[MasterSplinter]

My local woodcraft recomends the nova g3. Nova are interchangeable. Cost. Next would be the easy chuck but at twice the price.

I would like to hear fron you guys. Grisley? Psi? Any others?

 

[knika]

I love my G3. I have a Jet Midi 1220.

Jack

 

[duncsuss]

I would like to hear fron you guys. Grisley? Psi? Any others?

I think it's good to find out what your plans for the chuck are before making a recommendation.

(1) What size (swing) lathe do you have?

(2) Do you intend to use it all (i.e. are you planning to make the largest piece physically possible on your lathe?)

(3) What is the drive shaft spec (I'd guess 1" x 8tpi if somebody recommended the Nova G3 chuck, but it's worth checking)

 

[cuerodoc]

+1 with Duncsuss
I have all PSI chucks the csc3000 and the bigger one(4000) and have no complaints & yep! I'd buy'em. again. And PSI has adapters that'll fit most any lathe. Can't do reverse turning tho- unless you use tailstock--not a big issue for me.

 

[Dave Paine]

As duncsuss stated, what are you desires for turning projects?

You have the HF 12x33 lathe.

If you wanted to turn e.g., a 12in bowl, this is a decent size. When you start out it will not be balanced, and takes a lot of holding power.

My friend has the same lathe as mine, a NOVA DVR XP 1624. He started out with a NOVA G3, then started turning larger bowls. He has only gone to about 12in bowl. He eventually purchased a SuperNOVA 2 chuch since it was beefier and slightly larger diameter. Much better to hold the out of balance large bowls with his #3 jaws.

I have Oneway Talon chucks.

Next question after which chuck is what sizes of jaws and whether smooth, dovetail or serrated. No black and white answer. For smaller items it may not matter. For large bowls, I have read dovetail jaws grip better than serrated.

 

[MasterSplinter]

AHH ok. As Dave said. I have the HF 12x33 lathe 1in 8tpi. My GF and I are interested in turning bowls. Not sure if i plane to go the full 12in for a bowl. Also plan to do pepper mills and table legs. Also some small items. Just need a good chuck that wont breal the bank. How are the Grissley

 

[Dave Paine]

Take at look at some earlier threads, like this one from the summer.

http://www.woodworkingtalk.com/f6/chuck-comparison-53655/

 

[NCPaladin]

I have four G3's and have never had a problem. The only brand I have experience with outside of Novas is the Hurricane. The 100mm Hurricane is larger than the SN2.
Make sure you get an oem insert. The one pictured here is not.
http://www.woodcraft.com/Product/20...-Randl-Insert-wset-Screw-for-Nova-Chucks.aspx


Nova has the letter being stamped upright. The real Nova inserts come in a red Teknatool box.

G3's are also available from the bay or Amazon for $126-129 for chuck, real insert, and shipping.

 

[MasterSplinter]

Is there a difference between the nova 2 and G3?

 

[Dave Paine]

Is there a difference between the nova 2 and G3?

Yes, I mentioned this in my post #5.

"My friend has the same lathe as mine, a NOVA DVR XP 1624. He started out with a NOVA G3, then started turning larger bowls. He has only gone to about 12in bowl. He eventually purchased a SuperNOVA 2 chuck since it was beefier and slightly larger diameter. Much better to hold the out of balance large bowls with his #3 jaws."

 

[MasterSplinter]

Sorry. Got it. So since the 2 is beefier. would i be better off going with that?

 

[duncsuss]

Sorry. Got it. So since the 2 is beefier. would i be better off going with that?

I think so -- it's the one I have now.

My first chuck was the PSI Utility Chuck, it was ok but had trouble when I was getting into larger bowls -- but then, the HF 12-33 lathe wasn't ideal for large bowls either (especially if the blank was out of balance, the minimum speed setting is way too fast for a heavy lump of wood.)

Whichever chuck you get, I recommend buying several sets of jaws. They grip best when nearly closed -- for bowls over 10" diameter, I use 4" jaws. For smaller bowls, I use smaller jaws.

 

[BassBlaster]

I have the G3 and I love it. I bought a refurb through the Nova service center. Order from there at your own risk. No problem with the product but a CS nightmare!!

I have the HF 5 speed mini. I know my lathe is a 1/4 HP smaller than yours but it really struggles to spin a 6" bowl blank unless its perfectly balanced and they never start out blanced. I think if your lathe will even spin a 10" blank, the lathe is gonna dance all over your shop. Be careful!:thumbsup:

 

[NCPaladin]

The SN2 is about five pounds where the G3 is about three pounds. You may never need a “beefier” chuck than the G3 with your lathe but it will not hurt . The service center would be good for the SN2 but with current prices they are $10 more than other places for the G3 with insert and shipping included.
Both come with 50mm bowl jaws which are sufficient up to 12” diameter. You could also get a set of Pin jaws (not Pen jaws) for small items with the G3. The smallest tenon you can grip with the 50mm is about 1&5/8” and the Pin jaws will grip down to about 3/8”
You need to consider extra jaws carefully as it is easy to be confused (at least for me). IE the 35mm bowl jaws and the 35mm spigot jaws are completely different. The 75mm bowl jaws have a spigot almost exactly the same diameter as the 50mm bowl jaws, however the 70mm bowl jaws have a much larger spigot.

 

[BassBlaster]

Yes, definately get the pin jaws!. I was gifted a set from Nova due to the CS nightmare I went through and I use them a lot. They are very handy to have around. I use them enough that Ive been considering buying a second G3 for those jaws so I dont have to swap em.