# Nova G3 jaws



## watch_art (Jul 8, 2012)

I want to get one of these
Teknatool Nova G3 Chuck with No. 2 Jaws - Woodturners Catalog - Woodworking tools and supplies specializing in woodturning.


with this
Teknatool Pin Jaws - Woodturners Catalog - Woodworking tools and supplies specializing in woodturning.



but don't want to pay $55 for it!  Yikes!

Will this fit the Nova?
#1 Pin Jaws at Penn State Industries


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## robutacion (Jul 8, 2012)

I have that chuck and a series of jaws for it and the PSI jaws are basically the same thing as the Teknatool ones, for a 1/3 of the price..!

Great chuck it is...!


PS: I believe the fit is the same...!

Cheers
George


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## lsweeney (Jul 8, 2012)

*hole pattern*

I think I saw someplace where the jaws were not interchangeable the hole pattern for the mounting screws are a little different on the Teknatool  as those on the  PSI. somebode tell me if I am wrong.


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## robutacion (Jul 8, 2012)

lsweeney said:


> I think I saw someplace where the jaws were not interchangeable the hole pattern for the mounting screws are a little different on the Teknatool  as those on the  PSI. somebode tell me if I am wrong.



Oh...! I didn't know that...!

Will be interesting to get someone that has actually got them and tried.  If that is true, it would have been done deliberately so that people is forced to buy what they want and not what you want, damn...!

Cheers
George


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## PenMan1 (Jul 8, 2012)

Unless the PSI chucks have changed very recently, the Baracuda jaws WILL NOT interchange with Nova tools.

In fact, all PSI jaws will not fit all PSI chucks. This is quite frustrating.


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## watch_art (Jul 8, 2012)

Ugh...


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## watch_art (Jul 8, 2012)

So what's a quality 4 jaw that uses a chuck key and that can be removed from the lathe with work still in place?  One of my gripes is waiting for things to dry while in the lathe.  I don't take them off b/c it's a pain for me to get them centered again.  I can leave them in the chuck, take them off to let the parts glue up and dry, and work on something else.  If the pin jaws on this nova weren't so pricey I'd grab that... but dang.


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## PenMan1 (Jul 8, 2012)

Shawn:
I'll look for the web address, but technatool did have a reconditioned store which sold both chucks and jaws at about half price.

For a quality chuck SYSTEM at a modest price, I would always recommend Nova as all of their jaws work with all of their chucks. SO, If you should someday purchase a bigger that requiring a different chuck, your Nova accessories would still work with a new Nova chuck.


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## watch_art (Jul 8, 2012)

RECONDITIONED SuperNOVA2 Wood Turning Chuck - Teknatool USA Inc

This?


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## watch_art (Jul 8, 2012)

It's still expensive...
$20
NOVA Chuck Insert/Adaptor - Teknatool USA Inc
$99
RECONDITIONED SuperNOVA2 Wood Turning Chuck - Teknatool USA Inc
$55
NOVA Chuck Accessory Pin Jaw Set - Teknatool USA Inc

And the pin jaws aren't any cheaper at all.
--sad face--

I may just go with a key chuck from psi...


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## bitshird (Jul 8, 2012)

watch_art said:


> RECONDITIONED SuperNOVA2 Wood Turning Chuck - Teknatool USA Inc
> 
> This?



The Nova 2 is good for larger lathes but the G3 is a good chuck, however the pin jaws suck, they are out of round, we indicated a set and one was .065 thicker than most and one was .030 thicker 2 were with in .010
But the number 2 jaws are great as are the larger sets.


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## watch_art (Jul 8, 2012)

#2 jaws won't really serve me well for simply holding pen blanks.  Often I'm holding on to a blank by only 5-10mm of it's end.  #2 jaws means I would be loosing another 5-10mm behind the lip plus the 5-10 that I'd be holding on to.

Maybe I should get it anyway.


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## BAYQUEST (Jul 8, 2012)

I bought the reconditioned G3 from novatech a couple of weeks ago for 89 and the insert was about 20. I need the pin jaws also and was hoping you would find out those would work


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## EricJS (Jul 8, 2012)

You won't regret a SuperNova2 and a set of pin jaws to match -certainly at that price. All Nova jaws are compatible.


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## watch_art (Jul 8, 2012)

How does the Nova compare w/ the Barracuda3?
Barracuda3 Micro Lathe Key Chuck System at Penn State Industries

It's a lot cheaper and comes with the pin jaws and some other stuff I'll never use.


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## Culprit (Jul 8, 2012)

bitshird said:


> ...the G3 is a good chuck, however the pin jaws suck, they are out of round, we indicated a set and one was .065 thicker than most and one was .030 thicker 2 were with in .010
> But the number 2 jaws are great as are the larger sets.



Forgive me if I'm de-railing the thread, but it's interesting that you say this.  

My Nova G3 showed up in the mail earlier this week.  I opened it up, installed the spigot jaws according to the directions, and hit the go-switch.  It didn't look to be spinning true.  Next, I chucked up a brad point bit and watched it. There appeared to be a double point on the end of the spinning bit, so I broke out the dial indicator.  Here is what I found:

I attached the base of the dial indicator to the way tubes.  I rotated the quill through a couple revolutions by hand and recorded the max deflection of the needle, adding the positive and negatives to get the full window.

Bare quill: less than 0.001"

Bare G3 adapter on the quill that the chuck threads onto: 0.0015"

Shaft of a forster bit chucked in the G3 internal jaws: 0.005" - the point of the forster bit appears steady when rotating under power

Shaft of a forster bit chucked in the G3 spigot jaws: 0.016" - the point of the forster bit does not appear steady when rotating under power

I have not been able to find stated or advertised tolerances for the Nova G3 - only advertisements that claim it is a "precision" tool.  In my mind, a tool advertised as "precision" should be better than 16 thousandths of an inch.  Did I receive a bad set of spigot jaws, or is this normal?

















And on a slightly different tack, a guy named David Reed Smith has a great writeup on making a set of jaw inserts to hold pen blanks more accurately:

Auxiliary Pen Blank Jaws


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## Whaler (Jul 9, 2012)

The pin jaws are what I use most on my Super Nova 2 and they are dead on plus I have 3 other sets of Nova jaws that work flawlessly.


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## nava1uni (Jul 10, 2012)

I recently bought a Nova chuck with a couple sets of jaws and a Cole jaw set at Woodcraft on sale.


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## Culprit (Jul 10, 2012)

I had a pleasant conversation with Teknatool USA today.  I'm shipping my G3 and spigot jaws back to them tomorrow for a replacement.  They will then check out the chuck and jaws to let me know if there was a problem with them, or if I was doing someting wrong.


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## KenV (Jul 10, 2012)

Amazon usually has the Nova jaws for about $10 less than the Nova list price =  Sometimes a bit better and sometimes a bit worse.

I have no issues with runout on my SN2 with those jaws.   

The SN2 is a better made - smoother - and has less rough areas than the barracuda jaws.  

There have been some reports of less quality for 3rd party inserts on the Nova jaws, so check the insert/chuck combination if you are headed to a 3rd party source.


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