Choosing a chuck.

[pidgeonpost]

You could buy the Versachuck and get these, they are in stock. The jaws are generally cheaper than the Axminster ones anyway. You could get the Axminster carriers later when they’re back in stock.

View attachment 183684

Thanks - I'll have a closer look.

 

[Robbo3]

Thanks for your comments and suggestions.

• I saw the SK100 that was for sale (now sold), but bearing in mind earlier comments about the weight of some chucks I did wonder whether it might be a bit heavy, though can find no details on just how heavy. Nevertheless, I looked online for an insert to suit and was surprised to see that Axminster don't list one (1"x 8tpi to M33). Elsewhere all were Chinese, and I lost interest/got distracted by other options.

Weight isn't a problem. When the chuck & the work it is holding are in motion, the forces are centrifugal.

 

[mattjdnv]

Not quite true. Nova does make an insert/adaptor for M33 x 3.5 so you won't need a new chuck.

https://www.teknatool.com/products/chuck-accessories/nova-chuck-inserts/nova-i4ns/

Pete

Grrrrrrr. I wish I had been able to get that when I upgraded. I would have kept one of the G3's for small work.

I don't know where to buy it in the UK. I only see the M30 x 3.5:
https://www.machinery4wood.co.uk/Nova-Chuck-Insert-Thread-Adaptors/P14253
https://www.oliverswoodturning.co.uk/product/nova-chuck-inserts/
https://www.turners-retreat.co.uk/nova-chuck-insert/p3624
https://bivenmachinerysales.co.uk/product/nova-chuck-insert/

 

[Vulcan]

Grrrrrrr. I wish I had been able to get that when I upgraded. I would have kept one of the G3's for small work.

I don't know where to buy it in the UK. I only see the M30 x 3.5:
https://www.machinery4wood.co.uk/Nova-Chuck-Insert-Thread-Adaptors/P14253
https://www.oliverswoodturning.co.uk/product/nova-chuck-inserts/
https://www.turners-retreat.co.uk/nova-chuck-insert/p3624
https://bivenmachinerysales.co.uk/product/nova-chuck-insert/

I had a Record Power SC3 chuck with an insert and it didn’t run true. It could have been the chuck or the insert but either way I’ve only bought direct threaded chucks since then.

 

[pidgeonpost]

I had a Record Power SC3 chuck with an insert and it didn’t run true. It could have been the chuck or the insert but either way I’ve only bought direct threaded chucks since then.

That's one of my concerns, less so if chuck and insert are from the same manufacturers, but many inserts on offer are of unknown parentage.

 

[Vulcan]

That's one of my concerns, less so if chuck and insert are from the same manufacturers, but many inserts on offer are of unknown parentage.

In my case the insert was supplied by the manufacturer of the chuck, Record Power.
In my experience using adapters for anything can often lead to failure.

 

[Inspector]

My Nova chucks have inserts and they run true.

You can always step up to Oneway chucks. They have inserts that are tapered. https://oneway.ca/products-category/adaptors/Oneway-Talon-Adaptors?page=2 They are a higher quality chuck so cost more and I have never heard any complaints about them.

Pete

 

[Vulcan]

A slight aside. I’ve got quite a few chucks and I reckon the Axminster chucks are better quality than many others on the market. They are though far more expensive than some. Apart from the quality of the chuck itself the SK100 and SK114 and the jaws to fit them are stainless steel. Given the number of pictures of rusty wood turning chucks and jaws I’ve seen online this isn’t an insignificant feature. Axminster have a bigger range of accessory jaws for their chucks than any other manufacturer. Some other manufacturers like Record Power, Robert Sorby and Nova use a common mounting system so if you have one of these chucks you can use jaws from other manufacturers. This doesn’t give you a greater choice of jaw types though than Axminster as they all produce almost identical designs. You can shop around though on price.
The Versachuck looks to be very similar to the early Axminster Super Precision chucks so I expect it may be pretty good? I’ve had a couple of SK100’s and they are extremely well made. I’ve got a little Record Power SC2 and it’s quite nicely made. I bought a SuperNOVA 2 a while back so I could take advantage of other, cheaper jaws designs. The quality of the Nova is much lower than the Axminster but I got it as a “companion” chuck for under £100 including postage so no complaints. The most disappointing thing about it though is that you can’t remove the chuck jaws (carriers) like you can on a Axminster SK chuck. My mistake, I should have bought a Versachuck! Maybe next time.