is the masterchuck a good chuck?

[mike s]

its coming with an axminster m900 i just bought and im wondering if i need to buy a new chuck or if the masterchuck will do the job of holding the work securely enough
next weekend i will take a look at it but i dont want to get my hopes up this week thinking i wont have to fork out £130 for a whole new chuck
has anyone had this chuck before? is it good?
thanks

 

[Acanthus]

Hi Mike,
I have a masterchuck 2 on my Axminsdter M950, and yes it works really well. Just make sure that you cut a nice clean shoulder on your spiggot and do the ring up good and tight, (and then do the locking ring tight) and away you go. Perhaps not as quick to use as some modre expensive models, but it sure holds all of the timber that I have turned nice and securely.

Hope you enjoy your kit when it arrives.

David

 

[dickm]

The only other limitation of the Masterchuck is that there is only about 6mm useful movement on the jaws, so your dovetail or tenon has to be pretty much spot on. I had one on my old Avon with (from memory) three sets of jaws, and it covered most needs. If you can live with the limited movement, it's a beautifully engineered piece of metal.

 

[mike s]

thanks for the replies
from the pictures i have seen it looks like the jaws dont extend that far away from the chuck body
have you ever had any problems with a piece breaking loose because of the small jaw surface area?

 

[SVB]

Hi,

As ever, pros and cons.

Pro - smooth outer diameter hence very finger friendly.

Cons - as others have said, limited range of movement and can be a bit awkward to change between expanding grip and compression grip.

BRgds and happy turning!

Simon

 

[dickm]

Going back to your original question in the light of what has been posted, my advice would be to stick with the Masterchuck for a while at least, until you have a clear idea of its strengths and weaknesses for yourself. If you then find that you can live with its limitations, you've saved yourself some useful money in these straitened times (or are you a banker spending your bonus :wink: ?). If/when you do find it limiting, then you will know very precisely what to look for in a chuck.