• July 2025 Turning Challenge: Turn a Multi-axis Weed Pot! (click here for details)
  • Congratulations to James Seyfried for "NE Red Oak II" being selected as Turning of the Week for July 21, 2025 (click here for details)
  • Welcome new registering member. Your username must be your real First and Last name (for example: John Doe). "Screen names" and "handles" are not allowed and your registration will be deleted if you don't use your real name. Also, do not use all caps nor all lower case.

Nova Chuck Insert Question

Kent Reisdorph

Kent Reisdorph

Joined
Sep 19, 2023
Messages
1,468
Likes
2,963
Location
Columbia, TN
I am using Supernova chucks. My old lathe had a 1" arbor. The new lathe is 1 1/4". I bought a 1.25" insert but I might have a problem. The 1.25" insert is about 3/8" longer than the 1". That means the chuck doesn't seat against the insert. It stops about 3/8" short. Is that an issue? Or is it fine as long as the chuck is tight on the insert?
 
I don’t think you have a problem at all. It’s the bottom of the insert that mates to the chuck, so a bit of distance between the hex of the insert and chuck body is a good thing. I believe there are tapers on each of the mating surfaces.
 
Marc Banka said:
I don’t think you have a problem at all. It’s the bottom of the insert that mates to the chuck, so a bit of distance between the hex of the insert and chuck body is a good thing. I believe there are tapers on each of the mating surfaces.
Click to expand...

Great, thanks. The old one snugs right up to the insert so it just looked odd when the new one left a gap.
 
Kent Reisdorph said:
I am using Supernova chucks. My old lathe had a 1" arbor. The new lathe is 1 1/4". I bought a 1.25" insert but I might have a problem. The 1.25" insert is about 3/8" longer than the 1". That means the chuck doesn't seat against the insert. It stops about 3/8" short. Is that an issue? Or is it fine as long as the chuck is tight on the insert?
Click to expand...

I just switched from a 1-8tpi lathe to a 1.25-8tpi lathe as well and observed the same thing, but all of my chucks (various Supernovas and a G3) seem to run as true as before.
 
I have 6 SN2 and not all of the inserts are the same . There is one that is reversing threads. If you get an off brand insert they sometime do not fit all the way flush into the chuck. Another problem with some off brand is that they do not flush up to the spindle hub .I do not remember the code of the best one for my PM but if anyone is interested can look it up.
 
Gerald Lawrence said:
I have 6 SN2 and not all of the inserts are the same . There is one that is reversing threads. If you get an off brand insert they sometime do not fit all the way flush into the chuck. Another problem with some off brand is that they do not flush up to the spindle hub .I do not remember the code of the best one for my PM but if anyone is interested can look it up.
Click to expand...

Good thing to watch out for. In this case, it is a Nova insert. Another odd difference in my inserts: Of the 4 Nova inserts I have, one has a setscrew and the others do not. This is probably not uncommon. You see slight variations in different batches of just about any product. Perhaps they initially made them with set screws and now they don't any more. Or the other way around.
 
Kent Reisdorph said:
Good thing to watch out for. In this case, it is a Nova insert. Another odd difference in my inserts: Of the 4 Nova inserts I have, one has a setscrew and the others do not. This is probably not uncommon. You see slight variations in different batches of just about any product. Perhaps they initially made them with set screws and now they don't any more. Or the other way around.
Click to expand...

At least for the 1x8tpi size, there are two different versions of the Nova insert: with set screw (IXNS) and without (IDNS). I think one was designed for Nova lathes with spindle designed to take a set screw without damaging the threads, and the other was for lathes incompatible with the set screw. All of my 1.25x8tpi inserts (ILNS?) have set screws, though, and I think that was the only option?
 
Thanks for the details.

I have two 1 1/8" inserts I can't use. KMS Tools had a sale on Supernova chucks and they came with a free insert. Unfortunately, none of them fit my lathe at the time (1" arbor) so I just selected that one. Someone with less scruples might order the 1 1/4" from Amazon, put the 1 1/8" in the box, and return it. I can't make myself do it.
 
Kent Reisdorph said:
Thanks for the details.

I have two 1 1/8" inserts I can't use. KMS Tools had a sale on Supernova chucks and they came with a free insert. Unfortunately, none of them fit my lathe at the time (1" arbor) so I just selected that one. Someone with less scruples might order the 1 1/4" from Amazon, put the 1 1/8" in the box, and return it. I can't make myself do it.
Click to expand...
You might be able to sell them here. I’m going to be listing some of the accessories from my smaller lathe (direct thread chucks, short post tool rests, spindle extender, etc.) when I have some time, and I figured I’d sell my unneeded Nova inserts too. I don’t expect to get a lot, but it’s better than nothing.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top