I'm a new turner with a Jet 1221vs lathe and a Nova G3 chuck with standard 2" jaws.
I've just started to practice making small bowls but do not have a reasonable way to finish the bottoms after shaping the sides and the insides.
I'd rather not spend time making donut or jam or other miscellaneous home made chucks to allow me to finish the bowl bottoms and I'm thinking that purchasing Nova's Cole Jaws might make sense. My lathe has a 12 1/2" swing over the bed and Nova's standard Cole jaws requires a minimum of a 12" swing.
So I have two questions:
1. Are Cole jaws that fit my Nova G3 the option that makes the most sense based on what I've said above?
2. If so, do the standard Cole Jaws that require a minimum 12" swing make sense verses Nova's mini Cole Jaws that require a 8" minimum swing? I only ask because although the bowl size capacity of the standard jaws is desirable, is having only a 1/4" clearance over the bed potentially problematic?
I would appreciate your thoughts and input.
Thank you
Dom