OW Stronghold chuck comments.......

[Odie]

First, let me thank John Lucas for convincing me to purchase multiple One Way Stronghold chucks, and reserving a couple of them for dedicating to particular jaws.

I now have 3 OW Stronghold chucks. I purchased two more of these a few months ago.

I purchased my first one about 15yrs ago.

As John had stated, this is a great time saver, and greatly reduces the amount of time you will invest in change-over of jaws. By dedicating chucks to jaws that are in frequent use, you don't have to stop and do this jaw changing chore nearly as often as with one chuck......and I've come to really like that!!!!

One is dedicated to the Mega Jumbo Jaws, and another is dedicated to the #2 standard jaws.

The 3rd chuck is for the #1, #3, #4 standard jaws, #2 and #3 tower jaws. All of these jaws will only be used occasionally, as needed, so that's why I decided to do things this way.

I've been very impressed with the quality of these chucks.

I "trued" all of the jaws to their specific chucks. In order to do this correctly, all the individual jaws have to be dedicated to one specific jaw slide. None of the jaws seem to have been off by more than a few thousandths.....so, unless you feel a need to do the truing, this operation can be skipped for most everyone who has one of these fine chucks.

One thing I did notice, is the Stronghold chuck isn't quite the same now as it was 15yrs ago.......the configuration of the chuck key is different, and the two styles are not interchangeable. All the jaws are interchangeable, however.

I've been gradually decreasing the length of tenons I've been using, in order to conserve usable wood for final design. Yesterday, I roughed a bowl with a very short 3/32" tenon......that's pretty short, but everything worked out OK. At this length, there is only one gripping groove of the #2 standard chuck jaws that have a good hold.........well........OHHHHHH Kay!

The only real problem I can see with this is, it's somewhat of a gamble if I should have even a minor catch.....the bowl could become unseated, or fly off entirely! Is the gamble worth the benefits?......that's a call everyone will have to make for themselves.

I guess I'm a "chance taker".....!

I can't begin to tell you how many bowls I broke on the lathe, while learning how to do thin wall, inward slanting, bowls.......😱......but, I sure am glad I had the guts to take those chances! It was a learning experience that couldn't have been done without some risk. 😉

otis of cologne



PS: I have now posted "Odie's crazy idea #11" on the, How-To's, Tips, and Techniques forum. I don't know if there is any interest in these things I've been posting over there, or not......but, I probably could keep those going for some time in the future......that is, if my crazy ideas are of any help to anyone else. Let me know, ok?

OOC

 

[Charlie Knighton]

eek factor

I've been gradually decreasing the length of tenons I've been using, in order to conserve usable wood for final design. Yesterday, I roughed a bowl with a very short 3/32" tenon......that's pretty short, but everything worked out OK. At this length, there is only one gripping groove of the #2 standard chuck jaws that have a good hold.........well........OHHHHHH Kay!

i have not gotten that short, ususally i turn endgrain and the logs i split i cut to the size of form i want plus at least a 3/8 tennon it just seems unnecessary, just my opinion

I can't begin to tell you how many bowls I broke on the lathe, while learning how to do thin wall, inward slanting, bowls.............

thin walls,this is something i am just starting to pay real attention to, hope to gain more insight at symposium i agree that not everything is going to work out when you go thin, and the 😱 factor is part of turning, but before i start or restart the lathe i try to ask myself is the safe 😎 just my opinion

 

[Ed_McDonnell]

My opinion: Anyone who is considering investing in multiple Stronghold chucks should consider adding a Talon to the mix instead of one of the Strongholds ( on a lathe with 14" or less swing I would go all Talons). When you get down to the #1 jaws (and #2 in a lot of cases) the smaller size of the Talon will allow easier access to the back of the piece. When the tenon starts to get really small I don't think you gain anything by having the Stronghold over the Talon in most cases.

