Hello Darren,

I purchased my first Nova chuck in 1990 about the time they hit the market in
the United States. I bought a second one a year later and have purchased a
couple of more over the years. I also have 3 or 4 Super Nova Chucks, which have
performed quite well. When the SuperNova 2 came on the market, I purchased two
of them and find they are the best of the lot in this size. If you are doing
really large stuff the Titan chuck is outstanding. All of these chucks will use
the wide range of jaws that Teknatool has available for these chucks, except the
smaller chucks will not use the three screw Titan Chuck jaws, but it will use
all jaws.

The Nova and SuperNova chucks normally come with the 50mm or 2" jaws. That means
they will fit into a 2" recess. They will close down onto a 1-3/4" tenon and
work best expanded into a 2" recess. If you do any small stuff, a set of the
25mm jaws are very nice. They will close onto a 3/8" tenon and will fit into a
1" recess.

I think you have had most of your other questions answered. The normal chuck
from Teknatool comes with a set of 50mm jaws, and tools for opening and closing.
You generally have to purchase an insert to fit your lathe spindle. Some places
sell the insert as a part of the chuck price. On some sales, extra jaws are
thrown in with the chuck. KMS in Canada is famous for this addition on their
specials.

For your purposes, I would recommend a SuperNova 2 and a couple of extra jaw
sets: the 25mm for smaller work and the three or four inch jaws for larger
tasks. I own most of the Nova jaw sets, but use the 50mm size the most.

Fred Holder
http://www.fholder.com

In article , Darren says...

I have been turning for years but I have always done it with face plates or
spindle turning. I find myself wishing I had a Nova chuck that I could just
clamp things in place. Can someone help me out a bit by explaining these
chucks a bit better. I have looked all over the web and think I understand
but I thought I would check here first before spending that kind of money.
http://www.newwoodworker.com/reviews/supernova.html seemed to have some good
info.

* Is it really worth it to get the Super Nova vs Nova - there is a
significant price difference and it looks like Super Nova is easier to use
(locking mechinism)
* When you buy a Nova chuck what all comes with it? They all say wood worm
screw. It seems like I can you do "spigot" turning (where you clamp down on
the wood) and "dovetail" turning (where you put the clamp in an opening and
"press outward" to hold it? Maybe I have my terms wrong.
* The site says "There is one-inch travel to full closed." - does that mean
it can't grip a spigot less than 1"?

Any other words of advice?

Thanks
Darren