Lathe size/power vs chuck size

[xraymtb]

Doing a bit of forward planning for after Christmas here and looking at chucks. I've read loads and see some manufacturers suggest different chucks for different size lathes - i. e. For smaller lathes using a Nova G3 rather than a Supernova?

Is this sensible or not? I was under the impression that buying a chuck that you will use on future lathe upgrades was the usual way to go?

Is there any disadvantage to having the bigger better chuck on the small lathes?

 

[CHJ]

....
Is there any disadvantage to having the bigger better chuck on the small lathes?

On a very low powered lathe, the weight of a high end larger chuck may cause a slow start due to torque needed, motor/starter capacitor/circuits may/may not be affected over time.

Operator might be tempted to mount a heavier piece on the machine than it can handle safely due to mechanical strength limitations elsewhere just because the chuck is capable.

Except at the very extremes of small/low power lathes, going for a bigger chuck should not be a problem but unless you are limiting yourself to one or two 'named brands' don't expect to have the supposed flexible upgrade path regarding spindle thread changing. (that's already assuming the retailer will be marketing the same chuck body next year)
Going for a modern mid to upper range of lathe will almost certainly mean a M33 X 3.5mm thread, chucks with spindle adaptors to suit the smaller threads are unlikely to have an insert to that size, requiring a dedicate thread in the chuck body.

 

[tekno.mage]

Aside from the issues already mentioned, smaller chucks are often shorter than normal size or large ones - so take up less of your bed length - which might be an issue on a very small lathe. One of our visiting demonstrators used a Versachuck which is more than twice the length of the standard Vicmarc chuck our club uses on it's small Vicmarc lathe - and that certainly reduced the usable length of the lathe! Luckily the demonstrator was only making small items.

 

[xraymtb]

So what would people recommend for an Axminster AWSL?

 

[DUNK_WALES]

I would say balance is the key for a small lathe like the Axminster AWSL I would go for the clubman 80mm but certainly no bigger than the 100 mm the nova g3 is a nice compact chuck I own one it's extremely well built don't worry about getting something that you want to use on future machines buy something suited to the lathe you have also go for a chuck that has readily available jaws like the Axminster or the g3

All the best
Lee

 

[jpt]

I used an Axminster K10 on my AWVSL with out any problems.

john

 

[chipmunk]

I'm a huge fan of the Axminster chucking system where the jaws and carriers will all work together over a range of chuck bodies from small to large, ever-day to precision. Once you buy a few sets of jaws and carriers for quick changes, they become at least as big an investment as the chuck and the fact that you can still fit them in new chuck bodies is great. I think that this aspect puts other chucking options in the shade.

Having said all that, I took delivery of a new K10 body yesterday for my new Jet mini lathe and had to do quite a lot of fettling in order to get my 8 older sets of jaw carriers to fit without binding. They fit my old Polish original SPC perfectly. Thankfully I got there in the end although it should have worked out of the box if the manufacturing tolerances had remained consistent over time but all's well that ends well.

HTH
Jon

 

[stevenw1963]

Mike,

The chuck I used on the AWSL was a Dakota X700 (same as the fox one on ebay) & I still use it on the Record CL3 I have now.
It's been a good budget (£70 ish) chuck and held everything I have thrown on it. I have 4 sets of jaws for it now, all bought when able to afford them and not all Dakota jaws, the fox and some other chucks I can't remember, have jaws that fit it.
Hope this helps