Pinnacle chuck vs Nova midi chuck

[David Little]

A few weeks ago someone asked if there was anyone who had any experience with the Pinnacle chuck being sold by Woodcraft. At the time I had just bought mine, but hadn't used it enough to be comfortable to express any opinions. Now I own both, so here are some thoughts on the two.

First, some background. I purchased a Jet mini lathe just efore Christmas but it took a trip to Woodcraft the last week of December before I had any tools to begin turning. At the time Woodcraft was advertising the Nova midi for $69.99 and I intended to buy one. Unfortunately, the store did not have any in stock, but told me they would extend the price if I still wanted one. A couple of weeks later I was back in the store and they still did not have the Nova midi in stock, so I looked at the Pinnacle that was selling for $84.99. I was impatient to begin doing more with the new lathe, so I went ahead and bought the Pinnacle chuck but also put in an order for the Nova midi at the $69.99 price. Based on what I had read on this forum, it didn't sound like having two chucks would be a bad thing. I have been using the Pinnacle chuck for about a month and just picked up the Nova yesterday and tried it out this morning. Here are some thoughts on comparing the two. Remember please that I am a new turner and don't have any experience with any of the other chucks on the market.

The Pinnacle is a little larger than the Nova, about 4 inches vs. 3 1/2 inches. Both require a slight dovetail for the tenon. The Pinnalce has a bit more flexibility on the size of tenon it will handle: the Pinnacle will fit a tenon of between 1 5/8 to 2 3/4 inches for a difference of 1 1/8 inches; the Nova 1 49/64 to 2 5/16 inches for a difference of approx. 35/64 or just over 1/2 inches (hopefully I subtracted my fractions correctly).

The Pinnacle comes with a plastic carrying case, the Nova comes in a box.

They both operate with Tommy bars. The Pinnacle has three holes in the outer ring and four in the inner ring. The Nova has three holes in the outer ring and two in the inner ring. This doesn't sound like a big thing but it means that on the Pinnacle there are more options for positioning the two Tommy bars. Therefore, with the Pinnacle it is easier to hand tighten the chuck on the teneon and then place the bars close enough together to squeeze with one hand to tighten on the tenon while holding the bowl with the other hand. Then I could use both hands to finish tightening. This was more difficult to do with one hand on the Nova because the bars tended to be further apart.

The Pinnacle seems to be smoother to operate, at least at first. The Nova was pretty stiff to open and close, even after lubricating the slides. The Pinnacle outer ring also has a textured surface which makes it easier to grasp to turn the chuck to open or close. Because of the stiffness of the Nova and the smooth surface of the ring, I had to use a Tommy bar in the outer ring while twisting the inner ring to hand tighten on the tenon. Maybe the Nova will loosen up some more as I continue to use it.

The extra jaws are less expensive for the Pinnacle. A set of #1 jaws was only $19.99. However, the Pinnacle does require purchase of an insert to fit your lathe size while the Nova does not.

Both come with a worm screw. The one with the Pinnacle protrudes 1 1/4 inches past the jaws while the Nova protrudes 3/4 inches. For shallow bowls the one with the Pinnacle seemed to be too long, so I made a wooden disk about 3/8 in. thick to act as a spacer between the jaws and the bowl.

The Pinnacle comes with one T-handle allen wrench. The Nova comes with two regular allen wrenches. It seems easier to use the T-handle wrench and it is easier to keep track of on the work bench.

Before soneone asks, the jaws of the two chucks are not interchangeable. The spacing of the bolts is slightly different.

The Pinnacle is made in China but, so far, at least I am very pleased with it. I think the two together will give me a lot of flexibility.

[John Hart]

That's a fine comparative analysis David! We need more objective observations like this on a lot of things. Thank you.

[Rick Huelsbeck]

Had the nova midi, but it did not seem to fit my jet 1236 very good and would wobble, worked just fine on the mini I had, but I've sold both of those.

I really like the pinnacle over the nova by a long shot, Wish they had the flat jaws in stock but they are back ordered until Dec. I'll be out getting them when they arrive. I also have a barracuda 2, I like it better only because it has a t-bar to tighten instead of tommy bars, but like David said, with the texture on the tightening ring it's not a big deal. And I have to agree that working with the tommy bars on the pinnacle it a lot easier than it was on the nova.

[joe greiner]

With either the T-handle or the Tommy bars (I have both types), I'd suggest tailstock assistance while chucking the workpiece to assure proper centering. With the T-handle especially, use all tightening positions, just as you would with a Jacobs drill chuck; the scroll grooves aren't friction free in any such device.

Joe

[Gordon Seto]

However, the Pinnacle does require purchase of an insert to fit your lathe size while the Nova does not.

The Midi is a direct threaded chuck; it is more compact. Because it doesn't use an insert; you can't used it on lathes of different spindle size. You will have to use an adapter ($60 CSUSA) which will increase the chance of run out, stress the headstock because of over hanging.
I have the Midi as dedicated to the the mini lathe. Mine is silky smooth; no force is required to open and close at all. I suggest you contact Tim Geist:
1-866-748-3025
service@teknatool.com
The service from Teknatool has been excellent.
I don't have the Pinnacle chuck. Mine are all from Nova of various sizes, Midi, SuperNova, SuperNova 2 and Titan. I choose Nova because all their jaws (except 1) are interchangeable on every Nova chuck. The current price of the Midi is close to $100; I think I would go with the G3 for a bit more.

Gordon

[John Frigillana]

I have the Super Nova 2 and the Pinnacle. The Pinnacle works great and I got the Cole jaws to go with it. It's great, holds 8" bowls, also have another set of screw holds that I put on 1/2"w x 3/4"h test tube stoppers and can hold larger inside diameter. For the price of the other jaws they wok great for my Jet 1220.

[Andrew Derhammer]

Had the nova midi, but it did not seem to fit my jet 1236 very good and would wobble, worked just fine on the mini I had, but I've sold both of those.

Are you sure that it was not the lathe? If the back plate behind the nose thread is not clean and true, it can throw off things such as faceplates and chucks.