I have just purchased a Jet JWL 1236 lathe for turning cork grips and eventually custom reel seats. Will be turning cork on steel mandrels, 1/4" generally. Lathe has a live center in the tailstock but does not come with a 3 or 4 jaw chuck - must purchase as an accessory. Lathe takes a 1" x 8tpi chuck.

Would appreciate any suggestions for the type of chuck I should purchase for the above applications - 3 or 4 jaw? Other type? . A discount source for same would also be helpful.

I know this lathe is overkill for the above applications, but it will give me the liberty to do other projects that interest me in the future.

Thanks.

Jack,
There are a ton of good chucks out there. If all you see yourself doing is rodbuilding stuff. Take a look at at the Penn State Industries chck part# C4J4. I have two of these and they work great for cork grips and reel seats.
If however you see yourself getting into more heavy woodturning like bowls etc...The Oneway Talon and the Supernova chuck by Teknatool are both good chucks for a reasonable price. There are other chucks out there by Axminister and Vicmarc, but they are way overkill for our rodbuilding endeavors and are quite expensive.
If you need any more advice, please feel free to call or email me!

Andy Dear
Lamar Reel Seats
lamarreelseats.com

[www.toolcenter.com]

I have the universal 3-jaw chuck and the jacobs chuck and taper. The 3-jaw fits the 1" x 8tpi in my Delta Midi Lathe. I don't have a lot of experience with lathe accessories but these work for me when I need to turn cork and the minimal wood turning that I do. In my inexperience and philosophy of more is better, I ordered the 4-jaw chuck. The jaws are independantly adjusted so they are not self centering and not the best for holding a mandrel, but the 3-jaw works great.

-Steve

Just for your consideration, and if you're willing to spend the money on another very nice toy, the OneWay Talon chuck. Great chuck. But yes, it costs quite a bit compared to the Penn State model, which really isn't a bad chuck at all for rod building purposes.

..............

Hi Jack:
I just purchased a Penn State C4J4 for my Grizzly that I received a week or so ago. I'll let you know how it works out. The referral from Andy Dear, which is about the third good one I've received on this chuck makes me feel much better about that purchase.

Thanks for the input. I appreciate it.

Looking forward to extending my rod building to include making my own handles and reel seats!

Jack