ebay wood lathe chucks?

Re: ebay wood lathe chucks?

Brad Vietje

>Tim,

I'm not familiar with the chucks you mentioned, but I AM familiar with the 1236. As far as I'm concerned, it doesn't matter how good the chuck actually is -- if it uses 2 tommy bars to tighten, it's not a good chuck for the 1236.

Here's my logic: the 1236 doesn't have a good mechanical spindle lock, as many lathes do. The tommy bar chucks work real well with lathes with locking spindles, because you can operate them with one hand. The only way to lock the spindle on the 1236 is to insert the knock-out bar into one of the 2 indexing holes, and then you'd have to hold the bar there with your stomach in order to have one hand for the chuck, and one to hold the turning.

I'd stick with a key operated chuck on the 1236 -- it is well worth the investment ! I know of no single item you can buy that will add to your creativity as a good chucking system; you will find all sorts of ways to chuck, re-chuck, jam chuck, friction chuck, reverse chuck, re-center, ...etc...

I use a Supernova on my 1236, and have 5 jaw sets for it; I like it fine, but recognize that the Oneway Talon, the Stronghold, and the Vicmarc chucks are better made, and easier to use. I got mine because the overall value was very good -- chuck, 2 sets of jaws, woodworm screw, and threaded insert for $ 148.00 US from KMS tools. That price is 2 years old, but they still offer a very good package price on this chuck. If you get a good chuck (on sale, if possible), you'll never regret the purchase.

My three cents ...

Safe Spinning,

Brad Vietje

Thetford, VT

Re: ebay wood lathe chucks?

John Lucas

>Brad

I have to respectfully disagree. I had a 12" lathe for the last 6 or 7 years and used the Nova 2 bar chuck up until about 2 years ago when I bought my Vicmarc chuck. I had occasional problems but it was probably my inexperience as much as the chuck.

I will agree that the keyed chucks hold tighter.

Re: ebay wood lathe chucks?

Richard Allen

>Hi Tim

The main issue with the "e-bay" chuck is it's ability to hold a hunk of wood. A Talon chuck does a good job of holding onto a hunk of wood. The e-bay chuck does not do a good job of holding onto a hunk of wood.

If you get the e-bay chuck you should plan on some way to keep the tailstock involved in supporting the piece for as much of the turning process as possible. In fact a MT extension might be a good aid.

The e-bay chuck is likely to have a fair grip at one particular diameter when the shape of the tenon matches the jaws of the chuck. So if you get in the habit of turning the tenon for your bowls to a specific size, as indicated by chuck jaw profile then you are likely to have a fairly secure connection between the wood and the chuck. That makes the chuck a special purpose tool instead of the more broadly purposed tool that the Talon is.

$200+ for a chuck is a lot of money. A LOT of bowls were turned with faceplates before chucks became available. There are still a lot of bowls turned on faceplates. Most of the skills you learn turning bowls with a faceplate can be used turning with a chuck. I would wait on getting a chuck until I could spend that much money on a chuck without feeling I was being "taken".

Thanks

Richard

Re: ebay wood lathe chucks?

Doug

>I used a two bar Nova chuck with the 1236 for 3 years without any problems. My 1236 came with a small idexing pin that slipped into a locking hole on the headstock. It never fell out and it was very easy to lock the spindel while adjusting the chuck with one hand. I also had the Supernova keyed chuck but getting the key inserted was a pain. I almost always reached for the regular Nova chuck.