Cole Chuck Question

[James Baldwin]

Hi Group, I'm looking to get a Cole style chuck and was wondering what would fit my small Super Nova chuck. I was looking for inexpensive alternatives like maybe PSI or something similar. I've also considered making my own. Thanks, Jim

[Brice Rogers]

I bought a 5.5" Grizzly chuck set that came with Cole jaws plus 4 or 5 other sets of jaws. I also put together a vacuum chuck. Surprisingly, I don't use my Cole jaws very often now that I have a vacuum chuck. I know that there are things a Cole jaw could do that the vacuum chuck cannot - - but I typically reach for the vacuum chuck or I make a jam chuck.

But, have you checked out Nova? I googled it and they have a #6006 set of cole jaws and the price isn't all that bad. But it is kind of a small set up. It can only take 6.7" externally and 8.5" internally. They also have a larger one (goes up to about 10") but I don't know if it would fit your small Nova chuck.
https://www.rockler.com/media/catalog/product/cache/5c5edcf249a74e99ece620285918bb9b/4/5/45274-02-1000.jpg

[Walter Mooney]

If I’m not mistaken, all Nova jaws fit all Nova chucks.

[Kyle Iwamoto]

Original Supernova? That's your small chuck? The new Supernova 2 and current jaws all interchange. Not sure about the original SN.

[Brice Rogers]

I read a post on Facebook Woodturners page from a fellow that used a Cole jaw chuck to hold a 12" bowl. He turned it down to 1/16th inch thickness, was in a hurry and was aggressively turning and then got a catch. It pulled the bowl out of the cole jaws and the jaws helped remove two chunks. The bowl was ruined.

I think that this was a disaster in waiting. With 1/16" thickness, any catch was going to apply enough force to pull out the bowl.

I really LOVE my vacuum chuck....

[James Baldwin]

Yes , It's an original Supernova. I stopped by my local Woodcrafters store and did some checking. I looked at the Nova 12" Cole chuck and the box says it will fit all Nova chucks. They also carried Records chucks and I was told the their jaws would fit Nova chucks. I will take one of my jaws in and check the screw holes. I'm considering building my own also. Also looking at building a Longworth type chuck just for the fun of it. Jim

[Rich Aldrich]

I read a post on Facebook Woodturners page from a fellow that used a Cole jaw chuck to hold a 12" bowl. He turned it down to 1/16th inch thickness, was in a hurry and was aggressively turning and then got a catch. It pulled the bowl out of the cole jaws and the jaws helped remove two chunks. The bowl was ruined.

I think that this was a disaster in waiting. With 1/16" thickness, any catch was going to apply enough force to pull out the bowl.

I really LOVE my vacuum chuck....

Each tool has its place. I find it difficult to use my vacuum chuck to hold segmented rings so I can turn the mating faces flat.

[Brice Rogers]

You're right that a vacuum chuck has specific applications and doesn't work for everything. Also, it wouldn't work with voids.

(But I still love my Vacuum Chuck ;) )

[Robert D Evans]

If you're just looking for a way to hold a bowl to finish off the bottom, I like a donut chuck. It securely contains the bowl and gives you complete access to finish off the bottom. I have 3 different sizes of holes for different sized bowls. I also have an assortment of different length bolts. It takes a little time to set it up but once you do, it's very secure. You can make a donut chuck yourself with a faceplate and MDF.

[James Baldwin]

Well I took one of the jaws off my original Supernova chuck into my local Woodcraft store today to see which Cole jaws would work on them. The Nova jaws which are suppose to fit all Nova chucks almost worked and so did the Records jaws. I say almost because the attachment holes lined up but the grove is off slightly. Could be corrected with a little filing. The manual says the I need JSCole jaws which are a little harder to come by. I may just build my own and maybe also do a Longmount chuck too. Jim

[tom lucas]

I have a 10" Nova Cole Chuck. I didn't like the bumpers that came with it so I bought a set of oneway bumpers. They hold much better. Though I rarely use it. If I can vac chuck it, I will. Then I look to jamb chuck. Only when all else won't work do I turn to the Cole Chuck. Mine isn't big enough much of the time anyway. I wouldn't mind a set of extensions, but there are other things I need to spend my money on.

