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Vicmarc VM100 Chuck jaw question

R

Ricc Havens

Joined
Feb 21, 2011
Messages
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Location
Elkhart, IN
Website
www.riccsdesigns.com
I have a couple VM100's. Want to get a larger set of jaws for a 4" tenon. According to the manual they sell a 100mm jaw set. But that is the outside diameter when the laws are closed. The "oerfect circle" of the jaws open for the best hold they show the specs for that jaw set to be 83mm or about 3-1/4" for clamping. They then jump up to the 144mm jaws which clamp a perfect circle tenon at 5".

Yet on their VM120 chucks they do offer a 4" jaw option with the 128mm jaw set which has the specs of clamping at 106mm or just under 4-1/8" and expansion of 128mm (5").

Anyone know of aanother brand of chuck jaws that are compatible with the VM100 and have the actual 4" or (around 100-106mm) clamping size.

I have done a couple google and forum searches for compatibility. But, I come up with conflicting comments that some Nova jaws fit and others that state Nova jaws do not fit. I know the Grizzly brand is supposed to be a direct copy. They offer a 4" jaw set but are out of stock. And their online info doesn't state the actual clamping or expansion specs.

Thanks
Ricc
 
Sorry I can't help you on that question but I was intrigued by the grizzly being a direct copy? Does that include their little no name 3 1/2 inch chucks I wonder?
 
Well, don't remember specifically, but I have one set of 'step jaws' that I discovered the only useful one is the largest outside one. I found them, and just over 3 inch. I do have a set of Vicmark jaws that are 4 1/2 inch diameter.

robo hippy
 
The dreaded 4 inch donut hole!
The 4 inch is well within the range if the 100 mm jaws. But not perfect circle. It’s the same for the 120 chuck.
The step jaws for the 120 have a 111 and 97 mm perfect circle, but for the 100 not big enough.
Eager to hear solutions!
 
Marc Banka said:
"...It’s the same for the 120 chuck. The step jaws for the 120 have a 111 and 97 mm perfect circle, but for the 100 not big enough.
Click to expand...
Marc, for the Vm120 you don't need the step jaws to get close to the 4" perfect circle. The 128mm VM120 dovetail jaws part# V00677 actually come very close to the 4" as their "perfect circle" is stated at 106mm (4.173").
 
Ricc Havens said:
Marc, for the Vm120 you don't need the step jaws to get close to the 4" perfect circle. The 128mm VM120 dovetail jaws part# V00677 actually come very close to the 4" as their "perfect circle" is stated at 106mm (4.173").
Click to expand...
Thanks for that, Ricc.
Thing is, for whatever reason, I keep coming up with a foot size of 4 or just under. I want to nit-pic and ask for 95mm circle!
 
Nova jaws will fit the vm100 chuck. The screw sizes are slightly different (nova screws are a little bigger) but I have used the 4” jaws from my g3 chuck on my vm100 without incident. Na jaws are measured similar to the Vic’s so the nova 100mm are outside diameter not inside, but nova does have a 130mm jaws that would possibly work for you.
 
The Grizzly jaws: Expansion, 3 7/8 - 4 7/8, Compression, 4 3/8 - 3 3/8. The chuck is 3 3/4" in dia. I purchased model # H6265 16 years ago for $89.95.
Dissembled, cleaned and lubricated a couple of times and it still works great.
 
Last edited:
Ricc Havens said:
Anyone know of aanother brand of chuck jaws that are compatible with the VM100 and have the actual 4" or (around 100-106mm) clamping size.
Click to expand...

If you are looking for jaws that will hold a 4” tenon( 101.6 mm). The 100 mm jaws will do that quite well.

If you need a perfect circle grip close to 4” for a project the 100mm jaws won’t work for you.
I do a couple of turnings where I use the 48mm perfect circle grip of the standard VM 120 standard jaws so the jaws don’t leave marks and will grip in a 48 mm groove.

But most often I use tenons bigger than perfect circle.
If I’m turning green wood I size the tenon at 2.5” (64mm) for the standard jaws. when the tenon dries the trued tenon is always larger than 48mm.


You probably have the chart below. The bottom 37mm and 3mm shows the travel of the jaws from perfect circle.



IMG_0342.jpeg
 
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I don't know why this "perfect circle" business got started. I have both a Vicmarc 150 with 4 jaw sets and a Stronghold with all the jaw sets. I frequently expand the jaws to their maximun opening. The largest jaw set for the150 will go to 9 1/2". I hold blanks 24" in dia. and weight over 90 lbs. and have never had any problems. It is much more important that the tenon be the right size and shape.
 
