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- Verified Buyer
Does what we need, but not exactly fine machine work. Recommend if a hobbyist, but if I was a full time turner, I might go up-scale.I was watching a wood working class and the instructor said;"Get a GOOD chuck... There are Expensive Chucks, There are Good Chucks, There are OK Chucks and there are Chucks that are Junk".This one is a really GOOD solid chuck. There may be bells and whistles that an extra hundred dollars will buy you, like specialty shaped jaws. I believe additional jaws are available for this chuck, if you need them later. This chuck holds tight for safe turning. Jaws change out to hold large pieces. Jaws are easy to replace. It also has jaws to all different size turning... micro turning (like pens), In-between like Boxes of all sizes and jaws for most everything else.HIGHLY recommend this chuck for serious hobby turners, conservative professionals and those that just want a safe chuck that will not let go and bonk you in the head.Cons: None really. But if I do a fair eval, and I am really, REALLY nit-picky critical... It is an open gear chuck. This is good and bad option, so you decide. The gears MIGHT possibly get saw dust in them easier than a closed chuck if you have a real messy shop, but I have not experienced this yet. Then again, it is simple to clean out an open chuck with an air hose. A closed chuck you have to disassemble to clean.The case is made from a cheap "looking" recycled plastic... only time will tell. I have had cheap plastic cases break in a year (mostly the latches) and I have a skillsaw in a cheap plastic case that is twenty years old and still going. My thought on this really is; I am a wood worker and I like my nicest tools in dovetailed wood cases. So I will make a case for this very nice tool, this winter when I am done making Christmas gifts. Lastly, the wrench to take the jaws on and off is kinda flimsy, but it works ok. Then again, so is every wrench I ever got with every tool I have ever purchased.End result... Buy this one. We all look at twenty or so chucks on Amazon before we pull the trigger. This is NOT a chuck that will sit in the box collecting dust because you loath it.PS: I bought a slighty cheaper one before this one, with a BIG name on it (bought here on Amazon). I purchased it before I did my homework. I just trusted the BIG name. What a total waste of my money. I can only use it with tail support, no bowls, boxes or spheres. This one lets me make all of those with confidence that I won't get bonked in the head. Now I am knocking out really nice Christmas presents without wasted wood. Enjoy your Wood Turning therapy.Fits my old delta home craft wood latheI read every review I could find before purchasing a scroll back 4 jaw wood chuck to complement my little Jet midi lathe and decided to take a chance on the CSC3000C. Prior to retirement I worked in machine shops for many years and have a metal lathe in my workshop, but it's too large for small wood turning and I needed a chuck for small wooden pieces. Upon receiving, & initial inspection of, the Barracuda chuck I was impressed with the fit and finish of the componets. I attached an indicator to my Jet's spindle and the run out was .0005 ( one half of one thousandth of an inch or the thickness of cigarette paper). I screwed the smallest set of jaws onto the Barracuda's chuck body installed on my Jet lathe's 1-8 spindle, lightly clamped a ground 3/8 dowel pin between the jaws and checked the run out. I was impressed with less than .005 (roughly double the thickness of 2 sheets of newsprint) total indicator movement. That means all the individually machined parts, including the scroll back, were held to very close tolerances while being manufactured. I've used brand new American made scroll backed metal lathe chucks that were not as precise. During the past few months I've done some very precise wood working using this chuck. I've even set up round dowels with an indicator and tapped on them to obtain absolute center for end drilling with perfect results. I've encounter no problems holding larger pieces of wood with the different sets of jaws. I've checked, but never experienced the jaws coming loose on larger pieces. I think some of the problems reviewers encountered with this little wood chuck came from lack of finesse and experience. When installing a larger piece it sometimes helps to gently apply light pressure in alternating directions as you tighten the jaws to encourage the piece to "nest". Lathe speed, proper tools and the sharpness of the tools also can contribute to problems with the chuck's grip. Most importantly some individuals may have expected this little chuck to perform tasks that were beyond its capabilities. If they're constantly throwing parts out of the chuck, they need a larger lathe and a much larger chuck. Or, better yet, set up an irregularly shaped piece between centers and use this chuck for finishing. Better instructions would certanly help in this department.I also noticed the chuck displayed in the Penn catalog looked different