Does anyone have personal experience with Grizzly 5.5" chuck?

[Matt Schrum]

Have you chucked up a scrap piece of wood or anything? I have zero complaints about my HTC 125 and it performs great, but when it's loose and not holding anything, there is a slight amount of play and wiggle to the jaws. Chuck up a piece of wood though and it's rock solid.

[Don Bunce]

I don't have any experience with the Grizzly chucks, but I have a Hurricane HTC125. Excellent quality, highly recommended.


If you haven't seen them, watch the utube videos on the Hurricane chucks.

[Bill White]

I have the Gizz VicMark clone on my Grizz lathe. It has worked very well, and I'd buy it again. The dove tail jaws hold well for both tenon and mortice grips.
Bill

[David C. Roseman]

I think it's too loose of machining. If you shake it it rattles a bit.

I don't think that tells you anything about how the chuck will perform on the lathe. When the jaws aren't gripping anything, all of my Oneways and Hurricanes rattle when you shake them in hand. I'd wait until you can mount and test drive it.

[Mark Greenbaum]

Thanks for the advise. I'll hold judgement until I fire up the new lathe. I hope it'll work fine. So many jaws to choose from, and Cole Jaws.

I don't think that tells you anything about how the chuck will perform on the lathe. When the jaws aren't gripping anything, all of my Oneways and Hurricanes rattle when you shake them in hand. I'd wait until you can mount and test drive it.

[Thom Sturgill]

A while back I read a review where the reviewer compared the Grizzly to a Vicmarc and a Bulldog Chuck from Chucks Plus. Grizzly and bulldog are both clones of the Vic and can share jaws. He rated the bulldog as better than the Vic and the Grizzly as way worse, and his chief complaint was poor tolerances on the Grizzly. The 5 1/2" Bulldog is about $265 and is on my radar as is the Hurricane 125. Our club was gifted with a Hurricane 125 by a member after we bought the Grizzly 0766 lathe for demos, so I will get the chance to turn with one soon.

As far as I have seen, the Hurricane chucks are not jaw compatible with any other chuck, so while they have a good selection, that is a limit.

[Mark Greenbaum]

My lathe will be shipping supposedly Aug 13th, so in a week or so I may have the test run. If this kit is poorly made, I may not be able to tell, as I have little experience with other large chucks. Only 1 week at JC Campbell Folk School on PM 3520's with 5" Vicmarcs. They really hold well and are made very precisely. The Grizzly does not have that same type of feel; but testing will tell. Proof is in the pudding.

[Mark Greenbaum]

UPDATE: My lathe was delivered on August 18th, and I now have it wired up and running. I still have not turned any wood, but the lathe is quiet and steady. The Chuck came a few weeks earlier, and it weighs a ton. The adapter also came, and I tried to fit it onto the spindle and fits beautifully up over the shoulder and flushes out nicely. I still have not tried the chuck, but I will this weekend. The mobile base is all designed sitting on a laptop hard drive (which the Mobo needs to be replaced due to crashing during a BIOS flash - got to love Mr. Dell). Progress is being made, though - in small baby steps.

[Mark Greenbaum]

UPDATE: Today I finally got a chance to try out the monster Grizzly 5.5" diameter chuck, and it works really well. I chucked up an irregular piece of holly limb to try to make Christmas ornaments, and it held on well enough to get the orbs cut (all without even cutting a proper tenon). When I did get a proper tenon, it was too small for the jumbo chuck, so I went back to the Nova G3. The lathe functions really well, and I will enjoy it even more when the new Banjo gets here and it installed. This is my first Christmas ornament, so when it's done and I post pics, please be gentle. I am just practicing to I can get familiar with all the new tools. Thanks.

[Brice Rogers]

I think it's too loose of machining. If you shake it it rattles a bit.

I have a smaller Grizzly chuck and when empty it too will rattle. But when you put in a piece of wood and tighten it, it does not rattle. All of that scroll thread play is taken up.

BTW, I have a G0766 and bought the 1-1/4 to 1" adapter. Today I am getting a delivery of the 5-1/2 inch Grizzly chuck. If I'm disappointed when I run it, I'll repost here.

[Mark Greenbaum]

I use 2 different sets of jaws on it, and the larger dovetails held especially well on a non-tenoned limb of that holly branch. The adapter does put the whole chuck extended a bit out there (sure would have been nicer if they offered direct threads.) But for that price and my tight budget, it offers a whole lot of inconvenient flexibility. When I strike it rich, I'll have a different chuck for each jawset (never going to happen, but I can dream). Now I need to get to making more sawdust.

I have a smaller Grizzly chuck and when empty it too will rattle. But when you put in a piece of wood and tighten it, it does not rattle. All of that scroll thread play is taken up.

BTW, I have a G0766 and bought the 1-1/4 to 1" adapter. Today I am getting a delivery of the 5-1/2 inch Grizzly chuck. If I'm disappointed when I run it, I'll repost here.

[Brice Rogers]

I received my Grizzly 5-1/2 inch chuck (T10811).
1. The chuck seems fine. No looseness after I tighten down on the wood. Even with the spindle adapter its runout is tolerable.
2. It came with an aluminum "briefcase" for storing everything. Unfortunately, the top of the briefcase was broken. No damage to the external cardboard boxes, just the lid. Bummer. Called and its on backorder. Another bummer

3. I've started turning with my new Grizzley G0766.

First impression: The height of the tool rest is way too high. The lowest position is only 1/4 inch below center. When I was putting a female tenon on the bottom of a bowl, I had to use a 3/8 spindle gouge (spalted wood that wanted to tear out) in order to remove the "nib" in the center. My old workhorse 3/4 inch gouge leaves a nib. On my old Sears lathe this wasn't an issue. I suspect that the manufacturer of this lathe never had any somewhat experienced wood turners try it out before they finalized the design. I'll be happier when I receive the new re-designed banjo. I spoke to Tech Support. They say it is supposed to ship this month but no one knows when.

Second impression: be careful when you ramp down the motor. The chuck is heavy and seems to want to unscrew if you hit the stop button. IMG_0014 (1024x768) with text.jpg