Need to as I have enough wood to build Abe Lincoln a log cabin. Need pros and cons for mini cole jaws for a Supernova2 chuck. Got some ideas I need to pursue. Thanks.
I use mine all the time. I have mine installed on a dedicated Nova chuck......that's the only way to go......saves a lot of time and effort!
Plates can be made from kiln or air dried lumber and you can depend on it being dry through out verses a 3" or more thick bowl blank that may never dry in the middle until it is rough turned. The blank for a plate can be mounted on it's face side using short screws, then the under side can be completely turned including a 1/8" deep dovetail recess. The top side can then be finished by mounting with expansion jaws in the recess so cole jaws are unneeded, plus you have access to almost the entire turning except for the area blocked by the chuck.
I have never invested in Cole jaws or a vacuum chuck and I can't say that I ever missed them. Note: my collection of jam chucks is getting out of hand.
I couldn't find a picture of the underside of a platter but this one was made using a recess.
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And you can make a longworth chuck pretty cheaply and easily or buy one online.As well - a Longworth chuck from woodbine. I think of the Longworth as the "lazy Cole jaws"...because if your complaint against Cole jaws is the time to adjust them for the piece...a Longworth is faster then any other method.
I don't have the tools or skills to cut my own so I bought mine from a woodturner's Esty store, he custom cuts them to your diameter preference. All I had to do was buy the hardware and put it together. It works great.Yes you can make one....but I will share with you that my experience in making one was ....far less than satisfactory. And I even started with disks that were 3/4" - 9 ply cabinet grade plywood, which was CNC cut...Woodline.com was the one I bought after my frustration with the home-assembled one.
It would be interesting to see Cole jaws applied to the turning in your avatar!@#$%^&I've got Cole jaws; rarely used them. Takes too long to set up each time. A jam chuck is quicker.