than the one I received 4 months ago. Mine has a different chuck key (like the Nova chuck) and there was no cover over the back side of the chuck. Altho there are small "dimples" on the back side of the chuck body for possible drill & tap locations to attach a back plate, the design has been changed. My theory on the removal of the back plate probably stems from problems with accumulation of fine wood dust inside the scroll. Metal lathe chucks generally don't get showered with fine powder like a wood chuck. It would be a good idea if the Penn company would update it's catalog. The current chuck key is exactly like the more expensive competition's, so it must be an improvement. Service life of this chuck? A metal lathe chuck can be lubricated because the size and nature of the waste material it gets bombarded with, generally won't jamb the scroll. Metal lathe chucks frequently have hardened components that contribute to long lives, but that quality contributes to the cost. Wood chucks can't really be greased or oiled because of the adhesive nature of lubricants. To keep costs down for the home wood worker, manufactures select materials that will give a reasonable amount of service for an affordable price. When used as intended, for light duty finish wood turning, this little chuck is all anyone should need for a home wood shop.Bought this chuck for my grizzly 16x46 lathe after purchasing a cheaper, lesser known brand and am happy with it's performance so far. Well built and oiled very well from factory and comes in a plastic case. It's an open back design which makes it easy to clean, just brush. Only thing about this set I didn't like is that it doesn't come with a jumbo jaw set like some of the others. I believe I can buy one to mount to this chuck but would be nice if included. Very good chuck for the money.Liked okI recently purchased the Barracuda 2 Chuck system, if you're reading this you're probably on the market for a chuck system like I was, I looked at a few of these systems and after looking around and reading reviews, I felt this system was worth a try and I was right. This chuck came with everything I needed and more.. I've used the larger jaws in the set exclusively so far and I've had no problems with the chuck system, it spins true and stays tight! I work with tools every day and like others I'm sure, I don't always read assembly instructions and initially set up the jaws without installing #4 jaw in correct position, my fault and easy to fix before I used. I definitely read and recommend anyone using this or other chuck systems to refer to minimum and maximum diameters/depths for tenon and mortise joints for safe operation. Point being 1.) read *all* the instructions 2.) enjoy this awesome chuck system, I ordered the Finishing Jaws for bowls.. there are other accessories and resources at their site Penn State Industries.Anyway, I can recommend this chuck system and am happy I made this purchase decision!I got this chuck as a second chuck - I already have a OneWay Stronghold, and wanted another chuck to hold smaller pieces. This chuck is alright, it weighs 1.6kg (3.5lb) with jaws on. However, I am spoiled by my OneWay chuck. Here are some key advantages of the OneWay chuck over this PSI:- The spindle thread adapter is replaceable, you can change your lathe and still keep the chuck- The spindle 1"-8 spindle adapter on the OneWay is cross-threaded with BOTH right hand and left hand threads, so you can use the same chuck for inboard and for outboard work.- The OneWay chuck has two threaded holes to lock the chuck on the spindle. This way you can reverse the lathe (useful for sanding) and the chuck would not unscrew itself from the spindle.- The scroll action of the OneWay is much smoother than that of the PSI.- The profile of the jaws' gripping surfaces on the OneWay seems more advanced, and inspires more confidence when mounting blanks of different diameter.At the time I am writing this, the OneWay Talon chuck is only twenty bucks more than this PSI chuck. Considering the chuck will last you a lifetime, I think that this price difference is not enough to make the PSI chuck a "great deal". Sure, you get four sets of jaws with the PSI chuck, but realistically you probably don't really need all four. Get a better chuck right away and buy accessories for it if you ever find a need for them.This is an OK chuck. Buy the Nova if your lathe has reveres. There is very little if any dovetail on the different sizes of the jaws. This is still a goto chuck for me to rough things out, but if I am working on a bowl or finish work the Nova is much more stable, stays tight and has a grub screw to allow for reverse turning.Tourné un barreau et si on ne le sais pas, surprise !Quand on arrête le tour à bois , le pois du barracuda clé continu son momentum et se dévisse complètement, tombé en continuant de tourner et peux causer de sérieuses blessures.Excellent and allows for wood turning of small parts and wooden toys that I make and paint. Exactly what I needed.Works really well. I like the self centering aspect when tightening the jaw.
