Attn. Oneway Talon owners

[Ron Bontz]

Just a quick question. Have any Talon owners regretted not buying the stronghold instead? Talon--16" or less......Stronghold--16" or greater......About $50.00 difference in price.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Ron - I have the Talon and have used it on my first lathe (Craftsman Mono-Tube) and also on my Jet 1642. While I am sure the Stronghold would be a great chuck - the Talon has done absolutely everything I have ever asked of it. If you are considering getting either chuck - the big advantage of the Stronghold is the increased size of the jaws. Questions for you - will you actually need all that holding power? Depends on what sizes of blanks you plan on turning. Best of luck with your decision!

[Ron Bontz]

Hi Steve. I am leaning toward the Talon at the moment just because of cost but I am also hoping to keep my options open for what ever suits my fancy at the moment. The 1642 I bought replaced my Craftsman mono tube as well, btw. Imagine a 5 ft. walnut floor lamp with a large base and ogee feet and large to small curly maple bowls turned into it with a large inverted bowl incorporated above the lamp shade. Just a thought. Thanks for your input.

[Leo Van Der Loo]

Ron just like Steve said it is mainly the jaw sizes, I have both the Stronghold and a couple of Talons, I really like the Talon on my midi, the Stronghold is heavier and the lathe seems to keep on turning when the lathe is switched off.
The Stronghold has more gripping power, and so I use it on my large lathe for the larger blanks, but for initial rouging of blanks larger than say 20", I use the faceplate first to round it and shape the outside, than the Stronghold, if you want to go long, the wood is not strong enough to keep in the chuck jaws without a steady, the wood fibers will be pulled out/off, it will also flex and you're bound to get catches.
If you get the Stronghold, the Jumbo jaws are larger also and you can hold large size bowls on/in there.

[Denis Puland]

I have two Tallon's one with the number 2 and the other with number 3 Jaws installed.
I turn 20 inches inboard and have turned bigger outboard with the number three jaws and have not had any problems at all.

The design of the jaws on the oneway chucks gives them a grip like a tiger on your butt.
The size of the tennon is not as important as with other chucks.

Denis

[Jim Becker]

No regrets whatsoever. To-date, I've not needed the capacities of the larger chuck, even though I've moved to a much larger capacity lathe since purchasing the Talon.

[Ron McKinley]

I have a 16" lathe and the Talon has done everything I've needed. I would buy it again.......Ron

[Bob Hamilton]

I started out with a Delta 46-700 lathe (12" swing, reeves drive, 1"x8tpi, slide/swivel headstock) and a Oneway basic chuck almost 20 years ago. When I upgraded to a Nova DVR it was supposed to come with a SuperNova 2 chuck as a bonus item, but the vendor missed putting the chuck into the lathe package when it was shipped. When I reminded them they shipped the chuck immediately but I still had a new lathe and no chuck that would fit it until the SN2 came, so I went out to get a new insert for my old chuck. Unfortunately, my chuck was the old style which did not use the newer taper lock adaptor so the only place to get a new insert for it was to order it from Oneway, which was going to take as long as waiting for the SN2, and I wanted to get turning NOW! So, while I was waiting for the other stuff I bought a Talon to get me going. It is indeed a great chuck and the jaws are interchangeable with my older tommy bar chuck. That is kind of the sticking point for me; that the jaws are not interchangeable between the Stronghold and my other chucks. I have also never found any need for a stronger chuck.

I have since bought another Oneway basic tommy bar chuck to reduce the number of times I have to change jaws. I actually find the tommy bar chucks to be just as easy, if not easier, to use as the key operated ones. You might not be able to generate as much mechanical advantage with the tommy bars as you can with a key, but I have never had any problem that I would attribute to a lack of tightness of the grip. By all means get a Talon, but when the time comes when you want a second chuck don't overlook the basic.

Take care
Bob

[Tom Steyer]

Ron, I also turn on a Jet 1642. When I bought the lathe, I ordered a Stronghold chuck with several jaw sets. Six months ago, I had a chance at a brand new Talon at a really discounted close-out price. Since then, I have rarely used the Stronghold. The Talon holds everything I have wanted to turn, and because of the smaller size, is a little more user friendly. The Stronghold is useful for a better grip on larger blanks for roughing with less vibration. If you can only get one, get the Talon.

[scott schmidt grasshopper]

I had a delta 700 and a talon chuck . I liked the chuck and it held pretty well. I have a teacher with a big yellow and he uses vicmarks. when i bought his lathe I bought one of the larger vicmarks.
I had a problem with the talon in that the jaws didnt face off the bottom of the tenon. a couple times I had funky grain and the jaws will come out ( away) from the face when biting into the wood. with the vicmark it fits ( wendges) into the dovetail
I wish I had the dovetail smooth jaws for the talon. ... maybe next paycheck

[Frank Kobilsek]

Ron,

I have two Strongholds and like them, but I wish I had a smaller chuck such as the Talon for smaller projects. On little bowls, boxes, etc, the diameter of the stronghold can get in the way.

Eventually I'll add a Talon to the collection
Frank

[Mike Vickery]

I have 2 talon's I find that regular #2 jaws are fine for 80% of my bowl turning ( up to about 14 inches (ish). For anything bigger I have the #3 tower jaws and have turned bowls up to 19 inches with no problems and no worries.

The #3 tower jaws use a huge tennon, but I am usually coreing anything that big so I like the extra support.

[Ron Bontz]

Thanks for all the comments. Talon it is. I'll use the extra $50.00 for the #3 jaws.

[charlie knighton]

i bought a stronghold 3 years ago, have since increase my spindle size this summer ,bought new insert, the stronghold price has gone up at least $100 form when i bought it... wish i had some stocks that go up like that

[Jim Ketron]

I turn on a PM3520 and use Talons.
Just roughed this one out tonight, started out just under 20".