Shopsmith Forums

My father-in-law passed away last year and I finally got to travel to inventory his workshop and do some maintenance (very humid basement shop) on the equipment there. So, I came across this lathe chuck that I have cleaned up and have been trying to identify the manufacturer. Thought I would post it here and hopefully one of the very experienced woodturners on the forum can help me. Does anyone know the brand of this chuck? It has no discernable markings on it and I haven't been able to find any similar looking ones online for comparison. So, the jaws are numbered, but I am used to there being a number marked on both the jaw, but also on the slides on the chuck itself. I can't find any numbering anywhere on the slides or around the chuck, so I am assuming there is a manual or instructions somewhere for lathe chucks like this that specifies how you know which jaw goes where on the lathe chuck? FYI...the stainless caphead screws are not original as those were too rusted to put back into service. Hoping to set this one up as a 2nd lathe chuck in addition to my Nova G3.

Does anyone recognize this lathe chuck or know how to match the numbered jaws to a lathe chuck that is not numbered?

It looks similar to my Nova G3 Chuck. Could it be an older Nova Chuck from Teknatool? I tried a search online but only found the G3 and newer ones.

Russ,

Thanks. Doesn't your G3 have a key/wrench though? The closest I can find to it is one from Grizzly, so I think it is a Grizzly chuck, but not positive. Note this chuck doesn't have a "key" to tighten it. You simply turn the chuck base relative to itself. There might have been some round bars to put into holes on the side to get it tight, but there is no key like most modern chucks have for tightening. I don't really have to identify or have a manual, but what I really wanted to know is what do you do when you have no way to identify the sliders relative to the jaws? I mean some lathe jaws are numbered 1, 2, 3 & 4 in a clockwise pattern while other brands are counter-clockwise. Without a manual, etc. I don't know which order the jaws should be and with no numbers on the slides I don't know if I have the lathe chuck properly assembled for minimum runout and optimal concentricity.

I would judge the correctness by how well the jaws close. Your current pix do not reveal very good closure.

I would be inclined to reverse the left most with the right most one. (CW/CCW reversal)

JPG wrote: ↑Tue Jul 13, 2021 3:01 pm I would judge the correctness by how well the jaws close. Your current pix do not reveal very good closure.

Thanks JPG. Yeah, I agree, but when I swapped them the other way CW<->CCW they still didn't close well. On top of this, one of the jaws almost seems like it doesn't match this set. I say this because it sits up taller than the other jaws. So, I don't even think I have a matched set of jaws since that one doesn't seem to "fit".

The missing bars are called tommy bars and they are still in use by some current lathe chucks.

https://www.sherline.com/product/4059-s ... set-grips/

Ed

The Nova Chuck does have a key. I may have found one like the one you showed in the pictures called the Wen Adjustable Chuck.

_

Thanks Russ and Ed. I had heard of Tommy bars before, but my memory just didn't jog on this one. You are correct, this style lathe chuck does need Tommy bars to get it fully tight. I'll need to get them if I decide to use this lathe chuck. Also, I didn't realize that Nova had manufactured any lathe chucks in black oxide...I guess I have just been so used to seeing their newer ones be nickel plated. So, I did some more digging since I started this thread and I found this one (see below) from Grizzly which looks very similar to the one you posted. Of course it is very close in resemblance to the Wen chuck you posted so it could be what I have is either one of these. I checked out the Wen manual and it clearly shows stamped numbers on the ends of the slides, but mine does not have this at all. I have removed the jaws and even before I cleaned it I could find no signs of numbering on the slides. I was hoping to use this as a secondary chuck, you know for when you want to turn something but there is an unfinished project on your primary lathe chuck that you don't want to remove yet. I really wish the jaws fit better and that I knew which slides mated to which jaw pieces. I appreciate all of the feedback on this thread. If anyone has suggestions on this chuck I am open, but I am also very happy with my Nova G3 so maybe this chuck isn't worth the trouble for me? I am definitely a little apprehensive on firing it up until I can get the jaws to fit together better.

Maybe your best hope is you never need to use it since you do not have the Tommy Bars to tighten it and your comment -

On top of this, one of the jaws almost seems like it doesn't match this set. I say this because it sits up taller than the other jaws. So, I don't even think I have a matched set of jaws since that one doesn't seem to "fit".

I hadn't noticed that until you mentioned it. At first look I was simply trying to find something that matched.

If it were me with the uneven jaws I would rather unmount an unfinished project than use that chuck to begin a new one. So far, that hasn't been a problem since I don't do a lot of lathe work but I do want to get into it more.

Have you tried all 16 combinations? 8 if keeping jaw sequence(s).