Thinking about getting into turning wood

[Threepoint]

I just ordered the Grizzly G0766. It's out of stock but I found a coupon code that dropped the price to just over $1600 including shipping. I only have 3 tools, all Crown, a 1/2" bowl gouge with side grind, a half radius bowl scraper, and a parting tool. I'm trying to decide what to get for a 4 jaw chuck. I'm leaning towards the Vicmarc VM120 as it looks like it has only positive reviews and isn't much more than others. From what I've read the lathe isn't going ot be shipped until the end of next month.

Crazyall, congratulations on the lathe. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

For a large 4-jaw scroll chuck, take a hard look at the Hurricane HTC125, sold by The Woodturners Store. http://www.thewoodturningstore.com/accessories/woodturning-chucks/ It is very well made, with a good selection of jaws, and is a very close clone of the VM120. I have one, as well as the smaller HTC100. I actually prefer them over my Oneway Strongholds and Talons. The Oneways are excellent chucks, to be sure, but they do not have sealed backs, and the access ports for the chuck key are open to the internal gears. Not a big deal at all, but you do have to be a bit more careful about wood chips and debris.

Keep in mind that the HTC125 and VM125 are massive 5" chucks, 8 lbs! Wonderful for large turnings, but you're also going to want a smaller chuck, like the VM100 or the HTC100.

 

[crazyal]

I'm sure there's going to be a lot of things I'll want. Hurricane chucks are one of the brands I looked at. I like the fact that the owner of the company is a wood turner who has his own chucks made (in China). It looks like they were cheaper, about half the price of the Oneway and Vicmarc but have come up in price some. Still less expensive. About the only reason why I was leaning towards the Vicmarc over them was simply because of the number of people who said they had been using them in an industrial setting for decades with no signs of wear. The Hurricane brand appears to be about 5 years old now so it has been around for a little while but not as long as the Stronghold or Vacmarc.

One thing I wasn't sure about is on the Vicmarc the chuck is threaded (M30 I think) and the adapter screws into (mostly inside) it. The adapters for the Hurricane look like they are smooth and must use screws in the face to hold it to the chuck. Looking at the pictures on line they look like small diameter screws. I'm hoping to actually see a couple different brands in person.

 

[deanocraft]

Congratulations on the new lathe, crazyal! I am jealous. A good wood lathe is a powerful tool and can do a lot of things. You will be in learning mode for quite a while. I do mostly face plate turning, so I have not invested in a really high quality chuck. You will need to have a set screw in anything you intend to turn in reverse, so it won't unscrew from the spindle and go flying... Good luck!

 

[crazyal]

The problem is it's on backorder and grizzly is known for taking forever to fill them. I'm hoping that, because almost all of their lathes are on backorder they are pushing hard to get new stock in. I've heard of people waiting up to 6 months. But the price was too good to pass up and if it takes that long I'll wait.

 

[crazyal]

Just an update. The lathe came in a little over a week ago, just before the tariffs kicked in. While I have a number of bowl banks cut up it's too hot to cut down any trees to work with green wood. Looks like I'll have to wait a few more months before I'll be making more noodles.