Will this Flat chuck fit any other brand chuck?

Tom Baugues

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Lafayette, Indiana
I bought this bowl chuck http://www.woodcraft.com/product.aspx?ProductID=146800&FamilyID=20042 from Woodcraft and am now looking to buy the Large Flat Jaws http://www.woodcraft.com/product.aspx?ProductID=146806&FamilyID=20042. When looking for this it made me wonder...are these made for specific chucks....I mean can I mix brands of chucks? This one only opens to 8" but I have seen other brands that are much larger but did not know if any brand of them will fit on any other chuck?
This one is probably big enough for what I want but who knows.
Also while looking for this answer online I read about some chucks being classified as a series "C" class chuck. What other is there and what is the difference.

Tom

EDIT: The jaws shown here are the same brand and do go together...I was just wondering if different brands can be mixed and matched. The more I read about this the more I think the answer must be NO...they need to be of the same brand.
 
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For the most part, jaws are brand-specific to chucks. I do believe one or more of the Grizzly chucks can hold Vicmark jaws, and vice versa, since the Griz chuck is a close copy. I know someone here has some experience with that. Bernie, was it you?

I don't know anything about that Woodcraft chuck, but it looks like it might have shared roots with the PSI Barracuda chucks and the Craft Supplies Apprentice chuck. I wonder if they all are coming from the same Asian factory. If so, the jaws might be interchangeable.
 
Yep that be me Vaughn. The grizzly $99 chuck is a clone of the Vicmarc VM100. The VM 100 jaws will fit the Griz. I have 3 of them and IMHO they are as good as any other chuck on the market. I have the Vic VM 100 and I would say the Griz is as good. Can't tell ya about the Woodcraft chuck.
 
Even though one brand may be a clone of another, I believe jaws are fitted to a specific chuck before shipping. The jaws are even numbered to be placed on the same jaw each time or things are not right.
I would be skeeptikall of playing the switch game.
 
Frank, I believe the jaws are made in sets, but the jaw numbers really only relate to how the jaws are positioned relative to the other jaws in the set, not the chuck itself. If jaw sets were matched to specific chucks, then buying additional jaws for a chuck would be difficult, if not impossible. I know the chuck has numbers that match up with the jaws, but I suspect that's just so the jaws are installed in the same order and locations each time.

Case in point...I have two different Nova chucks, and both have 50mm jaw sets. I use either set of jaws on either chuck with no bad results, but I wouldn't mix the jaws from one set with those from another. I also have two sets of 35mm spigot jaws, and neither set originally came with a chuck, but both sets work fine on both of my chucks.
 
Tom - those ARE the flat jaws for the chuck you bought.

Yes I knew that these were the jaws for the chuck that I bought. They only open up to 8' I think. While shopping for these jaws I saw other brand jaws that open more than these and that made me wonder if I could buy a different brand of jaws and they would fit my chuck.

It all does not matter now as I drove to Indianapolis tonight and went to the Woodcraft store and bought the set of jaws that fit my chuck. So now I can finish my bowl this weekend.

On a side note.......the only turning I had done until now was pens. It does not take much wood for pens and it didnt cost very much....however buying wood "chunks" big enough for bowls is very expensive. I'll have to put the word out to everyone I know to save me wood from trees that they take down instead. Oh...I bought some "Anchorseal" tonight as well....just in case.

Tom
 
Yes I knew that these were the jaws for the chuck that I bought. They only open up to 8' I think. While shopping for these jaws I saw other brand jaws that open more than these and that made me wonder if I could buy a different brand of jaws and they would fit my chuck.

It all does not matter now as I drove to Indianapolis tonight and went to the Woodcraft store and bought the set of jaws that fit my chuck. So now I can finish my bowl this weekend.

On a side note.......the only turning I had done until now was pens. It does not take much wood for pens and it didnt cost very much....however buying wood "chunks" big enough for bowls is very expensive. I'll have to put the word out to everyone I know to save me wood from trees that they take down instead. Oh...I bought some "Anchorseal" tonight as well....just in case.

Tom

And don't forget to put away some money for a Chainsaw..:D
 
And don't forget to put away some money for a Chainsaw..:D

Don......thats what started all of this. I hired a guy on Craigslist to come over to remove two trees in my yard and he never showed up so I went out and bought a chainsaw and cut them down myself. I stacked all the wood in the back yard for fire wood but then I saw a woodturner while on vacation that was selling his turning projects at a local flea market and I got the bug. I couldn't hardly wait to return from vacation to get out all my lathe equipment that I had in storage for about 10 years.

I hope to use that chainsaw many more times in the future. :)

Tom
 
...I'll have to put the word out to everyone I know to save me wood from trees that they take down instead. Oh...I bought some "Anchorseal" tonight as well....just in case.

Tom

If your experience is like mine, after you get the word out, your "wood network" will eventually keep you supplied in as much wood as you can turn. I've gotten so much free local wood that I've started being selective about what I go pick up. I'm running out of room to store it all. :p
 
Frank, I believe the jaws are made in sets, but the jaw numbers really only relate to how the jaws are positioned relative to the other jaws in the set, not the chuck itself. If jaw sets were matched to specific chucks, then buying additional jaws for a chuck would be difficult, if not impossible. I know the chuck has numbers that match up with the jaws, but I suspect that's just so the jaws are installed in the same order and locations each time.

Case in point...I have two different Nova chucks, and both have 50mm jaw sets. I use either set of jaws on either chuck with no bad results, but I wouldn't mix the jaws from one set with those from another. I also have two sets of 35mm spigot jaws, and neither set originally came with a chuck, but both sets work fine on both of my chucks.

Unable to debate you on that, just dunno. :dunno:
Maybe I'm conditioned by two experiences. So far, I have bought only 'cheap' chucks. ;) A PSI mini and a PSI Barracuda 4. Both came with multiple sets of jaws so I haven't had to buy more.
And, I'm kinda trained by having been handling guns for so long. Many parts are not interchangeable without expert fitting. And, it's wise (safe) to not screw around unless a gunsmith or the manufacturer says it's OK.
 
Tom - Be careful what you ask for! When I first started, I, like you, had no wood. Besides blanks of Special wood I bought, I probably have more blanks than I'll EVER turn!

It's a good thing, but can get out of hand, in a hurry.

Bruce
 
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