Super Nova 2 vs Oneway Talon

[Mike on the Wet Coast]

Well, after years of drooling over JP's turnings, I finally bought a lathe. I got a hardly used General 160, variable speed, along with about 20 chisels, grinder, outboard tool rest, 15 books and a bonus Union Jubilee lathe sans tail stock and banjo (great for bowl turning).

After a weekend course with some of the other Wet Coast Wood Butchers, I've realized just what an opportunity a lathe is to spend money!

To the point, can anyone comment on the virtues of these two chucks? Is the Talon worth the extra $50?

Thanks.

Mike.

[Andy in NS]

Below is a link to a review Tom did on the SuperNova. Personally I have the Talon and am very pleased with it and if buying a new chuck tomorrow, it would be another Talon. I have yet to hear a complaint about it on the various forums I visit and it's the most recommended chuck I have seen.

I read Tom's review again and the Nova looks very similar with respect to functionality so I can't really say if the Oneway is worth the extra bucks or not.


Supernova Review (http://www.newwoodworker.com/reviews/supernova.html)

[Bob Hamilton in Forest]

Hi, Mike:
I have both, as well as a Oneway basic. I have had the Oneway basic for well over 10 years, and the Talon and Supernova II just since last fall when I bought my new lathe (Nova DVR).

I confess that I have not used the Supernova very much. I only have the jaw set that came with it, and they are a size that I don't use very often. I already had four jaw sets for my Oneway basic and they are interchangeable with the Talon, so that setup is much more versatile in my particular case.

The Nova chuck seems very solid. It is bigger than the Talon in both diameter and length. The back is enclosed and the pinion gears/scroll plate area is filled with grease. I am not sure why they felt grease was neccessary on this one, since none of their earlier models required lubrication, and neither of my Oneway chucks do either. I am not sure about the Stronghold. The Nova chuck seems a bit stiffer to operate than either of my Oneways, but that may be the result of the grease in the gears.

Tekanatool has made a design change on the Supernova 2 since it was originally introduced. They made a change to the pinion gears and scroll ring, going from straight sided gears to a tapered gear. My chuck had the straight sided gears when I first got it, and the open/close action was not very smooth. I had tried to take it apart to see if I could figure out why it was like that and managed to break the plastic back plate in the attempt. When I contacted Teknatool's North American service rep about getting a new back plate he had me take a good look at the pinion gears and determined that I had the old style. He sent me new pinion gears, a new scroll plate, a new backer plate and a small container of grease to use when I put it back together. The new gears make the chuck operation much smoother.

The only "negative" thing I have ever heard about the Talon is that the jaw sets do not quite overlap in size. I seems that there is a small gap between the largest tenon/recess that the #2 jaws will grip and the smallest that the #3 jaws will grip. In other words you might have a tenon that is too big for the #2 jaws and too small for the #3 jaws, so you would not be able to mount it. I don't know if that is because of the range of motion of the chuck's base jaws or because of the new jaw shape. In either case I would think a little planning would avoid the problem.

Oneway chucks use the "Taper-lock" thread adaptors, which seem to me to be quite a bit better than the double threaded bushing used on the Supernova. My older Oneway basic chuck also uses the double threaded adaptor, but my new Talon has the taper-lock. It just seems a bit more secure to me.

Both chucks seem very capable. I favor the Talon, but I am probably biased due to having all the jaws sets for it. It is possible that the Supernova 2 is more directly comparable to the Stronghold than the Talon, but I have never used a Stronghold so I can't say for certain.

Don't overlook the basic chuck, either. I have never understood why the tommy bar operated chucks got such a bad rap. I don't see that a key operated chuck is superior in any way. The hole spacing on the tommy bar rings is such that there are always two holes close enough together that you can grip the bars and squeeze them together with one hand while holding the workpiece with the other.

Take care
Bob

[Mike on the Wet Coast]

Bob/Andy, thanks for your feedback. Sounds like both are good.

I picked up the Nova but it's still in the box so I can exchange it for a Talon. Don't know if it's worth it.

Thanks again.

Mike.

[Tom in Red Deer]

Hi Mike,

I have three Talons. They have been used and abused a lot! My only complaint was that with two of them I had to dress the edges of the key so it would go into and out of the chuck smoothly.

The spindle adapters are a superior design in my estimation. Even after constant changing they still have no perceptable runout.

Are they worth the money? In my opinion they are slightly overpriced. They are very good however.

That's my .05 worth.

Tom in Red Deer

[Bill Howatt]

I have a Talon and Strongholds. I have nothing bad to say about the chucks and with the standard profiled jaws they hold extremely well to put it mildly. The comment about the jaw sizes by another poster is correct but it hasn't been an issue for me. It is very easy to build a Go/NoGo guage to ensure your tenon is in the jawsets range; this is handy even if your jawsets do overlap.

From reading forums for some time, the Nova chucks probably have exhibited the most disatisfaction but that was with the earlier Nova models and IIRC people got very good service to correct the problem which I think had to do with poor jaws. SuperNova2's seem to be highly regarded and they also tend to be a little less expensive than the other quality chucks.

I believe you would find the SuperNova2 able to handle your needs - they are not low-end chucks.

Bill