Shopsmith Forums

I'm planning on surprising myself with a lathe chuck for Christmas this year. No idea what the practical alternatives are.

So what do you guys think is the way to go? Is the SS Nova G3 package worth the money? Has something better worked out for anyone? What kind of avantages/disadvantages have you found with the Nova or other chucks?

I have only used faceplates and screw chucks for turning wood before so I have nothing to compare to. My plans are to turn some bowls and other items but I also want to be able to chuck up a chunk of wood quickly to turn a knob or small handle.

Here's a previous thread on this topic:

https://www.shopsmith.com/ss_forum/view ... ck#p270536

If you increase the amount of turning that you do, you will probably buy more chucks, because it is easier and faster to change chucks than it it is to change jaws, and you will eventually want to do that. Easy Wood makes a chuck with quick change jaws, but it is about twice the price of the Nova or Oneway and there is no Shopsmith adapter for it. You could use it with a 5/8" to 1"-8 adapter, instead.

Mike

Mike907 wrote:Here's a previous thread on this topic:

https://www.shopsmith.com/ss_forum/view ... ck#p270536

If you increase the amount of turning that you do, you will probably buy more chucks, because it is easier and faster to change chucks than it it is to change jaws, and you will eventually want to do that. Easy Wood makes a chuck with quick change jaws, but it is about twice the price of the Nova or Oneway and there is no Shopsmith adapter for it. You could use it with a 5/8" to 1"-8 adapter, instead.

Mike

The other thread mentions Oneway chucks and those seem comparable to the Nova G3. There was a mention of a loose adapter on another brand, that's the kind of thing I really want to avoid.

Multiple chucks is something I hadn't considered. That could get expensive fast. I have a feeling I'd need at least 2 with one always available for those quick little turned pieces.

Been looking at chuck options on-line and guess I've opened up a can o' worms for myself. And I didn't have plans to go fishing either. There are a lot of choices out there in same price range as the Nova G3 from Shopsmith, including the Nova G3 from Amazon. I'm not gonna spend a lot more than that for my first lathe chuck, and I see a couple of choices that would cost less but with fewer jaw options.

If I'm heading toward a future of multiple chucks, and that's not clear yet, I may not be that enchanted with turning big bowls after I do a couple, but if I keep going then multiple chucks make sense and I'll need to find an economical chuck to use.

Not sure how a lathe spindle adapter can not work. The chucks made for 1" X 8TPI should all fit the same threaded spindles. If an adapter works for one it should work for any as long as that's the real thread spec.

At the moment I'm leaning toward the Shopsmith Nova G3 package as a starter. Just seems safe.

One of the pluses for the Nova chuck is that any jaws you might choose to purchase for the G3 are compatible with any model Nova chuck. This is not necessarily true for other brands of chucks

If you chose to buy a different chuck be sure it is a reversible chuck , I have a barracuda and it is not reversible !

Hobbyman2 wrote: ↑Mon Nov 02, 2020 8:13 pm If you chose to buy a different chuck be sure it is a reversible chuck , I have a barracuda and it is not reversible !

Which brings up a good question, is the Nova reversible with the Shopsmith adapter? Is there anything else that makes a chuck reversible besides a lock on the screw mount? I have the PowerPro so reverse is an option, although I'm not sure what to do with it when turning.

as far as I know it is the set screw that makes it reversible . the Barracuda does not have the locking set screw . it did come with several different sets of jaws including the pen jaw.

For small stuff, the screw center works well as does the (gasp) drill chuck.

JPG wrote: ↑Mon Nov 23, 2020 3:22 pm For small stuff, the screw center works well as does the (gasp) drill chuck.

The screw center is fine for spindles, and the drill chuck is fine for small things.

I've been wanting to turn larger items since I got my first Shopsmith 25 years ago. Who knows if I'll be any good at it or enjoy doing it, but life is going by and I don't want to wait any longer.

Lacking any more info I think the Shopsmith package is the way to start. If this turns into something and I need more chucks I'll have the Nova G3 to compare to as a baseline.