Opinions on Lathe Chucks

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Hartwell85

Hartwell85

Member
Joined
May 14, 2021
Messages
98
Location
Findlay, OH
I am interested in members opinions on the brands of lathe chucks they use. The common brands I am aware of are Nova, Record Power, Easy Wood, Robert Sorby, and Vic Mark. What brand(s) do you use? What do you like/dislike about them?
 
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I have Easy Wood's Easy Chuck as my main go to. I also have a couple of Novas G3s and the larger Nova (name escapes me at the moment). There are two OneWay chucks in my inventory as well - a Stronghold and a Talon which I use excusively on my PM2014 (1 1/4x8 spindle). The others I use on my Jet 1221 (1x8 spindle). The is also one Woodriver chuck floating around somewhere but hat one has not seen any use for years.

I especially like the Easy Chuck for its quick jaw changing feature and with the spindle adapter, I can use it on both lathes. The Nova G3 I use the most has the Nova Pen Jaws attached and it is used 95% for drilling blanks. The OneWays are used for bowl turning and do a great job.
 
With my P90 I was more limited on selection for the large spindle and went with a Hurricane. It has done well and so did the Nova chucks I used on my previous lathe. One thing I recommend is to take look at the jaw selection available for the brands that interest you. That can help drive your decision, too.
 
I have one of the midi nova chucks (t bars to tighten) and my father has the nova g3. I am happy with both for their uses and the interchangeability of the jaw sets
 
FOR THE MONEY I would recommend the Barracuda chuck, shown here:

Barracuda2 Lathe Chuck Ultra Essentials Bundle

One of the easiest to use, best value chucks on the market The Barracuda2 is an easy to use, high-performance, full accessorized key operated self centering four-jaw lathe chuck system. You only need one hand to use this lathe chuck as the "T" handle jaw tightening key enables you to tighten...
www.exoticblanks.com www.exoticblanks.com

It comes with several sets of jaws (usually extra) and uses "T" handle to tighten with one hand--
I have used one for about 5 years--works for me!!

FWIW,
Ed
 
I love my Supernova2. I bought it from here a few years ago:
www.kmstools.com

Nova Super Nova 2 Standard Chuck

Nova has reworked the extremely popular Supernova chuck, and reintroduced it as the Supernova 2. The biggest changes are replacing the keyed pinion with a fixed pinion & Allen key opening/closing mechanism, a closed back, and faster action. New feat
www.kmstools.com www.kmstools.com
 
I have a Nova Infiniti chuck and a full range of jaws. Dont think its made anymore as I havent seen it advertised. I use it all the time, relegated the Supernova to 50mm jaws and worm screw service.
 
I have had a Barracuda chuck for years and it has worked well. The only drawback I have found is that over time the key for tightening has become worn and it will sometimes slip if I don't keep firm pressure while turning the key. I'm sure I can get a new key when it gets bad enough but so far it's just a slight annoyance.

I would assume the chucks that have square key wrenches would have this "issue".

The other thing to consider is that the Barracuda chuck (from Penn State) doesn't have dovetail jaws available.
 
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