help with chucks

[Johnny4]

Hey all,

I am new to turning. Like a week old. I picked up an old Walker Turner Driver Line lathe off of CL, and am in the process of getting the necessary accessories (bench grinder, tools, chuck). I am told the Nova G3 is a great chuck, and I noticed that you have to buy an insert that plays nice with your machine. I have checked OWWM for the manual on the lathe, and have come up empty. How do I figure out what thread pattern I need for the insert for the G3?

Thanks,

John

[thatCharlieDude]

Hi Johnny, Welcome to the forums and turning! There's lot of good info here so dig in.   Look at the head stock (end closest to motor, at least it should be) and with a ruler/tape measurer measure an inch of the threads and then count them. Then you can google the adapter you need search for something like "NOVA  adapter <your number goes here>TPI"

I have a couple of the G3 chucks and they're great, unfortunately they don't come with the adapter (something I learned the hard way). I bought this adapter for mine, its the most common size for mini lathes which is what I have  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0064JJ624/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1 But if yours is a larger lathe it may not fix. If you can find the user manual it may tell you the diameter and thread size. 

[Mark J]

Hurray, another new turner!  Welcome.  

As to your question, what that'Dude said and take a look at this thread that was started recently:

Lots of rambling suggestions from us some of which address your specfic question.

I have the Nova brand Super Nova 2 chuck.  I found the best price for the chuck in a set with some jaws at www.tools-plus.com.  be prepared to get more than one set of jaws.

[Marmotjr]

Measure the diamater of the drive shaft.  Then count the number of threads per inch along the shaft.   That should give you the dimensions of your shaft.  Mine is 1"- 8 tpi.  Then go to the hardware store and buy a nut with those specs and see if it fits.  

Nova's are very good, and they do offer a range of adapters.  Just get the one that fits your lathe and the chuck you want.   You might not have to get an adapter, as the chucks are made to fit the most common sizes of drive shafts.   

[Johnny4]

Thanks everyone....y'all are the best!

[Immortan D]

You can use a thread screw pitch gauge to find out the TPI. Look it up on Amazon, they're cheap and quite useful from time to time.