beall or chuck

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cowchaser

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Thinking about going with a new set up and going with a beall or chuck. I don't do bowls or pepper mills or any of that. I do pens only right now, but may one day in the future wish to try something else. Any information in helping with my decision would be appreciated. Seems with the beall I am limited to pens and bottle stoppers, but I probably am wrong there.
 
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Originally posted by cowchaser

Thinking about going with a new set up and going with a beall or chuck.....
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I assume you mean a scroll chuck as opposed to a Jacobs chuck??

They are not really interchangeable so you need to decide what your turning needs are and then pick the tool that meets those needs. In a very general sort of way, the collect chuck is used to grip metal stock and the scroll chuck is used to grip wooden stock although both can do either. Generally, the scroll chuck is used to grip larger stock; but with the proper set of jaws it can handle stuff down to about 1/4". The most common use of the collet chuck is to hold mandrels and use them in an "adjustable mode. The collet chuck is also useful to hold mandrels for bottle stoppers, and pin mandrels for turning closed end pens. And if you are doing cartridge pens, you can use it to hold the brass casings for any trimming that might be necessary.

The scroll chuck, OTOH, is used most commonly for gripping small wooden projects like bowls, platters and boxes as well as Christmas ornaments. You can do very accurate drilling of pen blanks with a scroll chuck and if you are thinking about making any Pentel pencils, having a scroll chuck is handy.

To repeat myself decide exactly what your turning needs are and then select the best tool. I might be forced to eat my words if I think about them more carefully; but just off the top of my head, as a very broad statement, I am tempted to say that a scroll chuck probably has a wider range of uses than a collet chuck; but both are very useful in the correct application.
 
Guess it doesn't matter now. I just placed my order with hartville tool for a beall. Never ordered from them before so I hope all is good.

Sure hope I won't regret buying this beall either. Anyone else ever felt like that AFTER they bought something?
 
Dustin: Did you give any consideration to the PSI collet chuck?? It is significantly less expensive ($90) than the Beall chuck and has one very intriguing feature. It has a knurled ring on the body and the collar is also knurled so that collets can supposedly be chucked and unchucked without the need of a spanner. It is a relatively new product so there aren't too many in use yet; but the early reviews are good.

If you want to change your mind or just reconsider for a few days. I'm sure a call to Hartsville first thing in the morning would allow you to cancel the order without any difficulties.
 
Dustin, you made the right choice going with the Beall. You also can't go wrong with Hartville Tool. I get alot of stuff from them.[8D]
 
Dustin, A few years ago I had the same decision to make. I went with the Scroll Chuck. For pens and other small turnings it is a real knuckle buster and I have since gotten the Beall for turning pens. I do larger turnings so the scroll chuck was not a waste of money for me I would really not recommend it for someone that is only looking to do small turnings even if it is just for now. You can get a top quality tool that fits your needs right now, and if and when your interests change you can get the scroll chuck.
 
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