Thread: Looking for a starting chuck set

Originally Posted by ppofandt

$235 for the "Limited Edition" set. The Deluxe set is what is pictured on the marketplace and sells for $215 new. I thought it was less myself. Could have sworn that when I checked it was around $185.

I went back and checked, you are absolutely right, I missed the words "Limited Edition" in the chuck that I linked to, it should have been this one at $215.

Originally Posted by KevM

I went back and checked, you are absolutely right, I missed the words "Limited Edition" in the chuck that I linked to, it should have been this one at $215.

I had to double check myself. I saw "Deluxe" and assumed it was the more expensive set. But the photos didn't match what I remembered.
I still remember checking the first time this was mentioned and I'm sure the cheaper set was around $185 - but then I'm getting older and my memory is only a rough guide to what was past.

Hi Paul, If finances are stretched a bit, don't buy a chuck to turn bowls etc. There was a small face plate supplied with the lathe, Screw this to what will be the top of the bowl and turn the back with what ever size foot suits. Remove the face plate and fix a sacrificial block to the face plate and turn it to the same size and shape as the foot on the bowl. Glue the foot of the bowl to the sacrificial block and finish off the inside of the bowl. I have used this system for years and the advantages are that you control the size and proportions of the foot and save nearly two hundred dollars. The downside is that you have to wait at least an hour for the glue to set (depending what glue you use).
By the way I do use chucks too.
Jim

I agree with powderpost above. If you are hacking your bowl blanks out of timber off the side of the road, usually there is enough thickness to make a longer foot and screw directly into that. When you are finished use a parting tool to make a deep groove and then saw the bowl off the foot just above the screws.

Find some old 1960s & 70s turning books to learn all sorts of ways to save money and not have to buy all the new, wondrous, expensive, stuff available today.

Those old turners made beautiful stuff with single speed lathes - some foot powered, carbon steel tools, and faceplates.

Originally Posted by powderpost

The downside is that you have to wait at least an hour for the glue to set (depending what glue you use).
Jim

Pretty sure normal hot glue guns set faster than that, dont they?

Originally Posted by DonIncognito

Pretty sure normal hot glue guns set faster than that, dont they?

Yes they do. I did state that it depends on the type of glue used, as to long it takes to set. Some glues take a lot longer than one hour too. I forgot to add, use a hand saw to cut the bowl from the sacrificial block. If you use a parting tool, the bowl could be difficult to catch.
Jim

I'm basically in agreeance with powderpost here however if you turn the foot of the bowl perfectly square you can use the same method without using glue at all.You just have to make sure the hole you turn in the sacrificial block is also square and exactly the right size which is quite easy if you use a set of calipers to mark the diameter.When the foot of the bowl feels like it will almost but not quite fit into the turned hole you can smack it in with a hammer. After the bowl is turned you can gently prise it off again with a sturdy chisel or similar. This method works well for bowls of all sizes. If you turn the hole slightly bigger than you meant to you can sometimes save the situation by sandwiching a sheet of paper between the surfaces. The advantage of going this way is that there is no glue to clean up off the turning and no need to wait for it (glue) to dry.
Thats my two bobs worth anyway.

Are you still looking as Carbatec have a sale.

Teknatool® SuperNova2 Key Operated Chuck : CARBA-TEC

Ya. Been eyeing that chuck off.

Thinking about it anyway. My time is fairly limited these days. I work for 7 days on and the 7 off I'm usually too tired to do much. My shed is going to be getting really hot in the next few months too so not so much turning for the next few months.

In the product review section I posted a review of the GPW Gen 3 110 some time ago. Then, the jaw quality was poor (and that may have changed) but it takes VM100 jaws with the holes drilled out by a mm. I fitted VM shark jaws to it and it gets the most use out of my kit of 4 chucks.

IMO VM do excellent dovetail jaws. They're accurately machined. IMO the first question to ask is what are the best jaws to mount the pieces I want to turn?

That aside, most complete chuck sets come with a woodworm screw and that can be an effective way of doing the first mount. But Richard Raffan advises knocking up a washer out of plywood or similar to improve the hold.

That's the way I started out on bowls but the drilling gave me the irrits so I now use faceplate rings. Means several pieces can be on the go at the same time with accurate remounts.

If your criteria are to cry once and get a reliable unit that works straight out of the box, I'm with Jim: go VM100. It will see you into the grave. Failing that, it will always sell readily 2nd hand.

HTH.