Another "First lathe" question

[Maurice Arney]

Buy the 1221. It's a solid good lathe. Lots of people have more than 1 lathe. In the future, you could pony up the bucks for the 1642 or the bigger brother the Powermatic 3520. Or 4224. I bought the old version 1014 and still use it. I prefer the little lathe when turning finials and such. Mostly because the 1642-2 draws 10 times the current to turn the same little finial. Out here, at 34 cents a kw, that makes quite a difference. Even having the 1014 and 1642, if a 1221 came my way, I'd swap out the 1014 just for the variable speed. But still would want 2 lathes. Wait, I have 3 already.......
Welcome. You do know that the lathe is the cheap part of turning. Hang on to your credit card.

Thanks for the advice. I went ahead and ordered the 1221 along with a table extension. Although I could spend time making my own extension, I decided to spend the $200 so I could get on with the long list of other projects I have on my list. I will be building my own stand however. I did some looking t chucks and cutting tools. You are right about the lathe being the cheap part!

I am open to recommendations on a reasonably priced chuck.

[John Keeton]

I am open to recommendations on a reasonably priced chuck.

Of the major brands, Nova probably is the more affordable, but a lot of folks have been pleased with the Grizzly clone of the VicMarc chuck. Perhaps someone can post the part number.

Whichever chuck you get, just realize you probably will eventually want more than one and it is better to stick to one brand so that the jaws and keys interchange.

[Glenn Howard]

Whichever you choose, be sure that what you're buying is compatible. The 1221vs has the reverse feature so your chuck will need to work with that. I just bought a 1221 vs myself along with a Nova G3. The number of variations of the G3 and inserts was a bit mind boggling. And don't forget to loosen those set screws when removing the chuck insert to avoid damaging your lathe.

[Maurice Arney]

Whichever you choose, be sure that what you're buying is compatible. The 1221vs has the reverse feature so your chuck will need to work with that. I just bought a 1221 vs myself along with a Nova G3. The number of variations of the G3 and inserts was a bit mind boggling. And don't forget to loosen those set screws when removing the chuck insert to avoid damaging your lathe.

Thanks for the tip!

[Maurice Arney]

Whichever you choose, be sure that what you're buying is compatible. The 1221vs has the reverse feature so your chuck will need to work with that. I just bought a 1221 vs myself along with a Nova G3. The number of variations of the G3 and inserts was a bit mind boggling. And don't forget to loosen those set screws when removing the chuck insert to avoid damaging your lathe.

I'm looking at the NOVA 48232 G3 Reversible chuck on Amazon. It looks good but I am a tad concerned by this statement in the description: "It has a dedicated 1-Inch8TPI thread and is only able to be used on the NOVA 46000 Comet II Lathe." I don't know if that means that the 46000 is the only Nova lathe it can be used on, or if it literally means that the 46000 is the only lathe it can be used on.

[Thom Sturgill]

I can't answer that explicitly, but it is possible that it only fits the Comet II.

That would be due to some unusual fit due to length of the threading on the spindle. Normally the insert fits against the face of the shoulder and not the end of the spindle. This allows slight variation in the distance from the face of the shoulder to the end of the spindle without that being critical. If the Comet II has too long a thread, a normal adapter may not seat properly and Technitool may feel that a longer insert may not be stable for spindles with a shorter thread.

On the other hand it could be just a marketing ploy...

[Glenn Howard]

I'm looking at the NOVA 48232 G3 Reversible chuck on Amazon. It looks good but I am a tad concerned by this statement in the description: "It has a dedicated 1-Inch8TPI thread and is only able to be used on the NOVA 46000 Comet II Lathe." I don't know if that means that the 46000 is the only Nova lathe it can be used on, or if it literally means that the 46000 is the only lathe it can be used on.

If you read the description of that model on Rockler's site, it specifically says it's not compatible with the Jet 1221VS.

[Robert Henrickson]

I'm looking at the NOVA 48232 G3 Reversible chuck on Amazon. It looks good but I am a tad concerned by this statement in the description: "It has a dedicated 1-Inch8TPI thread and is only able to be used on the NOVA 46000 Comet II Lathe." I don't know if that means that the 46000 is the only Nova lathe it can be used on, or if it literally means that the 46000 is the only lathe it can be used on.

I would take them at their word. If you get a G3 that uses a threaded insert, you can use the chuck on different lathes by changing inserts. I have a 1" 8TPI insert for my G3 for when I use it on my Jet 1014. I have a 1 1/4" insert for when I use it on my 1642. A chuck requiring a separate threaded insert may be slightly more expensive, but you can easily make it fit accurately on different lathes.

