"Lyn J. Mangiameli" wrote in message

Hi Max,
I wanted to clarify things on the range of chuck jaws available (and
thanks to Mark for filling in what I left out), but for most turners,
the range of jaw sets is only one factor in choosing a desirable chuck.
For one thing, as I alluded to, a wide variety of chuck jaws may not
be very important if you do mostly one kind of work (and thus need only
the best jaws for that work), or if you intend to later obtain more than
one chuck and will match the jaws sets to the use intended for each
chuck. It is nice to know that you can carry jaw sets over from one
chuck to another, but again, depending on your turning needs that may
not be important.

So what are some of the other factors (some, not all):

1. Easy of operation (The Teknatool Titan and Vicmarks score the highest
of the ones I've used, as much for their easy key system as the actual
smoothness of operation).
2. Fit to the size work you do (The Talon is very well matched to
minilathes and smaller work, I also liked the Teknatool Compac for
miniature work;for very big work, I like the new Teknatool Titan and the
bit Vicmark, but the Axminster Precision and Stronghold are excellent in
this regard to). Keep in mind that a huge chuck will limit your access
to the rear of small scale turnings, but a small chuck will likely lack
the strength and jaw sets to be most suitable for gripping long heavy
hollow forms or coring out large bowls.
3. Precision. Some chucks really are more precise than others. This is
not much of an issue unless you will be dismounting and remounting your
work. If precision is expecially important, the Axminster Precision
chuck very much lives up to its name.
4. Price. It is, IMO, foolish to spend over three hundred dollars for a
combined chuck and jaw set for the work that will be done on a lathe of
less than 14 inch swing. Often times their will be more utility in
having two modestly priced chucks than one very expensive large chuck.
On the other hand, it seems to me to be false economy to obtain multiple
modestly priced chucks when you are going to need at least one large
powerful chuck for coring out 22 inch bowls.
5. How does one feel about faceplates? I like faceplates a lot and have
tradionally prefered them for tasks where others felt the need to have a
large powerful chuck. In most cases, a 4-8 inch faceplate (say the
excellent Oneway versions, or the one from Seahorse Engineering) will
hold more securely than any chuck and cost but a fraction of the cost
(usually about what the jaw set alone would cost).

There is a lot more to be said,and Russ Fairfield among others have
written some good guides on this topic. I just wanted to point out that
while the variety of jaw sets, and their adapatability of fitting
between other jaws in a manufacturer's family may be significant
factors, there are a lot of other considerations to make in choosing the
chuck most suitable for your present and future needs.

Hope this helps somewhat,

Lyn

I've copied and saved this post, Lyn. Thanks to folks like you on this NG,
my learning curve is steepening. But I obviously have a lot more research
to perform. Your kind assistance is appreciated.

Max