I tried to take the back of the Bauer chuck off to exmine the inside. It is held in by two philips screws and I stripped the head off of one of them. Rather than use a screw extractor, I'll wait until the chuck is a little older. Thanks for the information, I will look for the burr.
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- Thread starter Jim Holcombe
- Start date
Update on the Harbor Freight Bauer chuck gears slipping when the chuck is being tightened or loosing. I removed the back of the chuck and watched the gears engaging as I turned the T-bar. The gears tend to get stuck because the pinion gear appears to have too much play, it will slightly slide from the outer to the inner portion of the scroll gears causing a catch. I can eliminate the sliding by holding the pinion down with my thumb on the outside of the chuck while turning the T-bar. There is a lot of grease on the scroll/pinion gears, I am not sure if this contributes to the problem. To examine further I would have to remove the pinion dowel but it does not have an Allen head on it to screw it out. A YouTube video shows the dowel can be removed by hitting the chuck body with a non-metal hammer which will cause the dowel to rise. The Bauer chuck comes without any instructions. As per Harbor Freight customer service, there is no manual available and they said to look at other manufacturers for instructions. It is similar to a Vickmarc chuck. Other than the gear catching the chucks dovetail jaws grips tightly and is well worth the $99. A customer posting on Amazon says the jaws from the WEN LA 4374 will fit this chuck. I don't know if this is true, but I ordered the WEN LA424F large bowl jaws for $20.64 to see if they fit. I will post the results.
I haven't been doing this for long, but I found it real quick not to buy from Harbor Freight. It's the ultimate "you get what you pay for" scenario. The quality on Bauer simply is not there.
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There is a common saying harbor freight sells TOOLS and TSOs(tool shaped objects)
Harbor freight has some great try it you’ll like it items.
Many of their air tools are great for Woodturners.
The sandblast cabinets are well suited for woodturners.
Don't know about the Bauer tools in particular, but in general I agree that you do get what you pay for - but, as mentioned, there are a few exceptions. While someone pointed out that anything with a cord is suspect, there is one corded tool that I've come to find admirable from HF - the 2hp dust collector. I purchased a used one about 10 years ago and its been doing yeoman's duty in my shop ever since. Throw the bags away, replace with a Wynn Environmental cartridge filter and add a cyclone or build a Thein baffle and you've got a really decent system at a reasonable cost. Used at a yard sale mine cost about $50. I keep waiting for it to give up and die, but it still runs quietly and efficiently in the corner of the shop. Many use it as a base to modify and adapt to what they need.
Don't get me wrong, I buy stuff from Harbor Freight. l could have been more clear. I meant I don't buy critical tools there. I have a Bauer cut-off saw from there. Functional, but I was shocked to find it doesn't have a laser guide. I assumed they all had it these days.
And who can gripe about $4 magnetic tool holders? ;-)
And who can gripe about $4 magnetic tool holders? ;-)
I have a Harbor Freight Bauer14 gal shop vac (dust collection), osolating tool, miter saw, work bench sander, welder, two sets of HSS woodturning gouges, small router, air compressor and chain saw. They are not the best tools but they are functional and have not given me any problems. I find that their small stuff like wrenches, screwdriver sets, nuts and bolts, sandpaper, etc. are low cost and convenient. Going to a HarborFreight is like a kid going to a candy store.
Yes, bad for you but hard to resist!
Bauer is their mid priced equipment, Hercules is their top of the line. I have a 20 volt Hercules drill/driver for over a year now that is working as new. I also have one of their Warrior 18 volt drills that I keep an 1/64 bit in mainly to open clogged super glue bottles 
. We were going to have a demonstrator in who would be using a rotary tool so I purchased a Bauer 0.6 amp variable speed rotary tool to see if it would be a cheaper alternative and to be truthful I wouldn't hit a pup in the butt with it, powerless (should have taken it back). As noted by others some good some not so good.
. We were going to have a demonstrator in who would be using a rotary tool so I purchased a Bauer 0.6 amp variable speed rotary tool to see if it would be a cheaper alternative and to be truthful I wouldn't hit a pup in the butt with it, powerless (should have taken it back). As noted by others some good some not so good.
A few years ago I bought several items from KMS. A lathe bed extension for my DVR-XP, a bed extension swing away, and an outrigger. All at less than half what they cost in the states, even including shipping.I don't have one of those but you can order the Nova chuck that was recently discussed here for $89. I just ordered one myself.
