Cole jaws tip

[Mike Peace]

Here is a quick tip on using cole jaws (or mega remounting bowl jaws as Record Power calls them) with angular buffer stops. These stops have a four different profiles which are hard to see how each is marked without extremely good light. Take a felt tip pen and highlight the text on one side makes it a lot easier to see if they are all using the same profile.

 

[Tim Tucker]

Indeed!
Thanks for that tip Mike. I knew they were different on 2 opposite faces...but did not recognize that there are 4 separate face angles!

 

[Bill Boehme]

They look a lot like the stoppers that Vicmarc uses on their bowl jaws. I can't tell if there are four or two different profiles on the Vicmarc stoppers and there aren't any markings to give me a hint.

I would like to know how soft the stoppers are on the Record Remounting Jaws. I have the Vicmarc 485 mm Bowl Jaws. Vicmarc says, "the bowl is reversed and held by the rim, either internally or externally, with 8 unique soft plastic stoppers which are mounted on the face of the Jaw". If Vicmarc thinks that their stoppers are soft, I would like to know what they consider to be hard plastic. It looks like these Record stoppers would be a good upgrade to replace the rock-hard stoppers on my Bowl Jaws.

 

[Brian Gustin]

For my home-made longworth chuck I just bought a set of Silicone bottle stoppers (a material that won't leave marks on the wood) they're tapered, and available in different diameters , soft enough to conform to shape a little bit, but not so hard they could dent soft wood (Though I bet they could dent pine, if tight enough) - wonder if they'd be worth looking into for a set of cole jaws? (I have it on my DIY project list to make home made cole jaws out of wood to fit one of my chucks, so if I ever get around to it I may find out myself)

 

[Mike Peace]

They look a lot like the stoppers that Vicmarc uses on their bowl jaws. I can't tell if there are four or two different profiles on the Vicmarc stoppers and there aren't any markings to give me a hint.

I would like to know how soft the stoppers are on the Record Remounting Jaws. I have the Vicmarc 485 mm Bowl Jaws. Vicmarc says, "the bowl is reversed and held by the rim, either internally or externally, with 8 unique soft plastic stoppers which are mounted on the face of the Jaw". If Vicmarc thinks that their stoppers are soft, I would like to know what they consider to be hard plastic. It looks like these Record stoppers would be a good upgrade to replace the rock-hard stoppers on my Bowl Jaws.

They are somewhat soft. They do not leave marks like the older black rubber ones that came with my Nova set years ago.

 

[Lars Hansen]

Bill B., if you look closely, you'll find that the four sides of the Vicmarc stoppers come in pairs. One pair with a radius of 100 mm and another with radius 150 mm of the convex/concave sides. Hence the not very visible markings "R100" and "R150".
For that very reason, the large 485 bowl jaws tend to leave marks on small diameter bowls.
Sadly, the smaller Vicmarc bowl jaws use the same stoppers.
I 3D printed plastic stoppers with similar overall shape but smaller radius sides to solve that problem.

 

[Lars Hansen]

Here's a closeup of a Vicmarc stopper wiih visible markings.
Black one is my own version. Holds smaller pieces both better and more gently.
BTW, the felt bit on the side of the red stopper does a nice job protecting objects. The self adhesive side stops holding after a few months, but the stuff is cheap. Holds a bit longer if you turn the felt side outwards when not really needed.

 

[Bill Blasic]

They actually look like the ones Teknatool sent me to try about ten years ago and they worked very well.

 

[Tim Starliper]

The felt tip marker trick would not work too well for my Nova black bumpers. I did notice the difference between the 4 sides, though, and make sure I have them all in the same orientation. I have one hole on my Nova cole jaws that has messed up threads. Of course it is one I need more often, I measured the machine screw and got a tap. Rethreaded the hole, now it works like it's supposed to. I could have returned the jaws and waited for more to come in so I could get a replacement, but it was such a minor thing - and it gave me an excuse to get yet another tap for my collection

 

[Lou Jacobs]

I 3D printed plastic stoppers with similar overall shape but smaller radius sides to solve that problem.

Lars, did you design the stoppers yourself, or find an open source design for them? (Not sure if that’s the correct terminology). My daughter has a 3D printer and has offered to make a set for me.

