Nova jaws, with true dovetails

[Dean Center]

One of our local high schools, where three local club members teach the turning component, has 3 nice lathes and 2 nice chucks. Someone donated a Nova chuck to be their third, but the other 2 chucks are Vicmarcs and the 3 guys can't deal with going back and forth between dovetail and beaked jaws. Anyone have a set of Nova bowl jaws, ideally 75mm, and with true dovetail profiles, that they'd part with? A set of 50mm might work, too. Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[Bill Blasic]

I used those beaked jaws with regular dovetailed wood for a few years until I spent a week with Richard Raffan who showed me that you don't need a 3/8" or 1/4" dovetail to hold your piece on the lathe. And since those so called beaks are actually a dovetail shape I have for close to twenty years now use those Nova jaws with an 1/8" or less dovetail on the wood without ever losing a piece of wood because of those so called beaks. Twice in my life have I lost a piece off the lathe and both of those were with dovetailed jaws but the whole dovetail separated from the piece (the piece was on the floor but the dovetail was still in the jaws, over excessive cutting was what caused it). Have them shorten the dovetail and they will be fine.