Hi

I am new to milling and have aquired an Harbour Freight type Asian Mill
/Drill with the following specs:


# Drill capacity: 1-1/4"
# Face mill capacity: 3"
# End mill capacity: 3/4"
# Swing: 15-7/8"
# Spindle stroke: 5"
# Column diameter: 4-1/2"
# Spindle speeds (RPM):
120-200-250-290-400-465-820-1090-1245-1520-1820-2500
# Spindle taper: R8
# Longitudinal table travel: 19-3/4"
# Cross table travel: 7-3/8"
# Table: 8-1/4" x 28-3/4"
# Motor: 1-1/2 HP, 110 volt, single phase
# Angle vise capacity: 3-1/2"
# Height: 43-1/2"
# Shipping weight: 706 lbs.


I have a mixture of plain shank and threaded shank end mills and slot
drills (some metric some imperial) that came with my second hand lathe.

I have decided to go with the ER collet chuck as opposed to R8 collets
because with 5 or so collets I can handle plain or threaded shank and
both metric or imperial.

I ordered an received an ER40 chuck with 5 collets but was a bit
shocked by the size of it - I am thinking that I should have rather got
the ER32 set. I orded the ER40 as I have a brand new 1 inch 6 flute
end mill and 3/4 inch slot drill that will only fit into the ER40
collet(25 - 26 mm) But it seems according to the specs that this
excedes the machines capabilties ????

Could you please give me some advice as to the best size ER collet
chuck for this machine for general home/ model enginerinf use.

regards
Tim

I have decided to go with the ER collet chuck as opposed to R8 collets
because with 5 or so collets I can handle plain or threaded shank and
both metric or imperial.

My experience suggests that the claims of "any size in the range" might
be, um, optimistic. However, I do not at all regret buying into ER.
With it, most of my tool changes are faster, arguably safer (less metal
to drop on fingers[*]), and it helps to even out the height of the end
of chucked bits and collet held endmills. If you do any precision work,
the latter is important on a round-column mill-drill.

[*] Ouch =:0 As you remove tooling, watch for movement of the outgoing
chuck/collet as you turn the draw bar. When in doubt that it might be
stuck, lift the drawbar; if it is free and the arbor isn't moving, it's
stuck - be careful! You might thread the drawbar back into arbor and
give it another quick tap with your mallet, or at least be on alert that
it can break loose w/o warning.


I ordered an received an ER40 chuck with 5 collets but was a bit
shocked by the size of it - I am thinking that I should have rather got
the ER32 set. I orded the ER40 as I have a brand new 1 inch 6 flute
end mill and 3/4 inch slot drill that will only fit into the ER40
collet(25 - 26 mm) But it seems according to the specs that this
excedes the machines capabilties ????

Are you certain the 3/4 won't fit in ER 32 collets? I have a 3/4 inch
ER 32 collet.


Could you please give me some advice as to the best size ER collet
chuck for this machine for general home/ model enginerinf use.

No All I can tell you is that I struggled with the decision, bought
ER 32 because of its range and strong recommendations. I briefly
considered going with a smaller collet size, but once I used the
smallest collet in my set, I quickly decided I made the right choice.

Note that you can always use ER for most work and the occaisional R8
collet for weird sizes. Never hold endmills in a taper-mounted drill chuck.

Bill

Just to clarify -"with 5 or so collets I can handle plain or threaded
shank and
both metric or imperial. " I meant the standard (in South Africa at
least) metric 6mm, 10mm, 16mm, 20mm and 25mm and imperial ones i.e 3/8
fits in a 10mm collet.

Bill thanks for the reply - I was wrong about the 3/4 slot drill ( did
the conversion in my head and it came out wrong) 3/4 is less than 25mm
- anyway I have two new cutters that have a 25mm shank.

regards
Tim

TMN wrote:

Just to clarify -"with 5 or so collets I can handle plain or threaded
shank and
both metric or imperial. " I meant the standard (in South Africa at
least) metric 6mm, 10mm, 16mm, 20mm and 25mm and imperial ones i.e 3/8
fits in a 10mm collet.

Bill thanks for the reply - I was wrong about the 3/4 slot drill ( did
the conversion in my head and it came out wrong) 3/4 is less than 25mm
- anyway I have two new cutters that have a 25mm shank.

regards
Tim

Curious as to how you handle 12 mm shank cutters?

