Which chuck?

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sumunabeech

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Joined
Feb 3, 2012
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13
Location
Lyndon, KS
We own 2 lathes...a HF mini and a Jet 1014. The Jet is the one I use most and the one I want he chuck to fit. I want a chuck, but there are so many I'm getting confused. 3 jaw, 4 jaw, self centering, adapters...the list goes on.

So, I come to you all. What do you prefer? Do I need an adapter if it is already threaded? The reason I ask this is a clerk at Woodcraft told me I would need one no matter what chuck I chose. 3 jaw? Self centering? Size?

So many questions and so little money. Mainly what I am wanting one for is to turn small bowls and coffee mugs. What I don't want is to spend several hundred dollars and then not have all I need and end up spending alot more money to even use it.

I'd like to keep it as inexpensive as possible. Don't get me wrong, I want it to work well...but I'm not selling this stuff.

Thanks in advance!
 
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Lot's of choices!! I use a Barracuda from PSI...4 jaw sets and a screw chuck. About $140'ish range. I have turned everything my 1014 could handle and now use it (w/ adaptor) on my 1642.
 
I like the Nova Midi Chuck for the Jet. It is currently on sale somewhere (CSUSA, I think) for $84. This chuck runs very true and all of the Nova jaws fit all of the Nova chucks.

HOWEVER; this MAY NOT be the chuck for you if you plan to use it on the HF mini. The Midi chuck is 1x8 (same as Jet head screw), but it will not take a threaded adapter. Depending on which HF mini lathe you have the threads may or may not be 1x8.

Without 1x8 threads on the HF lathe,, you may want to look at the Nova G3 chuck. It costs a little more, still uses all Nova jaws, but the differences are that this chuck will take a threaded adapter and uses a chuck key rather than tommy bars.
 
+1 on Andy's post above. I have the Nova Midi as well, and have been happy with its performance. I picked mine up at Woodcraft during a black friday sale - got the chuck and 6 sets of jaws total for around $150 I believe it was. Keep an eye out for sales, you can likely find a similar deal!
 
Some of this has been stated already, but to add a little more to it. I have a couple of Nova midi's as well. The Midi's use "Tommy bars" to tighten & loosen the jaws. It is not hard to use the midi one handed but is not intuitive for everyone. The Nova G3 is a bit more expensive about $50.00 more but uses a "T" handle to tighten the jaws giving you one hand to hold the work & one to work the chuck. Also the G3 uses changeable inserts so you can move between different threaded lathes spindles. More expensive about $190 but if you think you may eventually get a full size the Super Nova2 has all the features of the others and is made for larger lathes/turnings. At craft usa the inserts for the g3 & supernova 2 are included at wood craft they are sold separately. I wait for a sale when I add a chuck. The Barracuda line from PSI also works well but thay are sized for 1x8 and come with an adapter for 3/4x16.
 
PenMan1 said:
My main issue with the PSI chucks is that not all PSI jaws fit all PSI chucks. It gets a little confusing.
Click to expand...
I agree 100% that is why I only have one baracuda & that was given to me as a gift. If you are only going to by 1 chuck it is fine but limiting. If you use chucks a lot it is nice to have the jaws you use most already on a body ready to go. Saves the time changing things around, not to mention dropping s jsw screw into the shavings:mad:
 
I have two currently. One is the smaller PSI chuck and the other is the Gold Titanium Barracuda. Both came with adapters but I didn't need them for either of my lathes, PSI Midi lathe and a full size Harbor Freight. I love my Barracuda but the above posters are correct in that the jaws for one will not work with the jaws for the other.
 
+3 on the Nova Midi. It is a great chuck for a lathe the size of the Jet 1014. I use a Nova G3 more frequently. It's beefier and quicker to adjust, but the midi is fine.
 
WOW

Wow! You guys are awesome! I posted this morning and already all the replies!?! :eek:

I'll look at these. Thanks! Has anyone ever used Grizzly chucks? They are a little less expensive...but is this an example of "You get what you pay for"?
 
Haven't found much I can't do with my Nova G3 and a nice selection of jaws. Picked it up when Woodcraft had them on sale with 4 different sets of jaws and the chuck itself and love it.
 
PenMan1 said:
I like the Nova Midi Chuck for the Jet. It is currently on sale somewhere (CSUSA, I think) for $84. This chuck runs very true and all of the Nova jaws fit all of the Nova chucks.

HOWEVER; this MAY NOT be the chuck for you if you plan to use it on the HF mini. The Midi chuck is 1x8 (same as Jet head screw), but it will not take a threaded adapter. Depending on which HF mini lathe you have the threads may or may not be 1x8.

Without 1x8 threads on the HF lathe,, you may want to look at the Nova G3 chuck. It costs a little more, still uses all Nova jaws, but the differences are that this chuck will take a threaded adapter and uses a chuck key rather than tommy bars.
Click to expand...

I have this same chuck and it works great without an adapter. It is very useful on many projects.
 
I have the PSI utility chuck which sells for $89 and takes the same jaws as their baracuda chuck. It does everything I want to and am now on my forth bowl and all goes well. Also note I picked up the dovetail jaws which are really nice to hold things especially internally so you can expand with limited pressure and not crack the wood (which I have done). I also agree it is nice to have more than one chuck to have more than one set of jaws installed ready to use because swaping jaws does take some time. But this chuck is a good option if you are on a tight budget.

Also since you asked I recently read a post that gave good reviews to the grizzly chucks as well.
 
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