# What size jaws for the Nova 3 chuck for an old craftsman 3/4 16tpi 12x 36 lathe



## PaGeorge (Mar 16, 2017)

I'm 72 years walking and new to turning. Never had a lathe nor touched one before this summer past. I bought it this summer for $30 bucks, restored it, new bearings, motor ect. Well I love it,having a ball using it and just got to the point of being comfortable with it,,,,Initially the catches and run outs had me on the edge a bit but YouTube videos got me past that. I want to move on to bowls and bought a Nova 3 with 50mm jaws. Are the 50mm jaws going to be a fit? Should I get a 75 or 100mm set to fully utilize the lathe? Any help is appreciated. I looked for clubs in my area,couldn't find one so,,,Woodturning will be an internet schooling for me…..I'm so grateful for all the folks who make videos and these forum advisers…..Thank you. PA George


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## TheDane (May 15, 2008)

Depends on how large of a bowl you plan to turn.

For small bowls (under 6 inch), your 50mm jaws should be fine.

For larger bowls, either the 75mm (6-to-9 inch) or 100mm jaws (>9 inch) would be a good choice.


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## 33706 (Mar 5, 2008)

You might investigate the possibility of buying "Jumbo Jaws" as an accessory to your Nova chuck.










Just be sure that the bolt pattern on your current jaws is the same. My screws were 3/4" center to center, and I had to buy M6-12 flathead screws for a proper fit on my Nova chuck. Really improved my turning ability!


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## LeeMills (Nov 2, 2014)

For your size lathe I would suggest the 70mm jaws instead of the 75mm (3") jaws. Nova's sizes are all not made the same. With the 75mm the spigot/tenon is almost the same size as your 50mm spigot so no gain there. Here is a link to Nova jaw sizes. 
https://www.teknatool.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/NOVA-Standard-Jaws-Min-Max-Ranges-Jaw-Table-inch.pdf

If you haven't wathced any of theirs I suggest
Brian Havens on youtube. https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=brian+havens+woodturner
and 
Stuart Batty on Vimeo https://vimeo.com/woodturning/videos/sort:alphabetical/format:thumbnail

Both present the info clear and concise.


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## OSU55 (Dec 14, 2012)

Some additional jaws should be added. Nova's jaw chart provides good conservative project size ranges for the jaws, I have exceeded the sizes by several inches without issue. There are 3 jaw profiles on the market 1) dovetail 2) serrated, 3) oneway profile - different serrated profile, go to oneway's site for a description. Decide which profile you prefer, or at this point think you prefer. Also whether you think you want to use tenons or recesses for the most part. These decisions help guide jaw selection. People can have strong opinions on profiles and mounting methods - they all work well, regardless of some opinions.And dont worry, if you stay with turning you will acquire more chucks and jaws, its a bit like hand planes! Cant have just one.

I rarely use recesses. Seems most experienced turners end up with tenons/glue blocks (been at it about 7 yrs myself). Profile type hard to say, maybe the majority use dovetail. I prefer serrated, I want the jaws to leave marks so its easy to remount and the area will be removed from the piece anyway. IMO serrated allows the jaws to securely grip a larger size range - I routinely use mine almost completely expanded without issue.


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## Phil32 (Aug 31, 2018)

You should not rush to extend your bowl turnings to the limits of your present NOVA jaws. You did not mention the swing capacity of your restored lathe. I suspect the bowls will be under 12" diameter. You can do (& learn) a lot within those dimensions, especially if you use the mortise or tenon mounting approach.


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## 33706 (Mar 5, 2008)

> You should not rush to extend your bowl turnings to the limits of your present NOVA jaws. You did not mention the swing capacity of your restored lathe. I suspect the bowls will be under 12" diameter. You can do (& learn) a lot within those dimensions, especially if you use the mortise or tenon mounting approach.
> 
> - Phil32


*Phil,*
I agree with you completely on the mortise or tenon mounting.

I typically glue round plugs cut from 3/8" maple, stuck as close to center as possible, for something for the chuck to chomp onto. Especially when there is not any thickness to spare at the bottom of the bowl. I cut them with a 2" or 2 1/4" hole saw. Don't use 1/2" birch veneer, use solid wood. Don't ask!!

But, I've also had times when the lip of a bowl is too thin or too fragile for the chuck to grip it safely. That's when jaw extensions come into play. Perfect for finishing up well balanced projects in their final stages, but not for rough, unbalanced turnings.


