I Need A Chuck

[Top Hat]

I don't have a chuck, and I've decided i need one.
Chuck buying advise please.
Spend lots, spend a little?
What brands should i be looking at, does it need to be branded.
I'm enjoy turning small thing at the moment.
Thanks

 

[fingwe]

Well, I can't recommend a particular chuck, since I don't have experience of many of them. But what I will recommend is that you have a think about the type of turning that you want to do, and therefore the type of jaws that you are going to need. Make sure that whatever chuck you buy has the jaws you want available for it.

I had the smaller Axminster chuck, which seemed fine, but I couldn't find any jaws for it which would firmly hold a pen blank sized piece of wood. I asked in the store, and they were next to clueless. I guess I could have phoned head office and asked, but I couldn't be bothered giving them my custom on that occasion, so I bought one from Record, which included all the jaws I needed.

One more thing, I don't know what type of lathe you have, but chucks are heavy. If you only have a mini lathe, I'd try and go for a smaller sized chuck so it's not causing undue stress on the lathe.

 

[21William]

Good advice from fingwe. I have the Record power SC4 and the Axminster SK100 and they've both got a good range of jaws. The SC4 was somewhat less expensive though. I like both of them.

 

[Morse]

Good advice from fingwe and 21William.
I have the Axminster 1218VS lathe, with a SK100 starter kit.
When I started turning pens I wanted a set of jaws to hold the pen blanks securely. Axminster didn't make these for the SK100.
I bought a record SC3 and their Pen Jaws (62337). I've found that this seems to work for me.
Enjoy your turning.
Don't forget to show us your pens.

 

[yorkshireman]

What lathe have you got Phil?

 

[Top Hat]

What lathe have you got Phil?

I have 30 year old Tyme, it has a 370w motor.

At the moment I'm turning small things bowls and the like.

Will check out chucks mentioned when I get on big screen

 

[Lons]

I have 30 year old Tyme, it has a 370w motor.

At the moment I'm turning small things bowls and the like.

Will check out chucks mentioned when I get on big screen

You might struggle a bit to find one with the 20mm thread they have if I remember correctly. When I had my Tyme cub all those years ago I had to drill one out and tap it, in fact I still have the tap I bought.

 

[Penpal]

As Melanie said right on horses for courses, bit like buying a set of drills there are so many when you use so few. Look for quality v quantity.Visit your nearest Wood Club, look around others workshop, share experiences, above all choose wisely. Over here I just head for the locally made precision of Vicmarc. Consult Alex now a more than budding wizard in metal.

Peter.

 

[Top Hat]

You might struggle a bit to find one with the 20mm thread they have if I remember correctly. When I had my Tyme cub all those years ago I had to drill one out and tap it, in fact I still have the tap I bought.

Mine is is an earlier Tyme, has a 3/4" 16tpi headstock. So should be easy to get a chuck that fits

 

[wm460]

Another plus for vicmarc.
Work out what brand you want and stick to it, vicmarc and supernova tighten the opposite direction.

 

[Lons]

Mine is is an earlier Tyme, has a 3/4" 16tpi headstock. So should be easy to get a chuck that fits

That's good Phil, you're lucky as now you have a decent choice. I didn't realise they originally had that size thread, my cub must have been made early eighties.

I have a record G3 kit which are about £100 and I added a set of pen jaws, I also have an Axminster SK100 and sets of O'Donnell jaws. Both are pretty good for my needs.

 

[Phil Dart]

Take a look at the Versachuck from Toolpost. It has the ability to take virtually any jaws on the market from virtually any manufacturer. When you are paying serious money for a descent chuck, I've never seen the point in limiting yourself to one manufacturer's idea of what jaw sizes should be, when there is a chuck out there that will handle more or less all of them. I've had mine for ten years or more and apart from the odd battle scar, its as good as the day I bought it. It's well made and bombproof, and I'd replace it with the same in a heartbeat if I needed to.

Toolpost sell the chuck together with a separate backplate which you choose from a vast range to match your thread. I've not looked up the available thread sizes for you, but going by what you and Lons have said, it sounds like yours is not uncommon, so you may well be in business.

I recommend it - to me it's the most sensible way to go. (no affiliation - just a happy customer)

 

[Walter]

Whilst I cannot argue with Phil's logic as regards versatility, I cannot help thinking that the Versachuck is a rather large and heavy chuck for a comparatively small machine like the Tyme. I recently tested the Record Power SC4 for Woodturning magazine and found it to be a very fine chuck with a wide range of available jaws and the added convenience of compatibility with Robert Sorby and Nova jaws too. I see that one or two others have recommended it and I would certainly suggest that you consider it as a contender. Here is a link to my review:

Dropbox - WT_293_94_97_KIT_&_TOOLS_bdvsMB.pdf

 

[loftyhermes]

I use a Charnwood Viper 2 and find it excellent and does everything I want, also a Bonham but since getting the Viper I hardly use the Bonham.

 

[bigbob]

Mine is is an earlier Tyme, has a 3/4" 16tpi headstock

If you want a reasonably priced chuck that fits direct to your Lathe without adaptor and provided you were not turning bowls larger than 12" then I would get the Record RP2000. It is quite a well built chuck which is cheaper than most but you have optional jaws of which there is a choice of 4 at a very reasonable price.

Record Power Rp2000 Compact Scroll Chuck With Std Jaw And Woodscrew, 3/4" X 16tpi, RPWRP2000 at D&M Tools

 

[21William]

I perhaps should have added that already having the SK100 I bought the additional Record SC4 because they made Cole jaws to fit my lathe at reasonable cost. Axminster only had small Cole jaws or extra large ones that were too big for my lathe and very expensive. As noted the range of jaws for the SC4 is quite extensive as you have a choice of at least three manufacturers to choose from. Good point about the chuck key as well Walter.

 

[Penpal]

That's good Phil, you're lucky as now you have a decent choice. I didn't realise they originally had that size thread, my cub must have been made early eighties.

I have a record G3 kit which are about £100 and I added a set of pen jaws, I also have an Axminster SK100 and sets of O'Donnell jaws. Both are pretty good for my needs.

Have not heard much of Mick O,Donnell for a long time since he was here and i spent a few wonderful days with him and a small group forever ago. Taking into consideration your present lathe you are sure to upsize in the future.

Peter.

 

[wm460]

Take a look at the Versachuck from Toolpost. It has the ability to take virtually any jaws on the market from virtually any manufacturer. When you are paying serious money for a descent chuck, I've never seen the point in limiting yourself to one manufacturer's idea of what jaw sizes should be, when there is a chuck out there that will handle more or less all of them. I've had mine for ten years or more and apart from the odd battle scar, its as good as the day I bought it. It's well made and bombproof, and I'd replace it with the same in a heartbeat if I needed to.

Toolpost sell the chuck together with a separate backplate which you choose from a vast range to match your thread. I've not looked up the available thread sizes for you, but going by what you and Lons have said, it sounds like yours is not uncommon, so you may well be in business.

I recommend it - to me it's the most sensible way to go. (no affiliation - just a happy customer)

Wish some one would do the for vicmac and super nova chucks.

 

[Top Hat]

Thanks for all your input, I have just ordered a Record SC3

 

[fingwe]

I think that is a good choice - a versatile chuck at a decent price.