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Torque Amplifier for a Chuck Key


I don’t have the strength in my hands that I once did, and I’ve figured out that my Oneway chucks hold the work better if I tighten them just a bit more than what I can do easily with my bare hands. This comes after I had a couple of bowl blanks come out of the chuck for no apparent reason, which I now realize resulted from the chuck not being properly tightened.


The solution is remarkably simple:  a short handle, with a hole in the end, slipped over one side of the cross piece of the chuck key gives an extra bit of leverage.  


With the handle, tightening the chuck is easy and I can feel the increase in tension as the grip is tightened.  This allows me to make a better judgement as to when the chuck is tight enough.


I used a piece of kiln-dried spruce for my handle.  In fact, it was a left-over practice spindle where I had been practicing cutting beads. The diameter is 1.25”; length, 8”.  A 5/16” hole is drilled to a depth of 2.25” in the end of the piece.