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Oneway Big Bite

hockenbery

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I have it. It works great. I don’t use it much. It is quick to go from between centers to mounting a bowl with a tenon.

I prefer a spur drive which lets me move a bowl or hollow form in two directions so I can align both the endgrain and the sidegrain. Also it is too wide to use for a hollow form.

Setting the big bit horizontally to the long grain lets you adjust the endgrain. Often this suffices to get a nice grain pattern if you aren’t too picky.
 
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I have one . In order to get a good bite you have to either cut a slot for it to go into or drive it into the wood. It is larger than you would think. I wonder if it is supposed to be sharpened. Have not used it in several years. I would sell it if you decide you want to try.
 
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Lexington, KY
I have one. Well worth having, especially if you do bowls. With my Jet 1642 it made roughing out bowls MUCH easier. I used it for several hundred bowls. I haven't used it much recently, but I haven't turned a bowl for 2-3 years now.
 
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Gainesville, VA
Has anyone used this gadget? Cant tell from looking at the picture if it would be worth trying.

https://www.woodturnerscatalog.com/p/106/1113/oneway-Big-Bite-Chuck-Spur?term=spur+drive&term=spur drive
I've had mine for about a year and it works like a champ. Of course it is not suitable for small projects (it will split the wood), however, it is the first thing I reach for when I'm doing NE. You just can't beat the fast secure setup, great price, and it also works great when it comes to making adjustments for balance before cutting. I highly highly recommend it.
 
Joined
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I have it and use it. Sometimes after adjusting for grain orientation, only the center point and part of one wing are in the blank, but still a solid hold. This obviously uses tailstock pressure to hold the blank, I know that's supposed to ruin the bearings, but, it fits my "method of work". I also made and like a drive made during a class with Al Stirt. http://alstirt.com/PDF files/NewBowlDriver1.pdf
 

hockenbery

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only the center point and part of one wing are in the blank, but still a solid hold. This obviously uses tailstock pressure to hold the blank, I know that's supposed to ruin the bearings, but, it fits my "method of work". I also made and like a drive made during a class with Al Stirt. http://alstirt.com/PDF files/NewBowlDriver1.pdf

I prefer having Two spur points in contact. But the big bit obviously holds well enough.
I know lots of folks using tailstock pressure on Oneway lathes for over 20 years with no bearing issues.
I suspect other high quality lathes are built for tailstock pressure too.

I have had the pleasure of being AL’s assistant ( gopher) for 3 classes.
He does the best cut rim bowl demo I have ever seen.
 
Joined
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Peoria, Illinois
Does this thing have something that self centers it in the jaws side to side? It looks like its basically a flat blade with a pin on center.
Yup, it has a raised surface on the back that pilots in the chuck. It was extremely well for natural edge bowls. You don't have to drill a big flat for a traditional drive spur to bite into the wood.
 
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I've been using the big bite for well over a decade for roughing bowls - mostly those over 10' dia. It works great - my preferred center especially for large, unbalanced blanks. I usually set it perpendicular to the long grain, centered as well as possible on the pith - that allows enough adjustment to get the blank grain balanced. On a few occasions I've had to dismount the piece and move the drive slightly to get the grain balanced, but it is rare. It works with both the talon and stronghold chucks I use. I have a smaller two-wing drive that I use on hollow form blanks sometimes - it has a tendency to spin every now and again. If you can spin the big bite you're doing something seriously wrong.
When the surface is really rough as on some bark edge NE forms, I break out the elio drive with adjustable points that can be adjusted to work on the most convoluted surfaces.
I've never had to resort to cutting a slot for the big bite, nor have I found it to split the wood - but then most of my roughing is on sopping wet woods. Just drive it in until the wings are seated and go to town.
 
Joined
Apr 11, 2014
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Location
Dallas, TX
I have found a 1-1/2" four-spur drive works with heavy logs. I always drill a shallow 1-1/2" hole with a forstner.
  • Regarding the tailstock pressure: Yes - I have to crank down. But with my Oneway, it has not been an issue
  • As logs approach and exceed 300-lbs, you let them spin to a stop at their own speed - take the braking feature off.
  • Kevin Clay of Oneway told me NOT to assist but, instead, allow the lathe to start the log from a dead stop. I thought he was nuts but it actually started and the drive didn't slip.
Planet Mesquite was 1000-lbs and I did the initial profiling on a 1-1/2" spur drive, but I had to use the BestTool drive which threads on the outboard end.
 

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Emiliano Achaval

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This is what I use daily. This is the exact copy of Bill Rubinstein's drive. He was the Stubby Lathe USA owner. Not sure how Nova got to make this, but I'm glad they did!
https://www.packardwoodworks.com/113155.html

I went to an Ellsworth demo 3 or 4 years ago where he was using the Stubby drive. He was using it with only two spurs installed and said it was the best drive going.

