Seeking advice on jaws for Nova G3

[Bob Noles]

Thinking about adding extra jaws to my Nova G3 chuck which came with the 50mm jaws.

I am looking at the 25mm standard jaws

http://www.teknatool.com/products/Ch...ories/25mm.htm

and the 25mm pin jaws.

http://www.teknatool.com/products/Ch...sories/Pin.htm

Which would be more beneficial or should I just get both? What about their other jaws, would there be any others that are good to have on hand?

I also have the Axminster collet chuck with the 3 basic collets they have available. I have the Jet 1220 VS lathe and turn mainly smaller stuff in addition to pens. Not into 12"+ bowls and have doubts I ever will be.

Thanks for any good advice you can offer.

[David DeCristoforo]

Of course get both! In fact, you might as well get 'em all. You will sooner or later anyway...

[Bob Noles]

Of course get both! In fact, you might as well get 'em all. You will sooner or later anyway...

David.... I love the way you think!

[Kyle Iwamoto]

Get as many as you can afford. As David said, eventually you'll get them all.

I just waited until someone has a sale on the chuck with a jaw assortment. W/C had a midi for 130 bucks or so with 4 jaw sets. The good thing about the Novas, is all the jaws fit all the chucks, except the Titan.... Check e-bay, there is a guy that sells Nova chucks for a good price. Wait until he has a SN2 or Midi with a jaw set. The big problem is I have three 50mm jaw sets.... Only need 1.

One thing, check the Nova site for the jaw ranges. I made the mistake of buying the 75 mm (I think) serrated jaw set, because I thought it was bigger and serrated. It's NOT a lot bigger than the 50, for some strange reason.

[James Combs]

Good time to buy another chuck if you need one. Craft Supplies USA (woodturnerscatalog dot com) has the G3 with insert and 2" (50mm) jaws for $99 plus shipping (totals about $114). Ordered one myself last night.

[Richard Madden]

Of course it depends on what you will be turning. I have the pin jaws and use them quite a bit. What the heck, get em both.

[Mike Peace]

I keep 25mm jaws on a G3 chuck for holding small spindle work like ornaments, eggs, finials, etc. in compression mode. I keep the 50mm jaws on a SN2 and probably use each about half the time. The Teknatool manual says the 25mm and 35 mm jaws will hold spindle work in compression mode with pieces up to 5" long. They say the pin jaws will hold pieces up to 6" long, probably because the jaws are a tad longer than the 25mm or 35mm. Since I do a lot of smaller spindle work, I find the ability to hold a smaller spigot with the 25mm jaws than I could with the 50mm jaws is essential. The 25 mm jaws are a tad cheaper than the pin jaws. If it were me I would probably prefer the pin jaws but got the 25mm jaws used with my lathe and they work fine for small stuff.

[Bob Noles]

Thanks for all of the great thoughts and advice on this. I decided to order the 25mm pin jaws, 35mm spigot jaws and the cole jaws for now. This should give me a good rounded selection for my turning range and I can add another set if I find a need down the road. I think I really need to focus on an additional chuck next.