Chuck questions

[Ernie Kuhn]

Nova G3 on ebay. I ordered one. There appear to be 4 left. Can't beat the price and sales tax not charged. The seller is Bob Gadd. Name sounds familiar. Don't know if I ran across his name on the predecessor to "the creek"? Or if I dealt with him before when purchasing from KMS Tools in BC? Should be here in a week or so.
Appreciate all the responses and suggestions/help.
Ernie

[Gordon Seto]

I picked up the Nova Midi last sale at W/C $99 with 3 jaw sets. Tommy bars aren't as handy as the G3 is.

If your lathe has spindle lock, you can operate the chuck with a single Tommy bar. The Tommy bar chucks are usually faster acting than those with T-handle key, which take a lot of turns for the jaws to travel the whole range.
You can also use the tail stock as your third hand to hold the blank temporarily.
Another advantage of Tommy bar chucks is they are less bulky, take up less bed length.
The down side of the Midi chuck is it is direct threaded. You can't just swap out the insert (adapter) when you switch to a lathe of different spindle without using a spindle adapter. The range of jaw movement on the Midi is also smaller than G3.

[Ryan Baker]

I agree. Tommy bar chucks are compact and fast to operate IF you have a lathe with a goo spindle lock, like a Vicmarc. If you have a lathe with a spring loaded lock, like a Jet/Powermatic for example, using a tommy bar chuck is a big pain.

[Kyle Iwamoto]

If your lathe has spindle lock, you can operate the chuck with a single Tommy bar. The Tommy bar chucks are usually faster acting than those with T-handle key, which take a lot of turns for the jaws to travel the whole range.
You can also use the tail stock as your third hand to hold the blank temporarily.
Another advantage of Tommy bar chucks is they are less bulky, take up less bed length.
The down side of the Midi chuck is it is direct threaded. You can't just swap out the insert (adapter) when you switch to a lathe of different spindle without using a spindle adapter. The range of jaw movement on the Midi is also smaller than G3.

My spindle lock pops back out by spring pressure, so I'd have to hold it to tighten. I guess it's what you're used to. My hands are big enough so I can tighten the chuck snug with 1 hand holding the wood... Then I can use both hands to gronk down on the chuck. I usually also use the tailstock to hold the wood, so 1 hand vs 2 is not the problem. Finding 2 little holes instead of 1 big one.
The G3 is a FAT chuck..... One of the reasons I like the Midi. I don't hate either. I'm more used to the G3.