I knew that I had to have one but found it out of production and Nova had not started making the clone yet. I ended up making a copy of the Oneway Big Bite but sized to fit my Vicmarc 100. I liked it so much I made another for my Vicmarc 120. I don't see how Oneway can sell them so cheap.....a true bargain. Actually I like it better than the Stubby because going from spur drive to chuck is really easy and fast.
 

Timothy Allen

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As I understand it, the Big Bite can be mounted in any chuck that has 1" diameter inner core opening (not really sure what to call it) -- the back side has a little "tenon" designed to fit the opening at the center of the chuck. (This is also how it is self-centering....) ETA-- I recently acquired a Big Bite but haven't had a chance to use it yet.
 

Emiliano Achaval

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I prefer having Two spur points in contact. But the big bit obviously holds well enough.
I know lots of folks using tailstock pressure on Oneway lathes for over 20 years with no bearing issues.
I suspect other high quality lathes are built for tailstock pressure too.

I have had the pleasure of being AL’s assistant ( gopher) for 3 classes.
He does the best cut rim bowl demo I have ever seen.
I can't say how many of us Stubby users, from Bill R. dealership, have that drive. He was a great friend and salesman, and I assume lots of us have one. Bill told me when I bought it to use only 2 spurs. I did not quite understand it then, about 17 years ago. All of us use it with tailstock pressure. Never heard of a Stubby's bearings failing either...
 
Joined
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Rainy River District Ontario Canada
Can the Big Bite only be mounted in a One Way chuck?

The big bite spur can be used in any 4 jaw chuck, but it has a short extension on the back end that should fit into the chuck’s body so it does stay put and centers it at the same time.

If your chuck has a smaller opening, you could rind some off, equally on both sides so it sits centered.

If the opening is larger you would need to grind some steel away so you get an extension that does fit.

Big bite Chuck spur.jpg spur.jpg
 
Joined
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I have one . In order to get a good bite you have to either cut a slot for it to go into or drive it into the wood. It is larger than you would think. I wonder if it is supposed to be sharpened. Have not used it in several years. I would sell it if you decide you want to try.

I'll sell you mine for less...
 

RichColvin

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I can't say how many of us Stubby users, from Bill R. dealership, have that drive. He was a great friend and salesman, and I assume lots of us have one. Bill told me when I bought it to use only 2 spurs. I did not quite understand it then, about 17 years ago. All of us use it with tailstock pressure. Never heard of a Stubby's bearings failing either...
Emiliano,

Do you use it with 2 or 4 spurs?

Kind regards,
Rich
 
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Windermere, British Columbia
I've been using the big bite for well over a decade for roughing bowls - mostly those over 10' dia. It works great - my preferred center especially for large, unbalanced blanks. I usually set it perpendicular to the long grain, centered as well as possible on the pith - that allows enough adjustment to get the blank grain balanced. On a few occasions I've had to dismount the piece and move the drive slightly to get the grain balanced, but it is rare. It works with both the talon and stronghold chucks I use. I have a smaller two-wing drive that I use on hollow form blanks sometimes - it has a tendency to spin every now and again. If you can spin the big bite you're doing something seriously wrong.
When the surface is really rough as on some bark edge NE forms, I break out the elio drive with adjustable points that can be adjusted to work on the most convoluted surfaces.
I've never had to resort to cutting a slot for the big bite, nor have I found it to split the wood - but then most of my roughing is on sopping wet woods. Just drive it in until the wings are seated and go to town.
What kind of lathe do you have for bowls more than 10’ in diameter?
 

Emiliano Achaval

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Emiliano,

Do you use it with 2 or 4 spurs?

Kind regards,
Rich
Hello Rich. From day one I started using it with just 2 spurs. You have better chances of 2 seating right. With 4 you need a better surface. I have never had a problem with just 2. I start every single bowl with it.
 
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Nov 22, 2009
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Midland, MI
Gary, I have used the big bite spur drive on supernova2 chuck with the 2" jaws installed, the ones that come standard with the chuck. It fit ok and worked fine. I think the jaws help hold the spur drive in place more securely.

The tab on the bottom of the spur drive that is used for alignment is very slightly smaller than the hole in my SN2 chuck. Meaning there is a little side to side movement; it does not automatically center perfectly on in the chuck. But put a live center in the tailstock and pull it near the point of the spur drive and you can line them up close enough for roughing.

I've gone away from using the big bite. Now I use a Texas Spur drive that I got from Best Wood Tools at one of the symposiums. I drill a shallow 1.5" hole with a spade bit for the Texas Spur drive. That is very helpful when mounting heavy blanks.

Dave
 
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The quick change mechanism in the Infinity chuck does not do well with unbalanced pressure. It was making noise when it was turning so I took it off and checked it. The jaws were binding from being twisted aligning with the big bite. A screw on type jaw doesn't have this problem so I will stick to using my regular Supernova to hold it.
 
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