First Lathe Chuck, big or small?

[pjallen]

Hi all,

I was planning on buying a lathe chuck for my new used Shopsmith 500. I am really enjoying the lath since I am upgrading from a 1951 Sears/Dunlap 24inch lath.

I don't have any immediate plans to turn any really large bowls yet since I don't have a speed reducer. But who knows what I will want to turn tomorrow!

At the moment the price difference isn't an issue for me, so which chuck is the best to purchase for a variety of turning needs, the Talon (small) or the Stronghold (big)? Is bigger always better?

regards,

Phillip Allen

[JPG40504]

Hi all,

I was planning on buying a lathe chuck for my new used Shopsmith 500. I am really enjoying the lath since I am upgrading from a 1951 Sears/Dunlap 24inch lath.

I don't have any immediate plans to turn any really large bowls yet since I don't have a speed reducer. But who knows what I will want to turn tomorrow!

At the moment the price difference isn't an issue for me, so which chuck is the best to purchase for a variety of turning needs, the Talon (small) or the Stronghold (big)? Is bigger always better?

regards,

Phillip Allen
Generally speaking, IF the larger chuck is capable of holding SMALL items, I would say go for the Bigun!:) This(Big chuck hold small items) needs to be verified b4 purchase!:D

[woodburner]

As long as the Oneway company offers chuck jaws that will fit the Stronghold so you can turn small items along with the big, I would go with the big. If you ever upgrade to a larger lathe than a SS, you can use the Stronghold on it with the proper adapter.

That's the great thing about most of these newer scroll chucks, with the right adapter they can fit on almost any lathe so they can be used on more than one brand/type of lathe.

I was told once that due to the largest size the SS can turn, a Talon chuck is more than adequete with the proper jaws installed. I have turned a 16" bowl (largest you can turn on a SS) using a Talon chuck and it worked fine with the larger #3 jaws attached to it.

Also, the Stronghold chuck weighs 2 lbs. more than a Talon chuck, which may help in certain turning operations. You might also want to check out other manufacturer's who make scroll chucks for lathes. There are several different brands that will fit on a Shopsmith besides what the Oneway company offers. Check out this website:

www.woodturnerscatalog.com

They offer several kinds of chucks at various prices that will fit on a Shopsmith with the correct adapter. Most scroll chucks need an adapter to fit the lathe they are going to be used on, that is how they are made. You will find the adapters listed along side the chucks on the catalogs page. Look for adapters that say: "5/8" plain", or, "Shopsmith". This is the type of adapter you need so you can use the chuck on a Shopsmith.

I have both Oneway chucks and Vicmarc chucks and use both types on my Shopsmith. At the time I purchased my Vicmarc, they offered a larger selection of chuck jaws, but now Oneway is catching up with them.