Shopsmith Forums

What lathe chuck would you guys recommend for someone wanting to get into bowl turning, and what do you look for in a good chuck. Also if you know who sells them to fit the SS, that would also be helpful. Thanks

I am very pleased with my SuperNova2 chuck from Teknatool Int. I purchased it at the Woodworking show in our area last year. I believe that Woodcrafters stores handle this product line. John McCrossen

I have the Oneway Talon chuck (purchased from Shopsmith) and have been very happy with it. One advantage to buying it from Shopsmith is that it comes with the correct adapter to fit the spindle. Another advantage is that it helps Shopsmith!

I think I remember Rick Davis telling us that the Oneway Stronghold chuck is meant for bigger pieces than you can comfortably turn on the Shopsmith.

The universal tool rest is a definite plus, both for the added weight and the additional reach.

Gary

I agree with the Talon and univeral tool rest I have both and have been very happy with them. I have turned a 14" segmented bowl with the talon and seen in one of the videos.

Thanks for the help guys.

There are several good chucks to choose from. I like the Talon chuck from Oneway. It is builded to last and if you ever need to use it on another lathe you can purchase an adapter for it. I use mine on both my Shopsmith and Ricon lathe. Does not take long to make the changeover for the different lathes.

I purchased the Penn state adapter and feel it is ok for small turning but did not like using it on a 12 inch platter. Felt that it was flexing on me so I changed to the Oneway adapter. It's great for using the SS for sanding and spray painting.

The Shopsmith with the speed reducer and steady rest makes for a good lathe.

James

I have the adapter for our SS and the one for my Jet Mini. I like the accessory jaws- I have 3 or 4 different ones, including the Cole jaws. As always, there is the origin issue- my stuff is New Zealand- now I think it is Korea or China. Oneway is Canadian-don't know if really made there. Either brand is considered quality goods. FOR SOME REASON, i KEEP GRAVITATING TO THE ss FOR PENS AND ALL. Sorry-locked-mt

I will give another recommendation for the talon chuck from SS which comes with the adapter and the universal tool rest as well. I learned how to do bowl turning at a class at Woodcraft a few years ago and they also were using the talon chucks on small Jet mini lathes with the standard tool rest which comes on that particular lathe. The universal tool rest makes it so much easier to turn bowls with and if you really get into bowls, you may want to consider the speed reducer, as when you get to larger bowls you will need to go slower than what the SS normally goes and it can get a bit uncomfortable with vibration until you get the project more symmetrical. Hope this helps with your decision.

rkh2 wrote:I will give another recommendation for the talon chuck from SS which comes with the adapter and the universal tool rest as well. I learned how to do bowl turning at a class at Woodcraft a few years ago and they also were using the talon chucks on small Jet mini lathes with the standard tool rest which comes on that particular lathe. The universal tool rest makes it so much easier to turn bowls with and if you really get into bowls, you may want to consider the speed reducer, as when you get to larger bowls you will need to go slower than what the SS normally goes and it can get a bit uncomfortable with vibration until you get the project more symmetrical. Hope this helps with your decision.

I went to Rockler and watched a turning demo Sat. and he had his speed down to about 100 rpm for the rough bowl turnings he was doing, the SS lowest setting is about 750 rpm so the speed reducer would be nice for that, however between the chuck and the reducer thats about $600 dollars . So if I just got the chuck for now, about big can I turn before I would need the reducer (I would want to know I really liked turning bowls before I make that much of an investment)