Tom

The 12 - 13 collet will handle them and the 1/2 inch as well.

I have tried the chuck and it all seems to work well but the mill/drill
doesnt have a spindle lock so locking and unlocking the chuck is a
pain.

Tim

TMN wrote:

The 12 - 13 collet will handle them and the 1/2 inch as well.

I have tried the chuck and it all seems to work well but the mill/drill
doesnt have a spindle lock so locking and unlocking the chuck is a
pain.

Tim

What 12 - 13 mm collet?

Tom

ER32 x 18PCS 1mm shrinkage
3-2,4-3,5-4,6-5,7-6,8-7,9-8,10-9,11-10,12-11,13-12,14-13,15-14,16-15,17-16,18-17,19-18,20-19mm


eg.

6-7mm will hold 6mm and 1/4"
9-10mm will hold 10mm and 3/8"
12-13mm will hold 12mm and 1/2"
15-16mm will hold 16mm and 5/8"
19-20mm will hold 20mm and 3/4"


Tim

TMN wrote:

Hi

I am new to milling and have aquired an Harbour Freight type Asian Mill
/Drill with the following specs:

# Drill capacity: 1-1/4"
# Face mill capacity: 3"
# End mill capacity: 3/4"
# Swing: 15-7/8"
# Spindle stroke: 5"
# Column diameter: 4-1/2"
# Spindle speeds (RPM):
120-200-250-290-400-465-820-1090-1245-1520-1820-2500
# Spindle taper: R8
# Longitudinal table travel: 19-3/4"
# Cross table travel: 7-3/8"
# Table: 8-1/4" x 28-3/4"
# Motor: 1-1/2 HP, 110 volt, single phase
# Angle vise capacity: 3-1/2"
# Height: 43-1/2"
# Shipping weight: 706 lbs.

I have a mixture of plain shank and threaded shank end mills and slot
drills (some metric some imperial) that came with my second hand lathe.

I have decided to go with the ER collet chuck as opposed to R8 collets
because with 5 or so collets I can handle plain or threaded shank and
both metric or imperial.

I ordered an received an ER40 chuck with 5 collets but was a bit
shocked by the size of it - I am thinking that I should have rather got
the ER32 set. I orded the ER40 as I have a brand new 1 inch 6 flute
end mill and 3/4 inch slot drill that will only fit into the ER40
collet(25 - 26 mm) But it seems according to the specs that this
excedes the machines capabilties ????

Could you please give me some advice as to the best size ER collet
chuck for this machine for general home/ model enginerinf use.

regards
Tim

If I'm reading the specs right, it looks as if you got an RF30 or
equivalent.

The downside of almost all the collet chuck type end mill holders is
their physical size. Especially on limited headroom benchtop mills.

I'd like to suggest that you aquire at least a few R-8 collets too. Get
some sizes that will hold common end mills. The reason for this is that,
eventually, you will have work that requires all the space you can get ,
between head and table, and that ability to hold a cutter a few cm
further from the table top will be of value.

Cheers
Trevor Jones

TMN wrote:

6-7mm will hold 6mm and 1/4"
12-13mm will hold 12mm and 1/2"

I would not hold (repeatedly) a shaft that is on the lower (lowest) side
of the collets capability.


Nick
--
Motor Modelle // Engine Models
http://www.motor-manufaktur.de
DIY-DRO - YADRO - Eigenbau-Digitalanzeige

Thanks for the input - I have decided to go with the ER32 and start
with the 5 or so collets I
mentioned and then aquire as I need. As I said I tried the ER40 but its
is very bulky and the only reason I orded it is because of the two
large shank cutters I have. To me the ER32 represents a good useable
range in the RF30 clone and I hope to aquire a ER32 chuck for my lathe
so I can use them there as well.

Is it possible/viable to have shanks ground down ??

Tim

TMN wrote:

To me the ER32 represents a good useable range in the RF30 clone and I
hope to aquire a ER32 chuck for my lathe so I can use them there as well.

I have ER32 on my mill. Sometimes, the holder gets in the way. I would
not like to have a ER40. For the work _I_ do.


Is it possible/viable to have shanks ground down ??

Doable, but not reasonable. You would add flex.
Aren't there different toolholders available? Like universal mill
holders with 12/16/23mm shaft.

Nick
--
Motor Modelle // Engine Models
http://www.motor-manufaktur.de
DIY-DRO - YADRO - Eigenbau-Digitalanzeige