4 jaw chuck on mini lathe?

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John M

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Antioch Ca
What is a good self centering 4 jaw chuck for my mini Jet lathe. I believe it is a 1014 or something. I want to start drilling my holes on there (if I can). I did a search, but did not come up with what I was looking for. And hopefully there is something of quality that is not over $150.
 
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I've got a Nova G3 and a Barracuda2 and they're both fine for what we do.
The barracuda was a bit more, but it came with several sets of jaws
 
The Barracuda2 is nice, I guess you get what you pay for. I guess I should just save up for the better one and not regret a purchase. The extra jaws are a must.
 
John M said:
What is a good self centering 4 jaw chuck for my mini Jet lathe. I believe it is a 1014 or something. I want to start drilling my holes on there (if I can). I did a search, but did not come up with what I was looking for. And hopefully there is something of quality that is not over $150.
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Hi John,

Lee Valley is selling out their line of Teknatool scroll chucks. They don't have much left, but they do have the Precision Midi Chuck which is threaded for the Jet mini. These chucks will use most of the different types of Nova Chuck jaws, so it will prove quite versatile in the future. Check this address:
http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=2&p=52389&cat=1,44047,58948

Only $85.70 USD right now. I don't know if you could find a better chuck for a better price at this time.

Rodney
 
Always get the best money can buy has been my theory in practice. I have yet to be disappointed. Broke more so than once, but never disappointed.

No matter what you get, do not get a three jaw chuck and expect to use it with "square" stock. You could always turn it round on one end and then chuck it again, but that is way more work than necessary.

I vote for the Barracuda just because it has the jaws that will prove valuable in the end. BTW, drilling on most any lathe is very possible if you have the correct setup.

Need help on the equipment to do all this then just let us know and we will open up your head and fill you up with high test, tried and proven knowledge!
 
I've read from a lot of bowl turners and the like that the grizzly copy of the vicmarc 100 is a great chuck for the money and will accept all the vicmarc jaws for it.

http://www.grizzly.com/products/H6265 . It's 99.95 plus 19.95 for the pin jaws you would need to hold the smaller sized pen blanks. It's the one I will probably go with once I get the funds for it.
 
Fred said:
BTW, drilling on most any lathe is very possible if you have the correct setup.
quote]

I don't mean to hijack this thread, but could you elaborate on this Fred? More specifically, how to get a square blank perfectly centered for drilling, and what works best to do it. I seem to have the most trouble with this part, but then again, I don't have any fancy jaws because I don't know what I should get. I have the G3 chuck.
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I have used the Nova Precision Midi chuck on my 1014i for a long time. It has served me well. Here is a link to it at Woodcraft: http://www.woodworker.org/index.php

Its currently $115, but you can generally find it on sale closer to $100. I chose this because the price was right, and it is also a lot lighter than other chucks = less wear and tear on such a small lathe.

Now, with that said, I recently got the 1642. I ordered the Oneway Talon chuck for it, and it also happens to be fairly light (3.4 lbs). It certainly has much more holding power and it would offer you the option if you ever upgraded your lathe in the future. I also like the key option rather than the tommy bars. The Talon also has serrated jaws rather than smooth. Each has its pros/cons.

If you are only looking for drilling, you might also consider one of the collet chucks (Beall or PSI).

Good luck.
 
Wheaties said:
I don't mean to hijack this thread, but could you elaborate on this Fred? More specifically, how to get a square blank perfectly centered for drilling, and what works best to do it. I seem to have the most trouble with this part, but then again, I don't have any fancy jaws because I don't know what I should get. I have the G3 chuck.
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It's usually easier to turn the blank round between centers first before drilling...at least that's what I've read.
 
I'll second...or third the nova midi chuck (The teknatool one mentioned on the previous page for 85.70)

I got mine from woodcraft for around that price and love it. The only thing I'd recommend is picking up some pin jaws for it as the default jaws are a little large for pen blanks.
 
jleiwig said:
It's usually easier to turn the blank round between centers first before drilling...at least that's what I've read.
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Well I just turned some Buffalo Horn yesterday, which comes round, and still had a little wobble at the end when drilling. What am I doing wrong? I assume I need to get some pin jaws or something, but like I previously said: I really have no idea what I need?

