Between a JC Higgins or a Sturmey 3 speed hub, is there any reason I should chose one over the other?

Better parts availability for the SA??

Aaron

I bought a Higgins hub at an auction for 50 cents once. Including the bike it was attached to.
It's a Sturmey clone, but I don't think it's quite as well put together as a SA. The cog won't interchange for one, and on this particular Higgins the sun gear was completely gone and there's enough slop in the planetary gears that even when you just hold the planet cage in your hand it sometimes binds and won't rotate (which is what I think did in the sun gear rather than vice versa). I did get the fun of pulling it apart (my first hub-cracking), and the oiler lid threaded right on to the AG I bought a while ago, so don't feel too bad for me :-)

I'd go with the SA, all other things being equal.

The question doesn't make sense, why would you have to choose one over the other? What are you choosing? Neither one is being sold new (ignoring the current S/A because that's not how I interpret your Q) and each is on old pretty-nice bikes. If your point is that you want to spend on only one or the other you must be a cheapskate; the bikes with AWs or the JC Higgins AW-clone are $10.38 bikes at the Goodwill fer crying out loud.

Buy both of em . . . . hell Man, buy more than two, every time you see one grab it.
alf

i have to chose because i was given one of each, and I only want to build one wheel

Go Sturmey Archer then. Use washers on the spoke heads.

Aahh-soo, yes what KofK says, build the S/A but don't get rid of the JCH because likely it's a clone in which case it can be used for spare parts for the S/A. Not all are clones but I've been lucky in that the two JCHs I have both have interchangeable parts with my S/A AWs.

Not sure I agree with KofK about the need for washers but every man's mileage does vary. Mebbe I use a different spoke and just have been lucky so far in not needing washers.
alf

If it were a choise between a torpedo and a sturmey i'd go with the torpedo,but a higgins is a sturmey clone.To me they were well made.Or at least as well made as a sturmey.Sturmeys were good and made ---O.K. but not as well made as the german hubs.Or the hercules hubs(english brand) , both being machined to higher standards.