Reply To: Which chuck to buy for first lathe ?

[Andrew HutchinsonParticipant @andrewhutchinson12802]

Hi,

I'm hesitant to post given the thread drift but since the OP is interested in the Taig and Sherline I'll lay out some of my opinions since I have both and use both regularly.

The Sherline chucks are definitely better quality but they also cost two to three times as much as the Taig chucks. The Sherline 3.1" 3 jaw that I have is a better all round model engineering chuck than either of my Taig scroll chucks(3 and 4 jaw). Being harder It feels much more positive when setting than the Taig chucks which I believe have a 12L14 scroll and having nice clean hardened jaws the Sherline grips stock very positively. Out of the box the Taig comes with aluminum soft jaws which make tapping without slip very very difficult. It is a compounding problem because each time it slips you have to readjust which wears the tommy bar holes, the scroll and in all likelihood knocks the part out of alignment – mine never seem to cinch up quite the same even right after cleaning. The Taigs are very good economical chucks if you have a lot of common parts to face – just bore out the jaws and away you go. My 3 jaw started out around .003" TIR and the 4 jaw around .001". The three jaw is about .003 -.004" and the 4 jaw about .002" with wear but it depends on the diameter being held. As I mentioned before, they are a bit spongey so some care is needed to ensure reasonable repeatability. I can't remember the last time I checked my Sherline 3 Jaw but I imagine it is about .002" . The main thing is that it is more repeatable and feels firmer. You get what you pay for.

The OP indicated not being interested in a 4 jaw at this time but I would caution anyone interested in purchasing a Taig for model making without a 4 jaw simply because the 3 jaw lacks the gripping power necessary. Apologies if the lathe is not intended for model making. The Taig 4 jaw is in my opinion a pretty decent offering and despite it's relative cheapness is much closer in performance to the Sherline 4 Jaws. The adjusting threads are much coarser which takes a little getting used to but it holds well, has good range of offset, deep jaws and is well made. The taig with three jaw was my first lathe, purchased for making N scale bits, and was mostly a frustrating experience until I got the four jaw.

As lathes go the Taig is intended for folks who want to tinker with lathes or use else use it in a manner consistent with it's features. It has a larger swing which is handy and it has higher speeds and lever fed tailstock which I'm told are very useful for lapping/cutting certain work pieces. The carriage rack is very handy for rapid repositioning. Where it becomes a more frustrating machine is when you need calibrated feeds and slower speeds. When you have a single lathe 500 RPM is far too high a bottom speed and making accurate parts (especially as a beginner) more or less relies on there being a full compliment of leadscrews. I got by with dial indicators and repurposed inside mics but eventually cracked and started in on adding a leadscrew. Just after I started in on the project I got a used Sherline for $200 USD at a model engineering show in the states which sort of shelved the project for the time being.

The Sherline is a very different animal. It is definitely pricier – I doubt I would have a lathe at all today if I had had to buy one new – just too much for a student to afford. That said they are worth every penny. The system they have works and works well for the limited envelope they are intended for. If you have the coin they can be arrive and drive machines. Smooth and powerful variable speed DC drive, quality screws on all feeds, screwcutting (essential in my books) great tool /work holding options (MT1 bore/8 mm collet adapter), better, if slightly funky topslide than the taig ( which has a poor retention mech) , a cross slide/ boring table almost twice as large as the Taig, etc, etc. The downside for me would be the tailstock which is not adjustable unlike the Taig. I'd prefer to have the same taper in both to open up the options for common accessories rather than having MT1- MT0. They do make a range of offsets to combat the potentially misaligned tailstock ram. I use them when drilling small holes where the drills tend to break off if not centered. Much more work to set up but with the screw feed I'm much more comfortable feeding .006"-.015" drills than handbombing in the Taig's lever feed where they bounce, bend and often break in my hands.

I'm in no way dumping on the Taig – in the right hands they are fantastic machines ( http://modelengines.info/lathes/taig.html for John Bentley's work) but in my hands that will have to wait a while (if ever) for full implementation. In the meantime to encourage compatability across platforms I've bored out the headstock to Mt 1 to take advantage of the Sherline 8 mm collet holder and made an adapter for the Sherline topslide. I mention this in case you get a used Taig for a song and want more functionality otherwise I would get it all as a Sherline package and just use it if that is your intention.

Cheers,

Andrew Hutchinson

Surrey BC Canada