[Brice Rogers]

My Grizzly 5-1/2" chuck came with cole jaws that can hold up to 9-1/2 ". I ended up making eight extension arms with lots of tapped holes that fit the bumpers that came with the chuck. I think that I can extend out to about 20". But I've never needed to make something that big.

Before I made the extensions, I wanted to make an 18" platter. So I went to Home Despot and bought a glued up disk about 20" in diameter and attached it to a faceplate. Then I made it concentric and eliminated the runout. Then I spun it and marked a bunch of concentric circles. So, to work on the foot of the platter and remove the mortise, I placed the platter in the middle of the disk and used a bunch of wooden wedges to hold the platter firmly to the disk. The wedges were screwed in such that as I screwed them down that they tightened the platter more firmly. Then I went through a process of getting it precisely centered. I think that when I got it down to maybe 0.005 to 0.010" runout I declared it good enough.

So that is another alternative to a set of big Cole jaws.

[tom lucas]

I also have a big donut chuck that I can also use to remove the tenon. Easily made for a few dollars. So, there's another alternative.

[James Baldwin]

I just picked up a Supernova 2 with the Cole jaw set off Evil-bay for $140 with shipping. Was located locally so shipping was $9. Not sure it has the Nova JS100N 100 jaws with it but there's a set on Evil-Bay that's also local. I'll have to get the insert so it will fit my lathe which is about $23 off Amazon. Jim

[Forrest Forschmiedt]

Cole jaws, as all tools, have their strengths and weaknesses. I use mine for cleaning up the bottom of most of my bowls where possible. Why? because that's what's in my tool box that works.

There are things you can do to make them work better & safer.
My cole jaws came in a set with a G3 chuck along with three sets of buffers. I don't think I have ever used the standard buffers that come with the jaws by themselves. I mostly use the square-ish ones with the angles sides.
Also, I use them with the tail stock as much as humanly possible. I made a simple wooden center extender that fits over one of my live centers to give a bit of extra room to work.
Finally, when when using the cole jaws without a center, light cuts, sharp tools and always try to keep tool pressure towards the chuck. Even with the best grip possible, it doesn't take much to move the work in the jaws or knock it loose.

[Randy Heinemann]

Before buying the Nova Cole Jaws I would recommend that you look at all possible alternatives. I own the Cole Jaws and use them on my Nova Comet II with a G3 chuck. They will allegedly hold up to a 12" diameter bowl, but I've never tried that size and have done mostly smaller diameters.

The Cole Jaws work for a variety of bowl shapes but aren't universal. There are some shapes which really don't get clamped tight in the jaws. I even bought a set of 2 different types of rubber bumpers (I think from Nova also). In the end I haven't found much of a difference between the original bumpers and the others, which are shaped so that it would appear they hold better for some bowls. I don't believe that has been the result.

I recently bought the Longworth/Doughnut chuck combo set from Ron Brown (ronbrownsbest.com). I believe it is much more versatile and safer than the Cole Jaws, but haven't had sufficient time to use it yet. It is an expensive set though.

I think a better solution might be the vacuum chuck cylinders from rubberchucky.com. You don't need a vacuum chuck to use them on the head stock end with support from the tailstock. I realize that you most likely are trying to get full unobstructed access to the bowl bottom. However, with one of the rubber cushioned cylinders and a pointed tailstock, you can turn almost all of the bottom off and cut the rest.

I guess, in the end, what works best for you will likely be driven by exactly what you want as the end result.

I'm not saying the Cole Jaws are not useful. They are. However, there are some bowl shapes they just don't work well for.