[Glenn Howard]

I bought my Jet 1221vs and Nova G3 all at the same time at Woodcraft. I told them I was confused by the number of different models of the G3 and inserts available. They sold me a G3 model that required an insert (Woodcraft product number 147016) and a Nova IXNS (Woodcraft product number 153008) insert and said that's what I'd need for the 1221. They even took them out of the box and fitted them on to their floor model, so I trust what they told me was correct. That said, I have not used mine yet...still cleaning it up and arranging my workspace.

[Paul Saffold]

There are 3 chucks labeled G-3. I think teknatool could have done a better job naming their chucks. It is confusing.
The G-3 Chuck which requires an insert. The concern for using a chuck on a lathe with reverse is that the chuck could unscrew from the insert in the reverse mode. Drilling and tapping the insert for a setscrew won’t prevent this, it will only hold the insert on the drive shaft.


The G3 Reversing Chuck "is direct threaded for 1"x8 and includes a locking set screw to lock it on the shaft on Mini or Midi lathes that have a reversing feature." (Quote from packardwoodworks.com) I bought this one from Packard. It fits tight to the shoulder on the drive on my Jet 12-21.


The G-3 Comet II Reversible Chuck which has this note on the Teknatool website "Note: If you don't have a NOVA Comet II Midi Lathe you cannot use this chuck.”

[Maurice Arney]

There are 3 chucks labeled G-3. I think teknatool could have done a better job naming their chucks. It is confusing.
The G-3 Chuck which requires an insert. The concern for using a chuck on a lathe with reverse is that the chuck could unscrew from the insert in the reverse mode. Drilling and tapping the insert for a setscrew won’t prevent this, it will only hold the insert on the drive shaft.


The G3 Reversing Chuck "is direct threaded for 1"x8 and includes a locking set screw to lock it on the shaft on Mini or Midi lathes that have a reversing feature." (Quote from packardwoodworks.com) I bought this one from Packard. It fits tight to the shoulder on the drive on my Jet 12-21.
The G-3 Comet II Reversible Chuck which has this note on the Teknatool website "Note: If you don't have a NOVA Comet II Midi Lathe you cannot use this chuck.”

Good info thanks. You don't happen to have the part numbers for these three variations do you? The problem buying online is that, when there are multiple versions of an item, they sometimes just list the common name so you can't be sure which one you are getting. I'm going to try calling Nova Tool to confirm which chuck will fit my lathe properly.

[Maurice Arney]

Not to confuse things even more but it seems there is also a Delta brand chuck PN 46-461 called the "Nova G3 reversable chuck" for sale at Home Depot and Amazon.
http://www.deltamachinery.com/access...category_id=32
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Delta-Rev...-203293649-_-N
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...=ATVPDKIKX0DER

[Glenn Howard]

Ok, I just spoke with Phil at Teknatool, and he advised that neither the reversible version of the G3 or the version that requires an insert would support the reverse function if used on the Jet 1221VS. The reverse version (and the insert model with the IXNS insert version for that matter) has a grub screw that for the Comet, contacts the spindle in a non-threaded area. For the Jet1221VS, the grub screw hits in the threaded area and shouldn't be used.

He said that if you truly wanted to use the G3 with the Jet1221VS in reverse, he suggested using a plastic spindle ring (spindle washer), which may help to keep the G3 in place while using reverse. His logic was, with the spindle ring, you can get the chuck on a bit more snug than without it. He did say even then, you'd need to use care because there is still some risk the chuck could come unthreaded while used in reverse.

[Maurice Arney]

Ok, I just spoke with Phil at Teknatool, and he advised that neither the reversible version of the G3 or the version that requires an insert would support the reverse function if used on the Jet 1221VS. The reverse version (and the insert model with the IXNS insert version for that matter) has a grub screw that for the Comet, contacts the spindle in a non-threaded area. For the Jet1221VS, the grub screw hits in the threaded area and shouldn't be used.

He said that if you truly wanted to use the G3 with the Jet1221VS in reverse, he suggested using a plastic spindle ring (spindle washer), which may help to keep the G3 in place while using reverse. His logic was, with the spindle ring, you can get the chuck on a bit more snug than without it. He did say even then, you'd need to use care because there is still some risk the chuck could come unthreaded while used in reverse.

Thanks for researching this!

[Dwight Rutherford]

Not sure about the advice to use a plastic spindle washer. Every thing I have read about them is they make it easier to unscrew chucks that become hard to get off.
I run my lathe in reverse all the time for sanding. Always start in reverse from a dead stop and slowly ramp the speed up. I have never had the chuck come loose.
The few times I have turned in reverse, have used a grub screw to secure the chuck.