Am I doing something wrong with this Oneway Stronghold chuck or is it defective?

[Zachary Hoyt]

Following a lot of very helpful advice in a previous thread I ordered a Stronghold chuck, adapter and mega jaws on Monday and they came today, amazingly fast. I am having trouble with the chuck wrench, though. I put the adapter in and the jaws on, but then I found that while I could spin the chuck gear freely either way by hand, it would only turn in the inward direction with the wrench or key. I thought maybe I could have somehow put the mega jaws on wrong so I took them off again, but that didn't help. When I turn the wrench in the direction to open the jaws wider it binds up and will not turn, but it turns easily the other way. When I take the wrench out I can spin the chuck open and shut easily with my fingers. The parts that are together now were assembled when I got the chuck. I don't see anything that I could be doing wrong about how I am using the chuck or the wrench, there is only one way that they go together as far as I can tell. I will call the company I bought it from in the morning if there is a problem, as they're only open till 5, or if anyone has any ideas or experience with this problem that point to what I should be doing to make it work I'd be very grateful to hear. Thank you very much.
Zach

[Dick Strauss]

Zach,
I don't think the OneWay Stronghold or Talon chucks can be turned by hand to open and close the jaws (based on my older versions of both). Did you get the base model scroll chuck with two tommy bars instead? I guess I'm confused based on your comments...

[Zachary Hoyt]

Thank you for your response. I'm sorry, I am not a very good explainer, but I'll try again to describe what is happening. I have a Stronghold chuck. I can stick my fingers into the back and spin the gear that is visible in the first picture, while the chuck body stays still. When I spin this gear by hand the jaws move both in and out as I would expect, but when I try to turn this gear using the chuck wrench or key(whichever term you prefer) it will only turn one way, moving the jaws toward the center. When I try to move the jaws outward using the chuck wrench it binds up and refuses to turn. I hope this description makes more sense, but I don't know if it will.
Zach

[Tom Wilson66]

Since it won't turn with the wrench in one direction, I would suspect something with the wrench, possibly a burr which catches in one direction and not the other. If not that, I would think Oneway would replace the chuck.
Tom

[mike ash]

I suggest you call One-Way. I had a problem with an adapter and made the call.....very helpful.

[Joe Bradshaw]

There is a slight chance that you received the wrong wrench. The Strongholds and the Talons use a slightly different wrench. The Stronghold has a stepped alignment pin. Other than that, I got nothing.

[Dan Hunkele]

The pin on the end of the wrench should be seated in a hole. This keeps the wrench from binding when used. Both of your pictures show the wrench as not seated properly. I am going by the way the two Talon chucks I have work. I don't have the Stronghold.

[Zachary Hoyt]

Thank you all very much. I have called the retailer and just sent off some pictures, the customer service person is going to look at them and get back to me. He said it's possible that they accidentally sent me a Talon chuck key, and that they won't work with a Stronghold, and if that's not it he'll contact Oneway and see if they have any ideas. The tip is stepped on my key and is engaged in the inner hole so that there are the two points of alignment as described in the manual.
Zach

[Pat Scott]

Is the pin on the end of the wrench spring loaded? Do you have to push down while turning?

[Peter Blair]

Not sure if this will help or not but I bought a new stronghold and the new wrench wouldn't operate my old stronghold because the wrench wouldn't go far enough into the hole. I was lucky because my old wrench works both. I didn't call them but wonder if you have a similar situation. In the photos you show I agree with Dan it appears that your wrench doesn't go into the chuck as far as mine. I'm one who recommend this chuck and feel bad about your problems.

[Zachary Hoyt]

The pin is solid, the whole wrench is one piece except for the T handle. I can't push it in further because the larger diameter at the tip is against the side of the chuck already. I'm sure it will all be sorted out in time, and I don't need the chuck till next month anyhow. Thank you all again for your help.
Zach

[Jeffrey J Smith]

Sorry to hear of this problem, but it may be the chuck key itself. I’ve got four strongholds and the key that came with the newer one has a problem with the older chucks. I’d skip the retailer and call Oneway directly - I’ve always found them to be extremely helpful.
Your pictures seem to show the right chuck key, and that its fully inserted from the look of it.

[Zachary Hoyt]

Thanks for the help. I heard back from the retailer, they've contacted Oneway who are going to send me another key. The customer service guy said that he wasn't sure if they would get it sent today or next Tuesday, because apparently Oneway only makes US shipments on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but I have plenty of time before I need the chuck so I hope everything will end up well.
Zach

[Zachary Hoyt]

I had some good news today, as I was cooking supper the UPS man brought a small package from Oneway in Canada with a new chuck key and it works perfectly. I was comparing the two keys and as I was doing this I realized that the new key has thin teeth all the way around, but the old key has teeth that are visibly slightly fatter on one side of the key, gradually reducing to the same size as the teeth on the new key on the other side. It must have been the side with the fat teeth that was binding up when I tried to open the chuck. I'm very pleased with the outcome and am looking forward to learning to use the chuck, now that I am able to start. Thank you all very much for your help.

[John K Jordan]

I had some good news today, as I was cooking supper the UPS man brought a small package from Oneway in Canada with a new chuck key and it works perfectly. I was comparing the two keys and as I was doing this I realized that the new key has thin teeth all the way around, but the old key has teeth that are visibly slightly fatter on one side of the key, gradually reducing to the same size as the teeth on the new key on the other side. It must have been the side with the fat teeth that was binding up when I tried to open the chuck. I'm very pleased with the outcome and am looking forward to learning to use the chuck, now that I am able to start. Thank you all very much for your help.

Excellent! That kind of defect is a new one on me! You might consider sending the bad key back to Oneway so they can examine it and eliminate what went wrong in their manufacturing. Or at least describing what you see and maybe sending them some measurements and photos if possible.

JKJ