Cole jaws

[keepanionme14]

Are they worth it when making a bowl?

 

[Bill in Buena Park]

There are other methods of holding a finished bowl in this orientation if you have to reverse the bowl to do something to the bottom (such as remove a tenon or clean up the foot), but the Cole jaws make it easy. Most times, in my preferred order of operations for bowl turning, I don't have to use the Cole jaws, but I turn to them first when I do, because they are handy for what I do. What method are you currently using for this type of operation?

 

[BRobbins629]

All depends on the shape of the bowl top. Very useful with a simple bowl, not so much with natural edge and some other designs.

 

[KenV]

It works well up to its capacity and works with with bowls that "won't hold soup"

I use vacuum and donut chucks too, but it is a good starting method that continues to work well

Do use a live center to hold the bowl on place and keep the speed down.

 

[MTViper]

I've been using them for years and love them. I've used jam chucks and donut chucks as well, but for me, nothing works as well as the Cole jaws. I don't have a vacuum chuck so I can't compare that. I recommend you invest another $25 or so in the bumper kit from Nova that has long bumpers and wedge shaped bumpers for holding difficult shapes. I use them enough that I have a dedicated chuck with them permanently mounted.

You do need to pay attention to lathe speed. If you're not using the tailstock to support your bowl, you need to keep the speed below 600 RPM. Use the tailstock as long as you can. Light cuts and sharp tools are important because a minor catch can cause the bowl to pull out of the short bumpers if you're using them.

 

[JimB]

I use my cole jaws all the time to clean up the bottom of a bowl. They also have some other uses.