Pick a Chuck

[Canuck]

I have the infamous HF 34706 lathe and am contemplating a chuck purchase. With the very wide variety of chucks out there, I am having trouble selecting a good general purpose one that fits my lathe.:roll:

Without breaking the (piggy) bank, can anyone offer any advice and/experiences with what is currently out there?

Thanks

Wayne

 

[RandyJ]

I have the HF 34706 too. I bought the PSI Barracuda II chuck. It came with 4 sets of jaws and a case. I think I paid $169.00 for it. So far, it's done everything I asked of it...HTH
Take care,

P.S. I think DaveO has the same chuck...maybe he'll add his .02

 

[DaveO]

I have two. The first is a Oneway Talon. It is an outstanding chuck, but at a price as much as the lathe itself, it's a bit costly. Also you have to buy the rest of the jaws for it separately.
I was in the market for a set of Cole jaws (Steve wouldn't give me his) and found that I could buy the PSI Baracuda II chuck with all 4 sets of jaws for not much more that I could buy a set of Cole jaws for the Oneway Talon. http://www.pennstateind.com/store/csc3000c.html
So I ended up with two chucks. I think the PSI chuck is a great deal. It isn't as well built as the Oneway, but it will do what you need, and at a good price

 

[walnutjerry]

I have the HF 34706 too. I bought the PSI Barracuda II chuck. It came with 4 sets of jaws and a case. I think I paid $169.00 for it. So far, it's done everything I asked of it...HTH
Take care,

I bought one of those chucks too----------it was from a seller on ebay and priced at about 150.00(buy it now). He also had the adapters at a very reasonable price----under 20.00. Craft supplies wants 3 times that for an adapter.

My main chuck is the Oneway Stronghold. Years ago I bought a 3 jaw chuck from Grizzly------it does a good job on a lot of things but does not hold a bowl blank like the Oneway.:gar-Bi

Jerry

 

[NZAPP1]

http://www.pennstateind.com/store/csc3000c.html
I think the PSI chuck is a great deal. It isn't as well built as the Oneway, but it will do what you need, and at a good price

I now have 2 of the PSI chucks sets. I like these but never tried the Oneway chuck though

 

[erasmussen]

I got the PSI utility grip, With all the jaws (it uses the same jaws as the Barracuda) Works for me:jiggy:

 

[woodArtz]

I have three teknatool (Nova) chucks. I like the quality and I can exchange the jaws between 'em. They have lots of jaw choices. A tad pricey though.

 

[FredP]

oneway,oneway,oneway........ I have 2 talons and a strongehold. wouldnt trade any of em. also have had cheaper chucks. buy once cry once!:icon_thum
a better chuck will make a great lathe better but it will make a not so great lathe better too. IMHO a chuck is the most important tool you will buy for your lathe. it will get used a lot. I dont care much for the DUCK AND RUN type of turning!:rotflm: the bigger the wood the more its gonna hurt! DAMHIKT......

 

[DaveO]

I like this Chuck

:lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:

Dave

 

[Canuck]

Thanks a lot guys for narrowing the field for me!!!!:eusa_danc

I will now just have to shop for price. I really appreciate your input!

Wayne

 

[DavidF]

I have this one on the HF lathe

http://www.woodcraft.com/family.aspx?familyid=5199

Very nice indeed

 

[tdhetrick]

I have the same HF lathe. I picked up a NOVA G3 chuck for about $129 at Klingspores. Plus about $24 for the thread adapter. I love it. I should have bought it sooner.

 

[garymuto]

I have the same lathe and just picked up a Barracuda chuck on Amazon for $116. It uses two bars instead of the key used on the Barracuda II. It works well. You can't close the jaws all the way or the chuck will not seat against the flange at the bottom of the threads. I guess a FLAT washer would solve that. Other than that it works well.

 

[jimwill48]

You can't close the jaws all the way or the chuck will not seat against the flange at the bottom of the threads. I guess a FLAT washer would solve that. Other than that it works well.

Yep, that lathe has a long spindle nose.... I found that chucks that don't use an adapter will need a flat washer, to shorten the spindle a bit. I have found that a 1/4" thick piece of MDF about 2 inchs square will work great - drill out to 1 inch and the then round the outside make's a great washer. This will also keep the chuck from getting stuck on the spindle. Why pay $2.00 for a thin plastic washer.

James

 

[garymuto]

Great idea. I was concerned about getting a very flat washer to prevent runout, but MDF is compliant so it should work great. Cheap and no extra trip to the store.