Nova Super Nova 2 Standard Chuck
"For Sale in Canada Only"Nova has reworked the extremely popular Supernova chuck, and reintroduced it as the Supernova 2. The biggest changes are replacing the keyed pinion with a fixed pinion & Allen key opening/closing mechanism, a closed back, anwww.kmstools.com
Hi William- I am considering the same setup as you. Did you ever find out if the large bowl jaws fit the Bauer chuck?
I returned the Bauer chuck it was too loose and kept having catches when locking and unlocking, it was not precision made. I ordered the Super Nova 2 and Nova G3 from the place in Canada mentioned in this thread, same price as the Bauer but much better made at $99 each. Before returning the Bauer I ordered the WEN LA 4374 Bowl chuck and with modifications, it fits the Bauer, and both Nova chucks as well as my Oneway Talon chuck and WEN LA444. Also, the modified long-nose jaws fit. The screw diameter and heads for these chucks are larger than the WEN LA 4374 Jaws. To make them fit you need to enlarge the screw hole with a 15/64 drill bit to fit the screw diameter. Then use a 25/64 drill bit to enlarge the countersink. I used my drill press to slowly (stop and test) drill the countersink when I got the first hole correct, I locked the depth gauge and drilled the remaining holes.
Thanks for the info William!
Lance Mirrer
AKA "taxman"
For anyone still looking, I have an extra SuperNova (Original) Key.
The SN2 deal from KMS was incredible, but no longer on sale. Their current offering of the SN2 is $199.
The SN2 deal from KMS was incredible, but no longer on sale. Their current offering of the SN2 is $199.
Seven years ago my Ingersoll - Rand compressor needed repairs and I had a job so I grabbed a $125 Harbor Freight compressor, with a 20% off coupon.
It has been abused continuously and yet runs like the day I bought it. Not bad for $100.
About a dozen years ago, I bought a postal scale from them which said lifetime warranty. I asked the manager to date and sign the warranty in case I ever needed to replace it. It is still going strong and is still accurate.
I have a Fein oscillating tool, but had a job that could have potentially destroyed it.
I went and purchased an oscillating tool at HF for $19.99. That was five years ago, and it is still running strong, and I believe it actually cuts more aggressively than the Fein.
I’ve had both good and bad luck with HF cutoff wheels for my angle grinder, but even the poorer quality batch didn’t cost enough yo upset me.
I just sold my 2HP HF dust collector for 3/4 of what I paid for it, as I acquired a Grizzly upgrade as part of purchasing my mentor’s shop, and I am currently installing an in-place, whole-shop, overhead system.
It has been abused continuously and yet runs like the day I bought it. Not bad for $100.
About a dozen years ago, I bought a postal scale from them which said lifetime warranty. I asked the manager to date and sign the warranty in case I ever needed to replace it. It is still going strong and is still accurate.
I have a Fein oscillating tool, but had a job that could have potentially destroyed it.
I went and purchased an oscillating tool at HF for $19.99. That was five years ago, and it is still running strong, and I believe it actually cuts more aggressively than the Fein.
I’ve had both good and bad luck with HF cutoff wheels for my angle grinder, but even the poorer quality batch didn’t cost enough yo upset me.
I just sold my 2HP HF dust collector for 3/4 of what I paid for it, as I acquired a Grizzly upgrade as part of purchasing my mentor’s shop, and I am currently installing an in-place, whole-shop, overhead system.
john lucas
AAW Forum Expert
I had the same problem with the Grizzly copy of the vicmarc chuck. The gears don't even mate properly. Had another brand Chinese copy of the vicmarc. It also did the same thing with stripped gears. My vicmarcs on the other hand are 15 to 20 years old and still running strong.
I may have made a mistake, I think I made my WEN jaw modifications after I returned the Bauer chuck and never tried them on the Bauer. I was modifying them to fit a couple of chucks and forgot what I did when. As I was looking at the WEN LA 4374 jaws on Amazon I saw the original review from a purchaser see below. If you still have the Bauer chuck I suggest You order the WEN bowl/cole jaws and if this users comments are correct they should fit your chuck, if not you can try my modification. These modified jaws work well on my NOVA 3G.
Top reviews from the United States
Lurch77
5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect Fit on Bauer (Harbor Freight) Chuck
Reviewed in the United States on November 29, 2023
Style: Flat JawsVerified Purchase
These jaws bolt up perfectly to the Harbor Freight Bauer chuck. The holes and the alignment groove are a perfect match. Not only that, the rubber pins use the same size hex key as the Bauer mounting screws, so you won’t need an extra tool laying nearby.
The jaws are sturdy, nicely machined, and do open up to a full 8” between pins. This is a good buy for anyone looking to turn bowls or needing to grip anything else with a similar large shape.