Comparison of Chucks
Collated from newsgroup postings.
It would be interesting to hear from those turners who have a moment to expound their ideas to chucking. In bowls I sometimes glue chuck but predominately use either one of two of the older style scroll chucks,both set up for different uses one for outboard ,the other for inboard. Can someone explain the advantages of the new Teknatool scroll chuck over the older versions which I have.
In for a penny in for a pound. These new chucks work well because they they have a large expansion diameter and better surface to surface contact than the standard engineers chuck. I have tried a lot of chucks from the first Technatool, Henry Taylor, Bonham and the Vicmarc. The Vicmarc beats all because it can hold everything from a piece if 13mm dowel (internal) to a large chunk of wattle.
I just bought a new Vicmarc chuck a couple of weeks ago. It's great. It beats the Teknatool chuck I borrowed from a mate before that. One of the best features is that with a T bar, it only takes one hand to tighten. Trying to use two levers and hold the wood was a little awkward.
How does this Vicmarc compare to the SupaNova? I do not have a scroll chuck as yet but have had a look at the SupaNova.
The Super Nova is used the same way as the Vicmarc in that you only have a T bar to open and close the jaws. The T bar also pivots so that you can get it out of the way a little bit for clearance. There is also a large range of jaws to compliment the existing jaws you get when you purchase the scroll chuck. This type of system makes it easier to use than the original nova chuck because if you did not have a shaft lock on your lathe you needed three hands to tighten a bowl into place For more information regarding this chuck and other Teknatool products go to www.Teknatool.com
I have a Vicmarc VM120 chuck on my Vicmarc VL 300 Lathe. I also have a vacuum chuck for reversing bowls to finish, and find that with the above,the screw point and the occasional home made jam-fit chuck I can do every thing I've ever wanted to. I also have a little Carbatec mini lathe with a Microstar mini chuck for little stuff, also brilliant.
I have used Bonham , Vicmarc and Nova chucks and whilst the first two seem good chucks the standard Nova beats the others hands down just for ease of use and versatility .
The variety of jaw types is great (Mr. Bonham made his chuck to take Nova jaws - cunning ). The "T" bar thing matters not because I don't know of many turners whose lathe doesn't have a spindle lock .. and those who don't have will probably treat themselves to a decent lathe sooner or later anyway. The so called extra "power" that the T bar operated chucks have is rarely needed , indeed it is easy to over tighten and crush the timber unnecessarily.
I have ,and use constantly, six nova chucks only one of which is a Super Nova.They have given excellent ,reliable service over many years.....
I have used in demo's a variety of Vicmarc, and Bonham's, Nova and Super Nova. Give me the Nova's any day. The range of jaws alone must put them in first place. Just the fact that one size chuck (with a variety of jaws) fits all work is fantastic and eliminates the worry of losing bits of knuckles if you happen to only own one of the bigger versions of the others and need to do smaller work. (I have left a few bits of bark on these bigger chucks over the years.)
We all have our preferences for tools etc. and mine is always for the most practical. In this respect there is no competition, Nova wins hands down in my book. I own Nova chucks with a variety of jaws. I do not own a Super Nova, I have a spindle lock.
In its standard configuration, the Bonham does grip both ways without changing jaws. However, the expansion range is limited so the fillet or recess must fall within a quite small diameter range. The standard plates also have two sets of jaws which theoretically means that you have two different expansion jaws on the one set of plates. However, if you use the outside set you have to have a recess 15mm or more deep to accommodate the inner set. Add that to the thickness of the base of a bowl and it starts to get a bit thick.
When you buy the chuck, you are almost forced to also buy a set of expansion plates to give the chuck a greater expansion gripping range.
Another very annoying feature of the Bonham is that the expansion plates are mounted by means of small hex head screws. Unfortunately using the chuck on the lathe tightens the screws so far that they are impossible to remove with a standard Allen key. After stripping two I was forced to purchase a "T" bar hex key to do the job.
I will say also that the Bonham is a very safe chuck. You can come into quite solid contact with it without leaving large chunks of your knuckles on it!!!
In engineering terms the Bonham is a fine piece of machinery. It's robust and well constructed. However, the annoying design features mentioned above would make me consider alternatives next time I buy a chuck.
There is no difference between the Nova & SuperNova when it comes to chucking the work. All the same jaws fit both chucks. The major differences are in the action of the locking mechanism, with the Super having a one handed action through a T-bar key. It also has shiny bits and costs more.
I have had a Bonham for about four years, no complaints its a good chuck. However a few months ago I purchased a Super Nova because the Bonham couldn't do what I wanted it to do. The range of jaws available for the Nova chuck is terrific. I still use the Bonham a lot because the expanding/contracting dovetail works just fine for a lot of applications.
For anyone purchasing a new chuck I think the versatility of the Nova would be hard to beat.
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