 

[Karl Loeblein]

@Lars Hansen, I second Lou’s request for the 3D file. i have some broken Vicmarc stoppers, but I think they’re too expensive to replace compared to ones that could be cheaply printed and replaced as needed.

 

[Lars Hansen]

@Lou Jacobs & @Karl Loeblein
Stopper files are my own work and not found on STL sharing sites.
You're welcome to contact me. Not quite sure how the "conversation" feature works, but please give it a try and I'll keep an eye on my "in tray".
Please allow a bit of time for me to reply, I'm about to go on a short holiday.
@Bill Boehme @Emiliano Achaval: If this collides with forum rules in any way, please let me know! I do NOT sell ANYTHING and to the best of my knowledge, the Vicmarc stoppers are neither patented nor design protected in any way.

 

[Tom Gall]

Below is my quote from a similar topic on Nov. 2, 2020. [edited]

"Re: Cole / Jumbo Jaws. I never trusted them and they are too fiddly when changing sizes. I like Flat Jaws with added softwood plates which are easily adaptable for different sizes and probably a lot more secure. Only problem with Flat Jaws is size limitations due to the small size of the metal plates that attach to the chuck....you can't go too large with the wood plates for safety. When I had the opportunity to purchase a set of Cole Jaws (Oneway Jumbo Jaws in my case) at an estate sale (cheap) I did so...and then added some PVC foam board (instead of MDF or soft wood) to the jaws. Now I have a 18"Ø chuck (20" swing on my lathe).....way more than I need! Open the jaws slightly and simply turn a groove with a parting tool a little larger than your bowl rim (even dovetailed). Expand or contract the jaws to grip the rim. Perfect centering and up to 360º of gripping on the rim ... not just on 8 points. Can be used for many sizes, many times and easily swapped out when totally used up."

In the photos below the carved bowl has a rounded rim (made about 2004? - and never finished) so I made the recess about 1/4" deep or a little less. Slightly dovetailed to hold on the undercut interior in expansion mode.

The last photo are my old Oneway Flat Jaws - same principle just smaller. BTW- MDF is perfect for this use...and cheaper.

 

[Bill Boehme]

@Bill Boehme @Emiliano Achaval: If this collides with forum rules in any way, please let me know! I do NOT sell ANYTHING and to the best of my knowledge, the Vicmarc stoppers are neither patented nor design protected in any way.

Sharing information about ideas and things that you have created is one of the main reasons why this forum exists. Taking a picture of something that you own and posting it on the forum isn’t a problem. We don’t allow anything that infringes on intellectual property rights.

 

[Marvin Jones]

You know I have never really looked at the writing on those stoppers on my Vicmarc but I have never had an issue with them marking the bowls. Maybe because I use a thinned Poly finish and my cuts when holding a finished outside are gentle, just removing and finishing the tenon.

One thing I did do, I mentioned somewhere else is I stuck two strips of double sided tape on each jaw face so the bowl edge does not ride against the aluminum.

Thanks for that valuable information though I still can't see that tiny writing...

 

[Mark T Racowsky]

The felt tip marker trick would not work too well for my Nova black bumpers. I did notice the difference between the 4 sides, though, and make sure I have them all in the same orientation. I have one hole on my Nova cole jaws that has messed up threads. Of course it is one I need more often, I measured the machine screw and got a tap. Rethreaded the hole, now it works like it's supposed to. I could have returned the jaws and waited for more to come in so I could get a replacement, but it was such a minor thing - and it gave me an excuse to get yet another tap for my collection

I use Painty Pens made by Sharpie. They come in all sorts of colors. They're just filled with paint instead of the ink in marking pens. Find 'em at your local art supply shop like Michael's, or Ben Franklin.

 

[Mark T Racowsky]

When I destroyed the stoppers on my cole jaws, I replaced them with vinyl spacers found at my local hardware store as seen on the cole jaw photo. Not very flexible (soft) but appropriate for some turning situations. Then I cut and added vinyl tubing over the spacers (photo of the longworth chuck) and that seemed to help a lot. Still, I like the angular buffer stops and would like to know where to purchase them.

 

[Mark Jundanian]

Nova sells a replacement/upgrade set that you can buy through Rockler, Woodcraft, etc. I don't know if the screws will fit other makes of Cole jaws.