Nova Compac chuck

[dawallace45]

G'day , I'm new here and this is my first post on this forum , I have a question I hope some one can help me with , I'm a novice turner , about a year and a half ago I bought a Nova Compact chuck from Timbecon , the order was filled promptly and the chuck arrived a week later , but unfortunately I was extremely ill when it arrived and for several months after so it just sat by the lathe for quite some time and wasn't used , after the illness passed I still didn't get to use the chuck as I went off on a boat and canoe building kick for some time and have only recently gotten back to woodturning , so the first time I used the chuck was a few weeks ago , and so far it has problems , the jaws don't line up straight and there is no repeatability with it at all to the stage that a small bowl will have a run out of half a inch or so if re-chucked , I've gone through and checked that it's put together right , and the jaw numbers line up with the screw numbers but it's still out , is there a problem with these chucks or have I just got a dud ? I bought this chuck because I've never heard any thing but good reports about nova , I asked around in the local woodworking club to see if any one else has had that problem but there doesn't seem to be a single Nova chuck in the area just a whole lot of Vicmarc , my lathe is a Jet Mini with extension bed , I also have a MC-900 that I have to get a chuck for as well , would this be the sort of thing covered by warranty ? would I be better off exchanging this chuck for a standard Nova Chuck ? any thoughts or suggestions welcome

Regards

David Wallace

[Wayne Davy]

David,

I suggest you contact Teknatool about your problems. You can find all their contact details on their web site
http://www.teknatool.com/index.htm

[Jim Carroll]

David if you contact Terrance at Teknatool he will be able to help you.Terrence McQuoid , [email protected]
Tell him I gave you the email address .
One thing to check when you put the jaws in place , put them on loosely then close the jaws till they all meet together then tighten the jaw screws. If there is a misalignment change jaw 2 & 4 around and go through the same set up. Some times if you put the jaws on firm and they are not keyed into the slide properly this can cause them to not create a proper circle when they are closed. It does not matter which brand of chuck you use you have to align the jaws at the initial setup and you should be right from their. If there is any further problems then contact the reseller or in this case teknatool and they should set you right.
You do find that certain clubs will have a greater portion of members with one brand of chuck over another. It is just the way it goes , same as lathes if there is one preferance of brand over another then most of the members head that way.

[dawallace45]

Wayne , Jim

Thanks , Will contact Teknatool and ask them ,

Yeah , have tried putting them in loosely and getting it all aligned before tightening but it didn't make any difference , also tried changing around the jaws but that didn't make any difference either , must have had it apart about fifty times over the last few weeks trying to see if any possible combination made a difference to alignment but no go so far ,

I have to ring Timbecon to place a order on Monday and will talk to them about it at the same time , may wait until I talk to them before I email the guy from Teknatool , may get it cleared up through them ,

Well at least I was going to wait until Monday but after reading this on the Teknatool site I think I'll email them right off , maybe they do have a problem with some of them

Please note: The Nova Compac Chuck is currently suspended from production pending a design review. As always, we stand behind our products, and parts and popular accessories for all current units are still available and the normal warranty still applies. If you have a Compac Chuck unit and would like to know more, please contact us.

Regards

David W

[Sir Chiz]

"Please note: The Nova Compac Chuck is currently suspended from production pending a design review."

Yup,I had one come apart a 1200 rpm,I guess I may have over tightened it, whatever that is.
The snap ring that holds the scroll plate popped out of its' 1mm deep slot, allowing the scroll ring to back out,releasing 3 of the jaws into orbit,one jaw hit my faceshield,one disappeared for two weeks.One jaw stayed in the chuck because of a set screw,causing a heck-of-a vibraion. ;)
Yes,I soiled my Armor. :eek:
I had a friend turn the snap ring slot deeper on his metal lathe and put heavier snap rings on them (2).
I don't use them much any more,but use extreme caution when I do.

After having them machined,I had a hard time putting them back together.
The problem was getting the jaw screws in the proper sequence to the scroll ring.
If you can return it for refund of credit,do so.
I hope you have better luck than I,been waiting for parts for my Nova Mercury for over 6 months. :rolleyes:

Chiz.

[ptc]

buy a bonham, mine is 6yrs old and never had a problem
mine is the smaller one,wished i had bought the larger one
at the time,no setting up required.[its not shiney any more]

[Jim Carroll]

Sir Chiz the Nova Mercury is manufactured in batches so they run out of stock rather quickly . They usually let us know only a few weeks in advance that they are going to have stock and how many do you want.
What parts are you after as I may have stock of what you want.

[Sir Chiz]

Hi Jim,thankyou.
I'm not certain of the exact parts that were ordred,the manager of the Boston area Woodcraft store ordered an "upgrade kit" for me.

I purchased a Collet Quill Set to use for drilling with the tailstock,the nut that holds the collets is threadded 1"x8TPI.It does fit the drive spindle but not the threadded outer portion of the tailstock ram, (#2 taper) it is a finer thread.(same diameter)
So,wether the upgrade is just the morse taper tube or other parts are involved, I don't know.

I've had no problems with the machine itself,nice little lathe. :)

Thanks for your time.

Phil.

[dawallace45]

Sir Chiz

I reckon if a chuck had flown apart when I was using it I'd have soiled my self as well , but I don't know that I'd have bothered to put it back together again to give it another shot at me , I've just been using safety glasses lately , think I'll have to buy another face shield the one I have can't be seen through

p.t.c

Have never seen a Bonham , will have a look next time I get down to Brisbane or Bundaberg

Regards

David W