I do think that it is good to aim for the perfect circle where practicable, but 4" does seem to be, as Marc calls it, a donut hole. If it is any consolation, the Oneway dovetail jaws also do not cover the 4" circle: you have to chose between jaw sets with 3-5/8" and 4-1/4" circles.

I don't fault the manufacturers for this--they can't make a set of jaws for each possible diameter, and I don't find it a constraint to design my tenons within an 1/8th of an inch or so of the perfect circles of my jaws. If have to have a tenon that is outside the perfect circle, I will use the Oneway "profiled" jaws which, though bringing compromises on a number of fronts, hold pretty well on non-perfect circle tenons.
 
Kent Jaffrey said:
Nova jaws will fit the vm100 chuck. The screw sizes are slightly different (nova screws are a little bigger) but I have used the 4” jaws from my g3 chuck on my vm100 without incident. Na jaws are measured similar to the Vic’s so the nova 100mm are outside diameter not inside, but nova does have a 130mm jaws that would possibly work for you.
Click to expand...
Did you use [the smaller vicmarc screws or did you buy other screws? If the Nova jaws have slightly bigger screws their holes are bigger. I’m concerned that the smaller Vicmarc screws would sink deeper into the jaw countersunk hole since the hole is larger. Therefore exposing more of the screw’s length. In that case the screw may bottom out in the jaw slide and not hold the jaw tight slough and may work lose during use.
 
Haven’t had that problem at all. The hole in the nova jaws is slightly larger in diameter but the taper on the screws is the same so when screwed in the taper is what locks the laws in place not the screw shank. The difference isn’t that large in how far the screw goes in so the depth hasn’t been an issue, but if it was I would just shorten the screw a touch. Plus the nova jaws have a slightly thicker base plate.

I just roughed out about 16 cherry bowls using the 4” nova jaws on my vm100 and it was just as hard to get out the jaw screw as ever.
 
hockenbery said:
If you are looking for jaws that will hold a 4” tenon( 101.6 mm). The 100 mm jaws will do that quite well.

If you need a perfect circle grip close to 4” for a project the 100mm jaws won’t work for you.
I do a couple of turnings where I use the 48mm perfect circle grip of the standard VM 120 standard jaws so the jaws don’t leave marks and will grip in a 48 mm groove.

But most often I use tenons bigger than perfect circle.
If I’m turning green wood I size the tenon at 2.5” (64mm) for the standard jaws. when the tenon dries the trued tenon is always larger than 48mm.


You probably have the chart below. The bottom 37mm and 3mm shows the travel of the jaws from perfect circle.



View attachment 54243
Click to expand...
Al,

I’ve never seen such a great chart about the vicmarc chucks. Do you have a similar one for the VM-120?

Rich
 
RichColvin said:
Al,

I’ve never seen such a great chart about the vicmarc chucks. Do you have a similar one for the VM-120?

Rich
Click to expand...
@Gord Cameron sent one.
I got the chart out of the Vicmarc owners manual pages 18,19

Good descriptions of the jaw types for students.

I attached it here
 

Attachments

I have an older Vicmarc 100 (lefty tighty version) and none of my nova jaws fit onto it. Screw spacing is fine, but the registration grooves don’t seat properly.
 
The charts are nice but be aware that for the VM120 they redesigned the 105mm jaws so that the screw holes don’t go through the jaw part and this means it no longer has the full 48mm expansion from closed to open. Found this out when I ordered them and found they didnt open wide enough to bridge the gap to the next size up. So don’t order the expecting them to fit a tenon that is just a little small for the 128mm jaws. (Which is why I use the nova 100mm jaws on a vm100 chuck since they will brdge the gap to the 128mm jaws)
 
If the bulldog chucks are Chinese they are only copies on the outside. The guts are different and inferior. I wore 2 out quickly and the replacement parts didn't fit correctly.
 
john lucas said:
If the bulldog chucks are Chinese they are only copies on the outside. The guts are different and inferior. I wore 2 out quickly and the replacement parts didn't fit correctly.
Click to expand...
Thank you John, I have never used their chucks. I turn some small things, and they had some jaws that Vicmarc did not offer, and they were decent on the VM100.

I never bought the chucks because I liked the Vicmarc company and use their lathes and chucks. I started turning on their vl100 many years ago, then bought a bare vl300 and build the base and wired up the inverter (an excellent option for a lower cost great lathe), and just added a VL150 when Woodworkers Emporium closed their store.


I used Bulldog for a couple of their jaws.

Since Woodworkers Emporium closed have been using mostly Branchs to Bowls out of Canada https://branchestobowls.com/ , Ken (the owner) is an incredibly nice guy. He is mostly a phone guy, and he will call you when you place an order. He has great stock.


and Craft Supplies.

The Low value of the Canadian Dollar has lowered the cost of buying from


Michael
 
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