Oh, and I'm sure it's not the lathe causing the wobble, it's me puttig the blank in.
 
Wheaties said:
Well I just turned some Buffalo Horn yesterday, which comes round, and still had a little wobble at the end when drilling. What am I doing wrong? I assume I need to get some pin jaws or something, but like I previously said: I really have no idea what I need?

Oh, and I'm sure it's not the lathe causing the wobble, it's me puttig the blank in.
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If you don't have pin jaws there is no way that your chuck will hold the buffalo horn. I believe the g3 that you said you have will only clamp down to 1 3/4" if I remember correctly. My guess is your trying to clamp the blank down where the 4 corners of the jaws meet? That is not where the chuck is designed to clamp.
 
jleiwig said:
If you don't have pin jaws there is no way that your chuck will hold the buffalo horn. I believe the g3 that you said you have will only clamp down to 1 3/4" if I remember correctly. My guess is your trying to clamp the blank down where the 4 corners of the jaws meet? That is not where the chuck is designed to clamp.
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Yep, that's what I do. Someone else mentioned that to me on another forum. It works, but not perfect. So if I get some pin jaws, my problems will be solved?
 
Wheaties said:
Yep, that's what I do. Someone else mentioned that to me on another forum. It works, but not perfect. So if I get some pin jaws, my problems will be solved?
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Well..I can't speak for your experiences, but I would guess it would help a heck of a lot. JR Beall also makes an insert for holding blanks in your regular chuck jaws, but if I remember correctly it costs almost as much as if you just bought the jaws.
 
I use a Oneway Talon on my Rikon midi lathe. It is nice because it doesn't use two rods to tighten it, but instead uses a chuck key and everything is pulled together at the same time. It is somewhat expensive, but I got it on sale at Woodcraft for $149 and it works great, accepts many different jaws and tightens real smoothly making it easier to keep thing centered both for turning and drilling.
 
Rifleman1776 said:
Check out the CMG3 Mini chuck from PSI. Very reasonable priced, comes with several sets of jaws and, IMHO, is a great value for the money.
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I gotta agree with Frank. Very reasonably priced. I actually have the Utility chuck(CUG3418). It's a little bigger than the mini. I picked up the 8" flat jaws as well and I like it. The only downfall IMHO, is there are 2 tightening levers. A one handed operation would be very handy. I just use my gut on one lever...:biggrin:

PSI also makes a drive center that inserts into the middle. I'm hoping this will work for mandrel less turning...
 
Hucifer said:
I gotta agree with Frank. Very reasonably priced. I actually have the Utility chuck(CUG3418). It's a little bigger than the mini. I picked up the 8" flat jaws as well and I like it. The only downfall IMHO, is there are 2 tightening levers. A one handed operation would be very handy. I just use my gut on one lever...:biggrin:

PSI also makes a drive center that inserts into the middle. I'm hoping this will work for mandrel less turning...
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Use of the 'tommy' bars on this mini is no big deal. They work just fine. Initial tightening can be done with one hand, the other hand lining up the piece. Then use two hands for final tightening.
I will admit, that on my big chuck a Barracuda 4, the one-hand key method is really dandy. But don't let the tommy bars throw you on a mini. For the price you are getting a heck of a fine, and versitile chuck.
 
John M said:
What is a good self centering 4 jaw chuck for my mini Jet lathe. I believe it is a 1014 or something. I want to start drilling my holes on there (if I can). I did a search, but did not come up with what I was looking for. And hopefully there is something of quality that is not over $150.
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John, If you keep looking at a particular chuck on Amazon, after a certain amount of times or over a period of time, you will notice the price goes down.
 
I will be watching, that is out of my budget now, but I want to hold off and get something good so I dont regret it, thanx for the help.
 
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