What would be the best all around chuck for a lathe

[Jay Jolliffe]

The title say's what I want to know....I know I do want a chuck & one with changeable jaws but don't know what one. Leaning towards a Nova chuck...Any help on this would be appreciated...also I do not have a lot of money to spend on this....This vortex is not good.....If it gets too bad I will sell the lathe & stick to what I know...I thought getting the lathe rather cheep would be good but it's eating away at money I don't really have right now...

[Reed Gray]

I prefer the Vicmark chucks as being very well made, and intended for heavy duty use. The top three are Oneway, Nova, and Vickmark. All are good tools. Grizzly does make a clone of the Vicmark, and I have heard that it is a good copy. You will eventually discover, that it is better if you have a chuck for each set of jaws, rather than changing the jaws out each time you want some thing different. Some of the catalog stores will have 'used' or reconditioned chucks, and some will also sell just the body without any jaws on them.

robo hippy

[William Bachtel]

Vicmark. They are the best ones available. I loved mine, I sold all my super nova's.

[Joe Meirhaeghe]

I have a Vicmarc, OneWay, and Grizzly. I use all 3 regularly. That said I like the Vicmarc the best. If I could only have one it would be the Vickmarc. It's money well spent, & should you ever give up turning it will give you the best resale value, making it actually cheaper to have own for the time you used it.

[Rob Sitze]

Vicmarc, heaviest chuck that I've found, I own 2 and wish I had a third.

[Bob Bergstrom]

Also bigger is usually better all around. OneWay strong hole and Vicmark are great. People try to use the smaller chucks on lager bowl find they won't hold as well and usually pull the bowl out of the chuck.

[Bill Wyko]

I use a oneway strong hold. I like the fact that they offer a wide variety of jaws for it. I also had my first one loosen up so I contacted them. They advanced me one almost immediately. Excellent customer service

[Mike Peace]

I have Nova chucks - G3, SN2 and a Titan, small, medium and large. I think Nova chucks offer some of the best value. Chucks make turning easier but really are not essential. You might be able to put off buying one for a while by making an effort at learning how to hold projects without a chuck with face plates, glue blocks, jam chucks, etc. It may make you a better turner. These alternatives will take more time but may increase your skills. Check out this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=aUXil-5dEeo

Folks turned bowls and boxes before chucks came into common use.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Love my Vicmarc chucks. Are about the best I have found.

[Alan Trout]

I have Novas and Oneways and have used several Vicmarcs all good chucks and most will serve the purpose for 99% what we turn. If you are turning pieces under 20" I think it is hard to find a better deal on a chuck then the Super Nova II. You can buy two Super Novas for close to the price of a single Vicmarc VM120 or are Stronghold. I have never had a single piece come out or loose because of the chuck. It was always operator error. I had a good friend of mine almost killed in June by a 20" mesquite bowl chucked in a Vicmarc 150 which is the largest commercially available chuck made. He went through 14 hours of reconstructive surgery on his face and head. It was not the chucks fault. The tenon was not made correctly in a sound piece of wood. Technique is more important than the chuck.

Good luck

Alan

[Michael Mills]

Nothing at all against the Vicmarc or Oneways. I have Novas (G3's, SN's, and SN2) and never a problem.
One of the best buys right now on the SN2 is from the service center for $100 or if you have a lathe 12" or less the G3 on the bay or Amazon for $125 including insert and shipping.
http://novatoolsusa.com/Reconditioned-Products_c10.htm

I don't think you will go wrong with any of the top three.

[Thomas Canfield]

Jay - you got a lot of good general advice, but you need to give more info to get better advice. What size lathe do you have and what size work will you be doing? I started out with a Talon for a Jet 1014 that I have supplemented with a Oneway Stronghold after going to a Powermatic 3520. I really prefer the straight profile jawsof the Oneway over the dovetail on my Novas G3 and SN, but all get used for different things.

[Bill Wyko]

Another feature on the stronghold, you can change the threaded insert. So if you replace a lathe with say a 1", 8tpi headstock with a bigger one with 1-1/4 8tpi, you don't have to replace your chuck. I don't know if the other ones offer this feature though. It saved me considerably when I went from JET1442 to my PM4224.

[David Dobbs]

I have couple Nova chucks, couple Grizzly chucks, but the ones I like best are my One Way chucks.

[Michelle Rich]

I agree with all above & my preference is Vicmark, but you say you have budget issues and you don't tell us what size your lathe is. ( do not use a stronghold on a mini lathe, etc) If I had severe budget issues I might be tempted to get the PSI chuck that has quite a few jaws included. or I would go with the Grizzly clone and get the vicmark jaws, that I might need. Anyway you go at this the $$$$$ will be substantial. No way of getting around it.