Axminster vs Vicmarc ???

[Hal4son]

I recently sold a couple of guns from my collection and can now afford a decent small sized chuck. It looks like both Axminster and Vicmarc are touted as top-of-line. Not sure, if true, but my observations of ads etc. have led me to believe that Axminster has a slightly better range of accessories and lower costs of extra jaws than some of the other brands and the small Vicmarc gets alot of praise for keeping dust out of the back as well as using standard size chuck key, in case you lose it.

Any comments, suggestions, etc.? Thanks in advance.

[mudder]

quote:Originally posted by Hal4son

I recently sold a couple of guns from my collection and can now afford a decent small sized chuck. It looks like both Axminster and Vicmarc are touted as top-of-line. Not sure, if true, but my observations of ads etc. have led me to believe that Axminster has a slightly better range of accessories and lower costs of extra jaws than some of the other brands and the small Vicmarc gets alot of praise for keeping dust out of the back as well as using standard size chuck key, in case you lose it.

Any comments, suggestions, etc.? Thanks in advance.

Have you seen the new Super Nova 2?

Everything you are talking about for $199.00

Lookie here I have one that I'm going to write a review on when I get some shop time.

Give it a serious look, it's as close as the local Woodcraft if you have one local.


Mudder

[Jim Boyd]

I have both the Vicmarc VM100 and the Super Nova. Both chucks are nice and you will not go wrong with either one but IMHO the Vicmarc is better because of the things you mention and the Nova's jaws work backwards. Nothing wrong with that butIt can get ME easily confused when swapping between chucks[)] When I got the Vic at Craft Supplies I was going to get the Axminster. When talking to a sales guy/turning teacher he recommended the Vic instead. No reason except it was his preferance and they used them in their classes. I have never regreted the purchase. The problem with ALL brands of chucks is after your first one you want more cause the jaws are a nuisance to change, not hard, just not as fast as changing out with another chuck with the desired jaws

Edit to add that I have never had to clean the innards of either the Vic or Super Nova.

[kwgeorge]

See, now that is the question for sure. I don’t have the one of Axminster chucks but have been looking at the Precision chuck from them. You also forgot to mention the Oneway in your list of chucks. The nice thing about the Oneway and nova is the jaws are available at Rockler and Woodcraft respectively. I currently own the Super Nova, Nova Midi, Vicmarc V100. Plus a couple of the Chinese varity. By far my favorite is the Vicmarc and you will see it used a lot in my tutorials. It is much smoother to operate than the Nova and I like the Allen wrench over the drill chuck style key. I also agree with Jim that the reverse tightening of the Nova in comparison to all the other chucks makes me a bit crazy. The jaws for the Vicmarc are also much more substantial than the Nova. I have not used the newer Nova so I can’t compare anything on that one.

[RayintheUK]

I've got the Axminster Super Precision, Mike and would thoroughly recommend it, as it is very well made, with a great action, good indexing and is rock solid. That said, I can't compare it with either of the other makes mentioned, as it's my only chuck. I reckon that the most expensive thing is cheap tools, as you'll inevitably replace them, so I went for the best I could get at the start. Over here, that's the Axminster. You can see it in this picture:



More about the lathe here

Ray.

[mudder]

quote:Originally posted by kwgeorge

...... It is much smoother to operate than the Nova and I like the Allen wrench over the drill chuck style key.........

Look



Super Nova 2

More rigid, more holding power than the old Super Nova but still cranks backwards.

I have compared it side by side with the Vicmarc and it looks about the same Quality wise.

I have 4 nova chucks so I need to standardise to keep from having to buy many different jaw sets.

Mudder

[kwgeorge]

See now that looks much better than my Super Nova.

[Hal4son]

Thanks for all the comments. Will have to do some thinking on this; but still think Vicmarc is the way to go.

To RayintheUK - nice bench! That should hold everything down. I cheated, I bought 2 rolling tool chests from Lowes when they were on sale, bolted them together, placed them on a 3/4 piece of plywood and fastened the wheels to the plywood, more plywood for the top and then bolted the lathe down through the plywood into the tool chests. Because one chest had a dent in the side, I cut plywood to fit down the sides as well - didn't want it to suddenly cave in on that end, when I move it. I'm not a craftsman, except on the lathe, I don't trust myself to make cabinets or even frames, most of my wood working is the fix-it variety. But that is sure one nice bench.

[Jim Boyd]

quote:Originally posted by Hal4son

Thanks for all the comments. Will have to do some thinking on this; but still think Vicmarc is the way to go.

To RayintheUK - nice bench! That should hold everything down. I cheated, I bought 2 rolling tool chests from Lowes when they were on sale, bolted them together, placed them on a 3/4 piece of plywood and fastened the wheels to the plywood, more plywood for the top and then bolted the lathe down through the plywood into the tool chests. Because one chest had a dent in the side, I cut plywood to fit down the sides as well - didn't want it to suddenly cave in on that end, when I move it. I'm not a craftsman, except on the lathe, I don't trust myself to make cabinets or even frames, most of my wood working is the fix-it variety. But that is sure one nice bench.

Forget the bench! Nice lathe!

[Mort]

hal4son
Go with the Vicmarc. I got mine from this guy http://1goodturn.net/Chucks.htm
who is in San Antonio and has a slightly better price and much quicker delivery than Craft Supplies