I have a Harrison M250 lathe and I already have a set of collets for it that
use the spring loaded vanes that squeeze in as you tighten it in its special
chuck. These have the advantage of wide range of diameters for each collet,
but two disadvantages in that you have to have about 50mm length minimum to
grip ( you cant just grip a short shoulder - the rear of the vanes collaps
in ), and by the time you get them in their special chuck you're about 200mm
away from the nose of the spindle. So I want to get a set of 'tube collets'
for work that really needs them.

Apparently, there are 2 types for the Harrison. One uses a drawbar ( which
I'm used to in other lathes ) and the other uses a chuck. I think I'd
prefere the drawbar type, but they seem to sell a lot more of the chuck type
for some reason. If any of you have had experience with tube collets for the
M250 or similar that use a chuck or drawbar I'd love to hear about it. I
cant find any info on Harrison/Colchesters web site so I would appreciate
any tips or warnings you might have before I go and spend the money. They
ain't cheap.


Thanks,
Dean.