Nova soft jaws.........a request

[Roger Chandler]

I have been thinking about the Nova soft jaws since on another thread they were mentioned........got me thinking how they can be utilized...........I am thinking about a purchase, but wanted to find out a couple of things

-obviously, they must be to help prevent marring the wood.....correct? [duh :rolleyes::D]
- can some of you owners post a pic or two how you use them............nothing like a picture to really show the thing in use.........?

Thanks everyone!!!

[John Keeton]

Roger, they do help in not leaving marks on the wood, but the biggest advantage is the ability to turn a recess to fit snugly on whatever object you are turning. I use them for finishing off lids, finial bases, etc., keeping in mind that you cannot take aggressive cuts. They are intended for very light cuts on small objects. I normally will use a dovetail shaped dedicated scraper to cut a very shallow dovetail recess as close to the diameter as I can to encompass the lid or object. I am sure I have posted pics on something I turned, but I am at a loss at the moment. I will look and see if I can find anything.

[John Keeton]

Roger, I just emailed you some pics I found.

[Roger Chandler]

Roger, I just emailed you some pics I found.

Got 'em, John............much appreciated! That use was what I was looking for........holding small things like lids are at times a hassle when I need to go back and refine the lid to the form............this is likely my answer.

If anyone else has a few pics you can show, it would be helpful as well! Thank you all!

[Kyle Iwamoto]

I got a Longworth chuck from e-bay. They are pricey, but you don't have to swap jaws or buy another chuck just the jaws. The one on e-bay has 8 buttons, it's pretty secure with the tailstock. You cannot take even moderate cuts on the bowl without the TS though. The best thing is you can get it with the center matched to your favorite chuck size. I have the 50 mm size. Just pop it on your chuck, and off you go. You also cannot crush the bowl. I'd imagine you could crush bowls with either the soft jaws or Cole jaws. Cannot finish small items though. Your smallest size is governed by the physical size of your chuck.

Just an option. I really hate swapping jaws, even though it is easy.

[Glenn Barber]

Roger- Any way you can post John's pictures here? It may help me in deciding if I might be interested in getting them also.

Thanks,
Glenn

[Roger Chandler]

Hope this helps Glen!

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[Tom Winship]

John, that sure looks like your floor (no evidence of woodworking), but not your lathe. That must have been the Delta prior to the Jet?

[John Keeton]

Tom, you are quick!! Yep, that was the Delta. These are the first pics I found - there may be others, but they would be similar. These were all taken at the same time, and if you notice, there are various diameters of recesses cut in the face of the jaws - most in "descending" depth - the deepest set is the smallest in diameter. I am still using this set, but they have been turned clean a couple of times, and now have different recesses cut in them. I probably have one more "cleaning" left on them in depth and will need to switch to a new set. Not bad, though. $15 or so, and I will probably have used them nearly 3 years by the time I have to switch.

[Carl Civitella]

mikepeacewoodturning.blogspot.com shows you how to make a handy wood collet made from scrap wood. It is in his video on "how to make a winged box" around 1:02.. Carl

[Glenn Barber]

Roger-Thanks for the pictures. It really does help with the decision process. Very cool concept, almost like a set of soft step jaws. Very useful indeed.

Glenn

[Roger Chandler]

mikepeacewoodturning.blogspot.com shows you how to make a handy wood collet made from scrap wood. It is in his video on "how to make a winged box" around 1:02.. Carl

Thanks for the tip Carl...........I watched Mike's video, and that collet chuck is an easy do and looks like will work great.

[Jon Nuckles]

Having seen the pictures that Roger posted, I can see why John K. chose to pm them rather than posting: they show shavings on his lathe! Until seeing this, I thought his technique was so refined that the shavings just evaporated. :D

[John Keeton]

Having seen the pictures that Roger posted, I can see why John K. chose to pm them rather than posting: they show shavings on his lathe! Until seeing this, I thought his technique was so refined that the shavings just evaporated. :DJon, those are actually wood snow - aka dust precipitation. I sweet up the shavings as they hit the floor, but apparently there was dust in the air on this particular day and it "snowed" chips and shavings in the shop. Pretty rare phenomena, actually, and I had not seen it in person until now.:D:rolleyes:

[Rick Markham]

Roger and John, I'm sitting here kicking myself, I have a set of these in the tailstock cubby on the PM that I've never used. I've been finishing the lids for my small boxes by duct taping them to the top of the form before the tenon is removed, it works, but it's risky to do, if it spins inside the form it ruins the fit. Leave it to me to do things the hard way...

Jon, JK, has magical shop gnomes, that scurry about with tiny brooms and wheelbarrows cleaning all the shavings as he goes. Those photos were taken on their day off :D

[Roger Chandler]

Jon, JK, has magical shop gnomes, that scurry about with tiny brooms and wheelbarrows cleaning all the shavings as he goes. Those photos were taken on their day off :D

Hummm......curlee gnomes...........wonder where I could find a few of those for my shop? Do they eat much? Wonder how much you have to pay them? :rolleyes:;)

Glad you found your soft jaws that you did not remember you even had, Rick..........I guess all that school, art classes, photography classes, and honey do things are enough to keep one from having everything cataloged in their brain! Must be why you have to post at 4 am........no time to sleep either! :eek:

[Jon Nuckles]

I am glad to hear that JK has gnomes to do the sweeping. When he said the swept up the shavings as soon as they hit the floor, I pictured him turning one handed with a broom in the other. Or maybe a bench brush attached to one shoe, so he can keep both hands free?

[Jim Burr]

Roger and John, I'm sitting here kicking myself, I have a set of these in the tailstock cubby on the PM that I've never used. I've been finishing the lids for my small boxes by duct taping them to the top of the form before the tenon is removed, it works, but it's risky to do, if it spins inside the form it ruins the fit. Leave it to me to do things the hard way...

Jon, JK, has magical shop gnomes, that scurry about with tiny brooms and wheelbarrows cleaning all the shavings as he goes. Those photos were taken on their day off :D

Nothing wrong with that method at all Rick. In Raffin's box DVD and Ray Key's as well, that's how they do it. If it's good enough for them...