4 is one better than 3

you may remember a while back that i was gluing blocks to bowl blanks so i could mount them on the lathe. well, that's kind of a slow way to turn a bowl. since you cannot flip the bowl along its axis, you are forced to work the outer surface of the bowl up against the headstock, where there isn't a whole lot of room to adjust.

a much faster way, used by, as far as i can tell, most professional woodworkers, is the chuck. with this method, you mount the blank with a faceplate or a big ol' worm screw, cut the exterior surface of the bowl (away from the headstock) and then flip the piece, clamping the foot of the bowl in the chuck, so you can cut the inside. i've been playing with this method lately and find it to be mostly really great. but here is the problem- my chuck is a million years old, only has three jaws and is basically a piece of crap:

where modern chucks have 4 jaws that form a complete circle when clamped tight as well as a carefully formed inner and outer edges that ensure maximum grip, this one has three almost-comically-small-by-today's-standards "jaws."

what this all means for me is that if i work at too high a speed, or on too large a piece, or too aggressively, or with a dull tool, this happens:

note the dents. those are from when it flew across the room, hitting the garage door, the ceiling and another wall before coming to a stop.  i've been hesitant to use the three jaw chuck since then and am currently making room in my budget to make the upgrade.