[Dynikus]

I should just start a "Dynikus' questions" thread

Anywho, I'm going to be buying a chuck soon. I'm fairly certain I've got the right thread size. I measured it and it appears to be a 1" diameter, with 12 TPI (There are 9 threads in 3/4).

I was mainly wondering,
1. what's the best place to get chucks? I've checked ebay with very minimal luck. This place grizzly.com looks like they're pretty cheaply priced, but I'm not sure if that's due to cheap quality or not.
2. Should I get a 3 jaw, 4 jaw, or 4 circular jaw chuck? I'm thinking a 3 jaw chuck would work just fine. I've read around, and it seems like a lot of people use them for the majority of their work. I plan to my lathe mostly for bowls, yoyos, cups, etc. and I'm not really sure why I'd need to turn something that's not round, so I don't really see the benefit of a 4 jaw.
These are the 3 I'm mainly deciding between, unless someone knows of a better place to get one.

http://www.grizzly.com/products/5-3-Jaw-Wood-Chuck-1-x-12-TPI/H8039
http://www.grizzly.com/products/4-Jaw-Chuck-For-Round-Pieces-1-x-12-TPI/G8785
http://www.grizzly.com/products/5-4-Jaw-Wood-Chuck-1-x-12-TPI/H8043

3. How do I actually secure the chuck onto the lathe? Is there some kind of center... bolt so to speak that screwed into my spindle to keep it from coming off?

Last question, will a chuck be able to hold a piece securely enough without relying on, or even using, my tailstock? As it is, no matter how much I secure my tailstock onto me bed, when I go to tighten it onto the piece I'm going to be working on, It becomes misaligned, making the piece crooked.

 

[Itchytoe]

1. I'm not sure what the best place to get them is. You could try Rockler or Woodcraft, or PSI. I know absolutely nothing about grizzly's chucks so I can't tell you if they're good or bad or what. I have a 4 jaw like the middle link you posted. I think it's a nova chuck, but I don't remember specifically which one.

2. It's true that a 3 jaw would be fine if you only turned round things. Everything I turn ends up round, but it doesn't always start that way. In fact, it rarely starts that way. I've started from square, or even rectangular pieces before and couldn't have done it with a 3 jaw chuck. I was on the lathe earlier today and still have a square piece in the jaws now. I should probably go take it out since I'm finished with it.

3. The chuck will screw onto those threads, and your lathe will spin in a direction that tightens it. Obviously, it will bottom out and won't screw on any further, so it will spin with the headstock. There's no set screw or bolt or anything like that. It stays on because the lathe is always trying to tighten it and the harder you work against it the harder it tightens. I remove my chuck by holding the headstock still and just spinning it off with my other hand. It's easy.

Last question. A good one certainly will. I have a Jet 1014 and have several pieces chucked up that were so long I had completely remove my tailstock to fit them on. The piece simply wouldn't fit between centers. You definitely have to take it easy when you do something like that because a catch can send the piece flying. As they say, slow and steady wins the race. Just don't get in a hurry. When I have problems, it's almost always because I got in a hurry.

 

[john lucas]

Don't waste your money on the 3 jaw chucks. They were designed to hold metal. they crush the fibers in wood and the wood flies out. The 4 jaw chuck you posted is 4 independent jaws. You would have to center the wood every time which is a slow process and again usually only used in the metal working industry.
The tommy bar chuck is just a pain in the butt to use. Save your money and get a good 4 round jaw woodturning chuck that uses a key. It will pay for itself many many times over in ease of use and how well it holds wood. The 4 jaws are geared and rotate as one so it always self centers.
If your lathe has 12 tpi then it's one of the odd ones and you will be limited in the chucks you can buy. Most chucks come with 1"x8, 3/4x16 or 1 1/4x 8.
This one will cost more money but I have one and it's an excellent chuck. It does come with 1" x 12
http://www.grizzly.com/products/4-Jaw-Wood-Chuck-1-x-12-TPI/H6266

 

[Dave Paine]

Last question, will a chuck be able to hold a piece securely enough without relying on, or even using, my tailstock? As it is, no matter how much I secure my tailstock onto me bed, when I go to tighten it onto the piece I'm going to be working on, It becomes misaligned, making the piece crooked.

Using the tailstock when it can be used is normally a good idea to help prevent a piece from flying off the lathe if/when you get a catch.

As others have mentioned, it is possible for a chuck to hold a piece for turning, but using the tailstock in addtion to the chuck adds a big safety factor.

If you are turning something longer than e.g., 6in, you may want to consider making a steady rest. Turning a long spindle with only support at the chuck will have a lot of chatter or vibration or flexing.

These are not difficult to make. The materials are not expensive.

http://www.woodworkingtalk.com/f6/making-lathe-steady-rest-43902/

 

[NCPaladin]

++ to what John said. Stay away from the 3 jaw or independent jaw chucks; get a scroll chuck for woodworking. The only person I have ever seen use a metal chuck (yes I know grizzly is calling the 3 jaws chucks a wood chuck) is Ray Keys in turning boxes (about 2” diameter). Even he warns of them.

The chuck John linked to looks good but I do not know if it is direct thread or uses an insert. If direct threaded you will be very limited in lathes you can use it with if you ever upgrade. Grizzly may or may not have a wide variety of other jaws to fit.

This is a very good chuck and at $126 includes the insert you need, shipping, taxes.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NOVA-G3-WOODLATHE-CHUCK-KIT-INSERT-VERSION-WITH-INSERT-TO-FIT-YOUR-LATHE-/310653665829?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_2&hash=item485466c225#ht_1754wt_900

Other brands are available but the Nova is what I am familiar with.

 

[john lucas]

Don't know about the new Grizzly chuck but the one I have used an insert. It is a copy of the Vicmarc chuck and even the inserts will swap between them so I suspect it does have inserts.