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## LesB (Dec 21, 2008)

The question already asked, how big is the lathe. For bowls up to about 8" in diameter the 50mm jaws will be adequate. For smaller items like Xmas tree ornaments they will be too big….LOL I have three sizes the 25mm (long and short), 50mm, and 70mm and have turned bowls up to 20" and platters up to 24" with them.

I have used the "mortise" method of mounting bowl banks on hundreds of bowls from small to large without a problem. The depth is from 3/16" on smaller ones to 1/4" on larger ones. I leave the recess in the finished bowl and usually decorate the center section by creating circular beads. Here is a blog on my method of making the mortise with a router and template. https://www.lumberjocks.com/LesB/blog/118409

Many turners use the tenon method with great success but it requires face mounting the bowl so you can turn off the tenon or sawing and sanding. Be sure to always shape the bottom of the bowl so it is slightly concave leaving the outer edge proud and the bowl will always set flat on that outer ring.

With either method you can have problems with the grip on soft wood like pine of western cedar.


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## MrUnix (May 18, 2012)

> I typically glue round plugs cut from 3/8" maple, stuck as close to center as possible, for something for the chuck to chomp onto. Especially when there is not any thickness to spare at the bottom of the bowl. I cut them with a 2" or 2 1/4" hole saw. Don t use 1/2" birch veneer, use solid wood. Don t ask!!
> - poopiekat


Even better is to make it a bit thicker and thread that block and screw it directly onto the spindle - no need for a chuck, and you can mount/un-mount it from the lathe as many times as you want and never have to worry about alignment problems. It would be especially useful for the OP, as many other really useful things could be made to fit on that non-standard spindle size. All that is needed is a 3/4"-16 tap and some scrap wood. OP might already have the tap, as that is a pretty standard size included in many tap/die sets!

Cheers,
Brad


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## OSU55 (Dec 14, 2012)

Link to AAW chapter search: https://www.woodturner.org/Woodturner/Chapters/Find-a-/Chapter/Woodturner/AAWConnects/AAW-Connects.aspx?hkey=3ebc2dcf-286d-49a1-9b72-ff55e5523609

You don't mention what lathe it is - if it has outboard turning capabilities it could do fairly large items if it turns slow enough, but not likely with an old lathe.


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## RichBolduc (Jan 30, 2018)

Jaws are going to very depending on what you turn. As for the Nova G3, I actually work for Teknatool (Nova) so if you have any questions drop me a message and I'll help you out. For a spindle of that size, I'd stick to the G3 over our larger chucks but if you do need to go bigger our SuperNova2 shares all jaws with the G3.

Rich


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## Redoak49 (Dec 15, 2012)

I bought the Nova G3 for my Shopsmith and love it. I have bought about 5 jaw sets so far.


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## Gittyup (Jan 16, 2013)

I have 4 chucks. Vicmarc VM120, Nova Titan, Nova SN2, and a barracuda. It seems that 2" jaws are a good general purpose size that will work over a fairly large range of piece sizes. But all 2" jaw are not the same. The 2" jaws on the Vicmarc are much heavier duty than those for Novas. A piece of wood properly mounted in the VM120 isn't coming out; the wood is going to break first. The Nova chucks are still the best bang for the dollar, but they won't work as well if pushed to near expansion limits. The Vicmarcs are big chucks, not suited for small lathes though. Our club uses oneway chucks almost exclusively. They have heavy jaws on lighter bodies (compared to VM).

As for tenon vs. mortise. It's a bit of personal preference. Though grain orientation/strength may dictate one better than the other. I prefer mortises because I can get more surface on the shoulder. I use them on bowls so that I don't have to reverse the bowl to finish bottom, as you would with a tenon. Just create the mortise, finish the outside of the bowl, and decorate the mortise to liking. Here, dovetails leave no marks. If I needed to remount on mortise, I've never had an issue with centering on the VM120. It doesn't seem to matter, which is a testament to the quality of the chuck. With tenons it does because the piece is crushed with the wood at each pressure point reacting differently.


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## Phil32 (Aug 31, 2018)

Here's a related suggestion to the #12 post. If you use a mortise to mount the bowl to your lathe, you can fill the mortise with a base turned of matching wood: (Yes, this walnut bowl is full of worm holes!)


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