One of my turing clubs has a Stronghold chuck for the club lathe. The key got lost and the replacement key wouldn't work. Oneway changed suppliers for the gear inside the chuck at some point, so old keys don't work in new chucks (and vice versa). I think this has only changed once in the last 15 years so it shouldn't be a real big issue going forward.

I would also suggest a really good coat of wax between the Jaw and the slide at least once a year.. I turn a lot of really wet wood and suspect that enough wet wood combined with enough time may permanently attach the jaw to the slide. I left one set of jaws on for 8 months (without any wax) and I had a heck of a time getting them off when I tried.

I think the crazy tips / ideas are great. Keep posting them.

Ed

 

[Odie]

My opinion: Anyone who is considering investing in multiple Stronghold chucks should consider adding a Talon to the mix instead of one of the Strongholds ( on a lathe with 14" or less swing I would go all Talons). When you get down to the #1 jaws (and #2 in a lot of cases) the smaller size of the Talon will allow easier access to the back of the piece. When the tenon starts to get really small I don't think you gain anything by having the Stronghold over the Talon in most cases.

Ed

I think this is an excellent suggestion, Ed.....

At one point, that had crossed my mind. Since the jaws of the Stronghold aren't interchangeable with the Talon, I gave up on that idea when I purchased my extra Stronghold chucks. Since then, I've experienced some of the "access" issues you speak of. (For me it's not really an access issue with cutting tools, but rather a disc sanding issue.)

At some time in the future, I may take your advice, and get the Talon.

Thanks for adding that point to the mix.

otis of cologne

 

[KurtB]

Ow

Odie,
You might double check this, but I read the fine print somewhere on one of the OW listings, and it said that the jaws are interchangeable, but that the dimensions they list for min/max openings are not accurate for the different jaws. So, in other words, they work, just don't count on the same exact sizes. That was my interpretation of their disclaimer.😕
Kurt

 

[hockenbery]

odie,

My wife and I have 3 Strongholds.
The jaws are all inter changeable.
each of our three are individually keyed.

you might consider getting #2 dovetail jaws. My wife uses a lot of short tenons on platters and the dovetails grip these nicely.

happy turning,
Al

 

[Captain Eddie]

Profile jaws

I also recommend "Profile" jaws for all tendons. the multi purpose jaws are good, but when you want to get exact and get a good hold, go with the profiles. I have the profiles for #1 and #2. I love then and have them on a huge rough piece right now and have all the confidence in the world that it will hold.

 

[Odie]

Odie,
You might double check this, but I read the fine print somewhere on one of the OW listings, and it said that the jaws are interchangeable, but that the dimensions they list for min/max openings are not accurate for the different jaws. So, in other words, they work, just don't count on the same exact sizes. That was my interpretation of their disclaimer.😕
Kurt

Thanks Kurt.......

I would buy the Talon chuck right now, if the Stronghold jaws would fit it, but the Oneway web site states they do not interchange. The Talon chuck does use the jaws made for the original Oneway scroll chuck though.

otis of cologne

odie,

My wife and I have 3 Strongholds.
The jaws are all inter changeable.
each of our three are individually keyed.

you might consider getting #2 dovetail jaws. My wife uses a lot of short tenons on platters and the dovetails grip these nicely.

happy turning,
Al

OK, but I'm not sure I understand here, hockenbery......

If the tenon was so short that only the first gripping groove was in use on the "profile" jaws.....wouldn't that be essentially the same as using the smooth "dovetail" jaws.......????

otis of cologne

I also recommend "Profile" jaws for all tendons. the multi purpose jaws are good, but when you want to get exact and get a good hold, go with the profiles. I have the profiles for #1 and #2. I love then and have them on a huge rough piece right now and have all the confidence in the world that it will hold.

Howdy Captain Eddie.......

Pardon me for being unclear about this, but all my Stronghold jaw sets are of the "profiled" variety. My #4 jaws appear to be smooth on the recess gripping surface, but "profiled" on the tenon gripping surface. I say that because all the other jaw sets have a definite little edge, whereas the #4 jaws that I have don't have this.....they are smooth here.

otis of cologne