To my knowledge, the large Teknatool chuck was always conceived of as a
three screw jaw chuck, but some 5 inch versions were made available
early on in a two screw design and specifically given the name SuperNova
Deluxe. Given that only 2 hole jaw sets that were available at that time
(and even now, there is only one 3 hole jaw set available at this time),
it allowed folks (like you) to have the other functional advantages of
the new larger chuck immediately by using a current style of jaw while
the final specifications were worked out for the 3 screw/3 hole
interface. The 2 screw Supernova Deluxe is still sold under that name
and available in Britain.


Teknatool early on sent out a "Notification of Improvement to
Product/shange Specification" notice (note this appears to be a standard
title for this type of report to dealers), that described how the new
Titan chuck would be coming and allowed dealers not only to inform
potential and past customers,but also to obtain a discount price on
upgrading the jaw sets to 3 hole. I imagine you qualify, should you
dealer wish to pass it on, for the discounted jaw sets. Personally, I
think you should consider that many early adapters you had the added
function of the SuperNova Deluxe for a number of months prior to when a
Titan version could even have been available. Though you didn't have
this added function for such a long period of time, it is more an issue
with your dealer who did have advance notice of the upcoming change and
either didn't care to inform you (of course, if you made a relatively
anonymous web order, do you really think he should have held up your
order to give you all the particulars of what might happen in the
future), or remains ignorant of it despite its common availability (I
can email you a pdf of it if you like). It seems naive to believe that
any dealer doesn't need to sell off remaining inventory.

So, you have the opportunity to simply replace your slides with the new
ones (and still have your old ones in reserve), and likely at a
discount. If your dealer isn't helping you with this in a timely
fashion, then why not simply contact Teknatool directly, as they usually
are quite happy to provide parts directly to their customers.

There are many changes that take place in woodturning products, and most
of them are introduced silently and without the abilty for upgrade.
Teknatool is actually rather exemplary in this regards in that it
regularly announces changes, often seeks to offer some upgrade path,and
occasionally will pull items from the market for a period of time when a
major revision is in the works.

Finally, the shot about Oneway and Vicmark again seems naive to me given
what I know has happened with products from both companies (and I don't
necessarily fault them for these changes and modifications, either).
Just as an example, presented on this very newsgroup not long ago, was
the report of a person with an older Oneway Stronghold whose actuation
lever broke and he was in need of a replacement. In the meantime Oneway
had changed gearing and the actuation lever on the Stronghold and no
longer makes the older style, nor did they retain inventory of the old
style. The Stronghold owner was now potentially without use of a very
expensive chuck unless he could obtain a used lever from some generous
private turner. Now I don't necessarily fault Oneway in this, progress
needs to take place and manufacturing changes sometimes are unavoidable,
but comparing your situation with the Supernova Deluxe, and this
situation with the Stronghold (and keep in mind, the Stronghold change
could have been made days after he bought his older version too) IMO
makes Teknatool look pretty good.

Lyn

edward tabachek wrote:
The car dealer will allow me to trade in my old, out of date model on the
new and improved model. Teknatool retailers are not interested in buying
and selling used stuff, they do not have a buy-back program.
BTW, I bought the 5" Delux Super Nova because it seemed to be everything the
Nova was not. The ink was not yet dry on my cheque to the CC company when I
read that the Jaw slides were upgraded to a 3- hole pattern and the chuck
was renamed "The TITAN". My Teknatool retailer has yet to receive
information about this improvement from Teknatool. Maybe he wants to
sell-off his existing stock of Super Nova Delux (Titan) chucks before
bringing out the new and improved ones.
I just don't recall Oneway or Vicmarc having to upgrade or improve their
products (chucks or live centers) after releasing them to the retail market.