Supernova 2, Nova G3 or Fox FX4000?

[=Adam=]

Hi guys!

I have made the decision to return the axminster k10 and I am now looking to get a replacement!

Ideally I want to get a chuck that is compatible with the sorby jaws as I have my eye on a set of pen drilling jaws that would make my life so much easier!

Now initially I didn't want a supernova as the price was fairly high, however I see that they are on offer at the moment for £150 which seems to be fairly reasonable!

Apart from the visual difference of the supernova and the g3 what are the technical differences (if any)?

And also to throw it in there, I have seen the fox chuck on ebay for £80 which again seems very good value and it works with the sorby and record jaws!

The things that I like with the supernova and the fox is that they both have indexing plates on the rear which could come in handy in the future if I ever get around to turning some earring holders haha!

Can anyone shed some light on this situation?

Cheers guys"

 

[henton49er]

Hi Adam,

I currently have a Supernova chuck and used to have the G3 and FoxFX4000 chucks; so I have personal knowledge of all three that you are interested in. The Fox is good, but is not as solidly made as the Supernova. The G3 is well made but a smaller size and I was never very happy mounting large pieces on it.

If I were in your position, I would be paying the extra for the Supernova; if that was too expensive I would go for the Fox and then trade up when funds permitted. I would only go for the G3 if I was turning small items (my interest is in bowls and platters - usually from 10" to 20" in diameter for which the G3 is a bit small).

 

[=Adam=]

Thanks henton49er!

I think I will go for the supernova! It also comes with pin jaws which are pretty expensive on their own so that's a bit of a winner

What did you think of the finish on the fox chuck?

 

[henton49er]

Thanks henton49er!

I think I will go for the supernova! It also comes with pin jaws which are pretty expensive on their own so that's a bit of a winner

What did you think of the finish on the fox chuck?

The only issues I had with the Fox chuck were that (a) the jaw carriers seemed to rattle even when tightly holding a piece for turning which did not give that much confidence in the accuracy of manufacture and (b) the index plate kept coming loose and rattling about. It never came off, but tightening it as much as I could only ever lasted for a few hours turning and it would work itself loose again. Other than those two issues I thought it was good value for money, but not a patch on the Supernova or my new Sorby Patriot chuck.

 

[=Adam=]

Thanks for that

Just to throw it out there, how would you compare the sorby patriot to the supernova? They seem much of a muchness to me but I may be wrong!

 

[CHJ]

......I.....Ideally I want to get a chuck that is compatible with the sorby jaws as I have my eye on a set of pen drilling jaws that would make my life so much easier!

If I can throw my two pennyworth in,

First, I think choosing a chuck on the basis of being able to use the specialist pen jaws is false reasoning.

Unless you do an awful lot of pens and you work with reasonable square section blanks (purchased) all the time then they are only serving a small percentage of your turning time and hardly cost effective/justifiable on time spent constantly changing them in and out.
(Most chucks have enough jaw carrier register to hold a square blank.)

I think that overall given a long term turning experience you will be pushed to beat the selection of accessory jaws from Axminster.

If you do not wish to purchase an Axminster chuck then I would say go for the VersaChuck

This would give you a robust Chuck with the option to have whatever brand of accessory jaws you like, both existing and any other brand you like the look off.

I've only been turning for coming up 8 yrs but one thing that has really emerged is that as you do more and more turning your essential, must have, tools and fittings reduce not increase, 80% of those things you see in the tools listing and bought on the spur of the moment end up in the tool rack gathering dust the majority of the time.

 

[Spindle]

Hi Adam

I don't think you'll be disappointed with the quality of the Supernova 2 especially at the current 'offer' pricing.
As you have identified it is compatable with several other manufacturers jaw adaptors.

Regards Mick

 

[henton49er]

Hi Adam

I don't think you'll be disappointed with the quality of the Supernova 2 especially at the current 'offer' pricing.
As you have identified it is compatable with several other manufacturers jaw adaptors.

Regards Mick

Adam, I agree with Mick. I bought the Sorby chuck as a good deal at Yandles and already had a range of jaws. It also came directly threaded for my lathe which has a 1.1/2" x 6 tpi spindle thread. If I could have got a Supernova2 for the same price I would have preferred it.