Fox FX3500 chuck

[plug52]

Hi, I am new to wood turning and have just bought a s/h Axminster APTC M330 lathe which came with a faceplate but no chuck. I would like to try small bowl turning for starters and am looking at a Fox FX3500 chuck. Will this suit my purpose and will I have to buy anything else to go with it?
All advice gratefully received!

 

[Silverbirch]

Hi, welcome to the forum

Since nobody else has replied,I`ll try to help. though I haven`t used either of these particular items. Your lathe has, I think, a spindle thread of 1"X8 TPI, so you need a chuck with the same thread size. The Fox chuck doesn`t seem to be available in that size as far as I can see from a quick trawl of the net.
Why not look at some of the chucks offered by Axminster? Their K8 and K10 chucks should be suitable, with the addition of C type jaws sold separately.

Ian

 

[plug52]

Thanks Ian
The Axminster chuck looks like a nice piece of kit. I have a feeling I may outgrow my small lathe in a year or so (the seller reckoned 6 months!) so I don't want to spend a fortune on a chuck which might not fit a future machine. 1"x 8tpi seems quite a common spindle size though.
Gordon

 

[nev]

Hello and welcome
which chuck? , is probably one of the most common questions asked in these parts, and has 1001 opinions. :?
see here (search.php?keywords=chuck%3F&terms=all&author=&fid=6&sc=1&sf=titleonly&sk=t&sd=d&sr=posts&st=0&ch=300&t=0&submit=Search)

If I may be so bold I shall try to sum up.

1. buy the best one you can afford.
a well engineered chuck will last you a lifetime and have very good resale value if you change your lathe and it no longer fits.

2. The chuck must have the correct size thread to fit your lathe.
Quite a few of the available chucks have a inter-changeable thread in the form of an insert (or excert?) so can be made to fit most lathes. The 'disadvantage' of having a chuck with an insert is that the chuck is generally a little larger and because of the insert holds the work a little further from the headstock. In reality unless you're getting into big unbalanced pieces this shouldn't make much difference.

3. The chucks versatility is limited only by the the variety of jaws available that fit that chuck some have more jaw sets available than others and most manufacturers jaws will not fit on a different make. some do.

4. The most popular recommendations for chucks are, in no particular order, and Ive probably missed some
Sorby Patriot
Versachuck
Record Power Supernova
Axminster
Oneway
Dakota xt700 (limited jaw choice)

Hope thats of some help

 

[Spindle]

Hi

Just an addendum to Nev's post:

Jaws from the Record Power Supernova chuck are directly compatable with the Dakota XT700, (no shortage of choice there ).

Regards Mick

 

[chipmunk]

Another thing to bear in mind is that I think that only the Axminster chucks and the Versachuck have jaw carriers that can be permanently mounted on the jaws. This can make jaw changing a much speedier and foolproof matter than having to undo and refit 8 socket head screws each time without losing any of them in the shavings - no mean feat.

This is particularly well established on the Axminster chucks where all jaw carriers and jaws will fit all chucks across the range (except the Junior) and across all generations of chucks.

So, if the worst comes to the worst and you find that your chuck body doesn't fit a new lathe spindle thread, all of the jaws and carriers you have bought for the old chuck will fit that new chuck body you have to buy.

Or alternatively if you run two lathes like I do, I have two chuck bodies and all of the jaws and carriers are interchangeable between the two lathes and chucks.

HTH
Jon

 

[plug52]

Thanks everybody - what an excellent site this is!
I have plumped for the Axminster K10 with a set of C type jaws to start off with.
I look forward to making something soon!
Gordon

 

[Martin10]

I am sure you won't be disappointed. I bought my first lathe just before Christmas (a Jet Mini from Axminster) and it came with a free K8 chuck (and I bought the C type jaws to go with it). With a couple of quick lessons from a colleague at work, I have found both lathe and chuck extremely easy to use. I also bought the 80mm screwchuck that fits in the C jaws (but they don't seem to do one for the K10??).

This is my first post - and I too think this is a great site!!