4" or 5" 4 jaw chuck

[Douglasr]

Which independent jaw chuck would be most useful on a 7 x 12 HF mini lathe? Opinions anyone, I am getting ready to purchase one of the two from LMS. Being a newbie, is there a benefit of one over the other? Thanks

 

[Baithog]

LMS lists the capacities at http://littlemachineshop.com/Info/lathechuck.php

It depends on what you plan to turn, but I would not go over 4 inches. Your lathe does not have the torque or rigidity to turn big pieces. I was Happy with the 3" 4-jaw on my 7X lathe.

 

[ejames]

I replaced the 3" chuck on my Grizzly 7X12 a few months ago with a 4" scrolling chuck from LMS. Lost a little length, the chuck is thicker and required an adapter. But I like the 4 jaws, I turn a lot of plastics and wood in this lathe and the 4 jaw holds better without over tightening and marring the surface. Can also get larger material through the center of it. I may have gotten lucky but right out of the box the chuck had almost no run out. Also bought a 4" independent from LMS but haven't used it yet.

 

[Pat of TN]

I have a four-inch chuck (three jaw) on my 6"-swing Atlas lathe. I don't think an extra half-inch worth of clearance on a 7" swing would allow an extra half-inch radius on the chuck... I would stick with a four-incher.

 

[wrmiller]

Both my 3 and 4 jaw chucks on my 7x16 were 4" and I thought they presented a good trade-off between the too small 3" and the too big 5". I do run 5" chucks on my 8x18, but it has a much larger headstock and bearings. Plus it weighs almost 300lbs, so it has some mass to help offset the larger spinning chuck.

Just my opinion, but I would stick with the 4" chucks in this use case.

Bill