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VersaChuck by TOOLPOST
First off a
list of the chucks I own, in order of purchase: Vicmarc
100, Axminster Precision, Axminster Clubman, Axminster
(supposedly) Precision and now VERSACHUCK. I did have one
of the old Record Chucks but ' tell a sole.
(Update
December 2009 and WW now owns 4 Versa Chucks!)
Okay, first
off I’m impressed with the way this chuck arrives,
.jpg) (see
pic) I know small things please me, however if you package
correctly it makes a good first impression. The chuck gives you
a feeling of good honest quality engineering right from the
getgo.
Versatile it
certainly seems to be, mine arrived with the Axminster mounting
jaws already attached and a sturdy set of Dovetail Jaws, the
mounting jaws for the “Teknatool” Nova and supernova and the
“Oneway” for OneWay and Talon were neatly boxed as was the extra
length chuck key.
Using the
Allen Key provided I fitted the supplied 1 ½ “ by 6 tpi back (many
others are available), which has indexing holes (24), I then
fitted my old Gripper Jaws, because I wanted to spin up a pretty
off balance piece. Another small thing which pleased me
was the fact that the Jaw Numbers, normally so hard to find but
important for balance, were clearly marked on the outside
casing.
I found
the fit on everything was snug, in a well engineered way, no
slack feeling about the mounting or the operation of the
jaws, which are smooth to operate. I like
the fact that the tommy bar on the chuck key can be slid to one
end and allow for a tight fit. The quality of this chuck is
very similar to the first Axminster Precision Chuck I bought, I
purchased a second one last year and found the quality to be
pretty poor in comparison to the first one purchased 4 years ago. The VersaChuck does
have that quality “FEEL”
I spun the
empty chuck up on the lathe and varied the speed from 0 to 2799,
no really! 2799. It seemed well balanced through the speeds.
Having
turned the back of a gnarly piece of birch trunk and put a hefty
spigot on it (see pic) I clamped the still very off balance
piece into the chuck. The meaty chuck key allowed me to really
grip the spigot (it gives me a false sense of safety, always
dangerous and I do have the head scars to prove it). I
always have to smile when I hear people like Jimmy Clewes say
"just nip it in the jaws" YEA right Jimmy, I like to feel the
thing really grip! Its way harder to dodge out of the way
when your in a chair.
As you can see
from the finished article all went well. The finished
piece is 10 ½" Across by 5 ½" High
This is a
great chuck and the versatility of it is a great idea, I like
the quality of the engineering and the overall feel of the
chuck, no longer do you HAVE to buy Axminster because
those are the jaws you have.
TOOLPOST make
the claim “This
truly is the most versatile chuck on the market and with an
affordable price tag that belies its high quality. The end of
the search for the ultimate chuck?”
You know what? I think I
agree.
Follow this link to the
and then click on chucks |
