Stronghold jaws

[Nick Boyd]

I will be entering the world of coring soon and am looking to get jaws for my stronghold chuck that hold onto the wood the strongest. I contemplate or at least want the capabilty coring the largest I can (looks like 18 inches) from 21 inch blanks that maybe 12 inches deep.... you get the idea
I never knew that they made aluminum jaws for the stronghold until recently; all my other jaws are that black metal. Is the aluminum going to be a strong and or strong enough ? Also I wanted to get the strongest profile - serrated versus smooth dovetail I have no experience with dovetail but I have recently become convinced that dovetail is stronger holding but will it be in this circumstance and does stronghold make the number six jaw that is dovetail because I haven’t seen any.

Or do i need to move to vicmark 150

 

[Marshall Sadler]

I prefer dovetail jaws. Dovetail jaws act as a wedge of sorts and pull the tenon into the chuck. This results in a VERY firm grip. I have knocked more pieces out of my serrated jaws compared to my dovetail jaws. Oneway's aluminum jaws are rated for a bowl that is six inches deep and what you are asking may be too much for them. A deep bowl means more leverage on the chuck/spindle and stronger/bigger jaws are therefore required. The Vicmarc 120/150 can take dovetail jaws for a 8 or so inch tenon. Coring puts a lot of stress on the wood; I would therefore recommend a recess. I recently cored a 17" bowl that was about 6 inches deep using my #4 dovetail jaws with a recess; I had no doubt in the chucking method. I hope this answered some of your questions.

 

[olaf Vogel]

A deep bowl means more leverage on the chuck/spindle and stronger/bigger jaws are therefore required.

Hey Marschall,

I've used the big steel Oneway jaws quit successfully, even for large pieces.
This one of course was with a steady rest. (28" OD, 26" deep)

Halfway through the hollowing, I shut down the lathe for a break. And found out that the bottom wheels on my steady rest had disintegrated!!!. It seems only the chuck was holding the piece.

I.e. I really like the Stronghold and those jaws.



This one was shallower (~8" deep)

 

[Owen Lowe]

I don’t think I’d go with the aluminum jaws just for flexing and general rigidity.

I use #3 serrated jaws on my Stronghold when coring up to 18” blanks. They do make a #4 jaws if you’re concerned about the #3s being too small. Attached is a pdf of the jaws available for all 3 types of Oneway chucks. (Just FYI: Most of the Oneway jaws are available with smooth dovetail profiles or serrated.)

 

[Marshall Sadler]

Olaf,
Thank you for those impressive pictures. What is the lathe in the first picture for? Is it a sanding/finishing lathe?
For some reason beyond my current knowledge, coring puts more stress on a tenon compared to cutting with a bowl gouge. My best guess is it may have to do with the "coring rest" being so far away from the cutting edge. The added leverage can be countered by a steady rest as you have done.

 

[olaf Vogel]

Olaf,
Thank you for those impressive pictures. What is the lathe in the first picture for? Is it a sanding/finishing lathe?

Oh, thats just my sanding station. It has a spare spindle off my lathe, so the chuck fits.
An industrial BBQ motor in the bottom turns it at 2 rpm.
A long extension cord back to the shop.
Plugs on the side for my power sander.
Storage in the bottom for disc, paper and other accessories.

Much nicer sanding outside in the sun.

 

[Nick Boyd]

Hey Marschall,

I've used the big steel Oneway jaws quit successfully, even for large pieces.
This one of course was with a steady rest. (28" OD, 26" deep)

Halfway through the hollowing, I shut down the lathe for a break. And found out that the bottom wheels on my steady rest had disintegrated!!!. It seems only the chuck was holding the piece.

I.e. I really like the Stronghold and those jaws.

View attachment 24161

This one was shallower (~8" deep)

View attachment 24162

Real nice

 

[JeffSmith]

Nick - your stronghold will easily handle the load. I seldom core larger than 20” - usually closer to 16 to 18”. mostly because the standard knife set for the MacNaughton limits out there, at least in my experience, and larger isn’t often called for. I use the #4 smooth dovetail jaws for most coring. I prefer the smooth dovetail jaws in general. With a well cut tenon and a good flat surface for the face of the jaws to ride against, I haven’t lost a piece yet. That hasn’t been true for the profile jaws. The few times I've lost a piece or split a tenon has been with the serrated or profiled jaws. Probably my fault for overtightening, but I’m not a fan.
I also have the best of both worlds - a set of vicmark jaws 4” that were made by Vicmark to fit the Stronghold chuck. They are my favorites for coring, but, in reality not that different from the oneway #4s, just a slightly thicker section.
There was a time when manufacturers offered products that let customers choose from other jaw sets. Along with the Vicmark jaws for the Stronghold I found a set of stronghold slides that accept Vicmark jaws made by oneway. Both showed up in the annual ‘garage’ sale at Craft Supply before the Utah symposium several years ago. I grabbed them quick...

 

[Charlie Knighton]

I witnessed the Grab bag sale one year.....really amazing event......I was impressed with the whole community......noticed everyone had a garage for some reason