Collet help Please

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maxman400

maxman400

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I know I have seen This topic on here before but I can not find it. After seeing how well John's NY Pen came out, I am convinced that I need add a collet system to my Rikon lathe. Can anyone point me in the direction of some of the best places to get these.
 
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Buy an ER32 collet chuck (Beall is nice but pricey although not much to break if you can find one used) and then get the metric collet set from 800watt on Ebay.
 
I just ordered a set from PSI after reading their reviews. Seems like everyone loves it, and it is about $90 or so. Check out some of the videos in the library on collets. Seems one of the most important things is to not stretch the insert. If the round piece does not fit in just snug with a little slop, then don't try to cram it in. Check the videos.
Steve
 
How big is your Rikon and do you have future plans of buying a larger machine or metal lathe? If your lathe is not a mini lathe, you could get a 5c collet chuck and adaptor plate from little machine shop. Then you can get a set of 32 collets for only $89 on ebay..that's a collet for every 32nd of an inch starting at 1/8 I think..or something like that. It's a big set up, heavy duty. The one big draw back with a PSI or a Beall is that it is possible for a collet to slip, which in turn can damage the chuck. A 5C collet chuck can not slip because the collets screw in as they draw back. And then you can get all kinds of other really cool 5C accessories like expanding collets. You can also purchase a 5c collet indexer jig, which is a separate device from the lathe. The jig thing is easy to find in the $40 or so range and you can use that to take your pen with collet to a mill machine or you can mount it to a table and router a pen. That makes the collets serve multiple purposes, no doubt more than I can think of.

There's no question, if you want to put a straight hole right down the center, then a collet chuck is a must have.
 
JimMc7 said:
Buy an ER32 collet chuck (Beall is nice but pricey although not much to break if you can find one used) and then get the metric collet set from 800watt on Ebay.
Click to expand...

OK I checked out 800watt, now new question:: what is the difference between ER16, ER32, ER40, I know I have a 2MT taper on my rikon.
 
maxman400 said:
OK I checked out 800watt, now new question:: what is the difference between ER16, ER32, ER40, I know I have a 2MT taper on my rikon.
Click to expand...



Max,
you really only need to know what size (ER series) collets you want for the chuck you have or are going to buy. The PSI model and Beall all take ER32.
Here is a bit of info on the ER thing:
http://www.gemcolletsindia.com/er_type-collets.html

And here are the size ranges:
http://www.gemcolletsindia.com/collets.html

You can get a 25/32" collet for ER32, so 3/4" plus is about as big as the ER32 go.

And you need to know what your spindle threads are, on the outside of spindle. probably 3/4-16" or 1-8" . The PSI and Beall screw on those threads.

Hope that helps
 
1. The ER series of collets are each a standard set of machinist tooling. They differ in the size and maximum opening supported -- ER 16 goes to 3/8 and ER32 goes to just under 1 inch ER 40 to about an inch. These collets have lots of fingers and a self ejecting scheme to get the collet loose. There are several other sizes and mounting systems R8 and 5C are common ones with machine tooling.

Most of these use the threaded nose and allow the opening through the headstock to be available for materials -

There is also a MT taper collet that fits into the MT on the spindle and tightens with a drawbolt pulling the collet into the spindle. They have a short depth.

Jerry Bealle produced the holder several years ago for several different wood lathe size of threading. Others are also producing them.

ER collets have range of "squeeze" of about 1 mm -- and that gets you greatest range for least number of collets. Imperial uses 1/16 inch differences and you can mix and match.

Penturners need 1/4 and either 5/16 or 8mm for mandrels. 3/4 is a good size for holding blanks for drilling. I use 1/2 as the common size for mandrels to closed end pens.
 
You really either want to stick with the Beall or the PSI set. If you buy one for a metal lathe, you will not be able to put the blank any deeper into the headstock than the depth of the collet. On the beall or the PSI, it can go as far as the taper in the headstock will allow. If it's smaller than the taper it can go all the way through the headstock.
 
Max, if you decide on the er-32 collet You might want to jot this site down http://cgi.ebay.com/ER-32-HI-PRECIS...QQptZBI_Tool_Work_Holding?hash=item5d258ae45b

Most people, myself included, have long believed that the er-32 collets only go to 3/4" but they do have larger. He is a seller on Ebay and is the first person I have ever seen who sells the er-32 collets in sizes over 3/4", namely a 25/32", 20mm and 13/16".

Doesn't sound like much until you get a bunch of pre-turned blanks and they are all .765" and won't fit into your 3/4" collet and the larger 13/16" collet works great for those oversized ebonite rods!
 
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