W375 | WSC-KIT Scroll Chuck Accessory Kit | For Sale Sydney Brisbane Melbourne Perth | Buy Workshop Equipment & Machinery online at machineryhouse.com.au (http://www.machineryhouse.com.au/W375) are any good for a novice/intermediate turner? I don't have a lot of cash to splash and although I have read good reports of the Gary Pye chuck, I like the extra jaws this comes with.

Any advice would be appreciated.As much as I'd love to splurge on the Nov range.

Thanks

[Paul39]

That looks to be a decent chuck, All up, you are in $308. Would you use all the jaws? I bought a set of big jaws and knobs for grabbing the open end of bowls for finishing the bottoms. I used it once and went back to a groove cut in a wooden face plate or jamming the inside of the bowl against a padded round of timber with the tail center, finishing the bottom except for a little nub, then finishing that by hand.

When I bought a big chuck for my 20 inch swing 30ish year old Woodfast, I knew I was only going to use it for big bowls. I bought a bare Oneway chuck, 1 1/4 X 8 insert and #3 jaws. Oneway here is regarded a close second to Vicmarc. https://oneway.ca/products-category/chucks/Stronghold-Chucks-Category https://oneway.ca/3-Profiled-Jaws-For-The-Stronghold-Chuck?search=stronghold%20jaws

I would look for a chuck and insert and buy it with your most used jaws, after using it for a while you will discover what you need for the second set of jaws, proceed from there.

You will also discover that if you are doing a lot of turning, a second chuck with different jaws is most convenient.

I am not yet convinced about the quick change jaws one mfg. is selling. There was discussion here some time ago.

If you are using the Durden L500 lathe with a sheet metal bed, as opposed to a cast iron bed, you may soon find you need a better lathe.

I also have limited funds for turning. I have managed by saving my "crazy money" in an envelope and waiting until the right thing comes up. Two years after I bought the new big Oneway chuck, two used ones turned up for $100 each with the #3 big jaws. I bought one.

[Fumbler]

Paul, thanks, I hear you but I don't actually own that lathe, the L500 is just one I have access to. the other lathes I have access to are all relatively new, variable speed dah dahs etc etc. I just find myself thinking, if only I had those jaws I could do this. etc. I probably would use most of them, as it would give me he scope to do so. I have bought many a 1-job tool. I would probably end up getting 2 chucks and keeping another set of jaws in them so I don't have to change all the time

i'm happy to spend $300, as opposed to $600, especially if it lasts. I have done some amazing projects with some cheap home handy man tools, and since gaining access to a proper workshop, (planer/thicknesser/lathe/bandsaw/tablesaw) I wonder how I ever made anything straight.

but if the general consensus says, stay away, they are cheap, nasty, off-centre, inaccurate and fall to bits in a year then i shall build Rome a bit slower. If there are several nods to say they are fine, then sweet.

[Christos]

My very first chuck was one of the less expensive ones. I will not mention the name as it would be unfair to that company.

As it was my first chuck I was not aware that normally chucks need to run very smoothly when opening and closing the jaws. After using my first chuck for a while I was able to purchase a Supernova 2 and this was just so much better. My point is if you are going to purchase a chuck you need to test it.

I have since purchased a second Supernova 2 chuck and my original chuck was given away to a friend. I told him what I found with the chuck and why I was giving it away he was still ok with using it as a secondary chuck.

[Mobyturns]

Check out
Vicmarc VM120 Chuck Special (http://www.timberbits.com/vicmarc-vm120-chuck-special.html)
Vicmarc VM100 Chuck Special (http://www.timberbits.com/vicmarc-vm100-chuck-special)

[mick661]

Just get a vicmarc

[Enfield Guy]

Or a Vermec chuck.

[Xanthorrhoeas]

I have a friend who bought one of those as a starter chuck. He quickly outgrew it because it was clunky and uneven in use (he said). I bought one of the Vicmarc VM100's on special a year ago and it is superb. Don't waste your money on the cheapie, buy top quality, buy once.

David

[Sturdee]

I have one of those chucks amongst my chuck collection and that one is permanently dedicated to the bowl jaws. I never had any problems with that chuck and when I bought it it came with an insert to suit my lathes and a choice of jaws. I never got the chuck accessory kit.

Might not be a Vicmarc but I prefer to have many cheaper, but perfectly adequate, chucks each with its own permanent set of jaws to suit my turning.

Peter.

[Fumbler]

Thank you all for the advice, and I have about $1500 to spend on a lathe, chucks, jaws and a decent set of tools. I have a small set of pen tools but find I'm getting tangled up with bigger jobs, I have also made myself a nice set of carbide tipped tools and various mandrels etc. and I know that there is one out there who will say "extraction", "you MUST have dust extraction", yes if the budget will stretch that far it will be on the cards, as this will please the wife aswell. But I would prefer to spend more on an EVS lathe so dust extraction might have to wait. This is all a little ways off though as I don't have the space at the moment.

Richard