I am making a 5C collet chuck. I plan to bore the hole and finish by
lapping then bore the 10 degree angle. My question is should I obtain a
set of collets first and lap to size or is size pretty much standard
between brands. If I pick up a set of collets at a swap meet what
should I look for? Other than obvious nicks and dings is there other
misuse that I would look for?

Also is a full set in 1/64 increments recommended or is this overkill?
Thanks

I am making a 5C collet chuck. I plan to bore the hole and finish by
lapping then bore the 10 degree angle. My question is should I obtain a
set of collets first and lap to size or is size pretty much standard
between brands. If I pick up a set of collets at a swap meet what
should I look for? Other than obvious nicks and dings is there other
misuse that I would look for?

Also is a full set in 1/64 increments recommended or is this overkill?
Thanks

Check the collets for galling in the bore, i have seen a lot of used collets
that have that problem and are out of tollerence. A full set is handy but
pricey so you may want to start by getting 16th increments first and
adding the rest as you need them. Also get the collets that have the
internal thread at the back end so you can use collet stops when you
want to crank out a bunch of work thats the same lenght this is a handy
feature to have. Don't forget to check the threads on the back end
for wear, nothing like having a collet that won't close.

Good Luck
Tom.

If you must lap something, forget about the bore and lap the 10 degree
angle. A smoothly bored finish a thou or so over on the bore is fine.
There is a standard size. See http://www.loganact.com/tips/collet.htm
An accurate 10 degree angle with a smooth finish will help your collets
achieve maximum accuracy and grip.

Randy


"jim n judy" wrote in message
ups.com...
I am making a 5C collet chuck. I plan to bore the hole and finish by
lapping then bore the 10 degree angle. My question is should I obtain a
set of collets first and lap to size or is size pretty much standard
between brands. If I pick up a set of collets at a swap meet what
should I look for? Other than obvious nicks and dings is there other
misuse that I would look for?

Also is a full set in 1/64 increments recommended or is this overkill?
Thanks

jim n judy wrote:
I am making a 5C collet chuck. I plan to bore the hole and finish by
lapping then bore the 10 degree angle. My question is should I obtain a
set of collets first and lap to size or is size pretty much standard
between brands. If I pick up a set of collets at a swap meet what
should I look for? Other than obvious nicks and dings is there other
misuse that I would look for?

Also is a full set in 1/64 increments recommended or is this overkill?
Thanks

Good quality collets are ground to a high tolerance for a good fit in a
hole of 1.250" +000/-.0002". That's a tolerance of plus nothing, minus 2
tenths of a thou. You should get at least one good collet for a plug guage.

Lyndex, Brown & Sharpe, and Hardinge are names to look for.

In a set of 1/4" to 1", you'll have at least 30 collets taking up space
that you may never use. Collets are good for repeat accuracy when
chucking multiple items of the same size--if you have a job where you
need to chuck up a multiple odd-64ths piece of one size, then just buy
or make that collet. I believe you can buy collet blanks of soft steel
for that purpose.

Ken Grunke


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"I believe you can buy collet blanks of soft steel
for that purpose."

These are so-called "emergency" collets, and are also good for workholding of
all kinds, within the physical limitations of the collet.

For example, a workpiece could be held off-center, for the purposes of turning
an eccentric.

Brass emergency collets are most often used for workholding where the workpiece
is not cylindrical.

Lyndex, Brown & Sharpe, and Hardinge are names to look for.

For your reference collet, I would definitely go with Hardinge, you can by
them online from them. Royal is another top quality collet manufacturer.
Keep in mind these top quality collets have associated prices.

I would stay away from the Lyndex collets. They're mid-ranged in price but
my experience with them is the quality is no better than the cheapo import
collets. I bought a set of Lyndex collets but had to send them back- several
of them had threads out of spec and the run-out on all the collets was just
so-so.

I ended up buying a full 1/64" set of the cheapo Enco collets on sale.
Runout is acceptable (better than the Lyndex ones). A few in the set had
dinged threads but Enco replaced them without a hassle. I supplemented this
cheap set with a selected number of Hardinge collets in the common sizes I
use often (1", 3/4", 1/2", 3/8").

Having the full set of sizes is great for one off and quick repair type
work- I know I can grip any size round workpiece from 1-1/8" on down,
without having a collet compressed or expanded more than about 0.007" from
its nominal size. Compressing or expanding a collet that much is pushing it
a little bit, but as these are cheapo collets I don't sweat that, and this
approach has worked fine. I use the collets a lot more than I even thought I
would, and I'm using my 3 jaw a lot less now.

I also found that buying a low cost "collet block set" allows the collet set
to be very useful on my milling machine for holding round workpieces for
milling or drilling operations. The block set along with your standard
milling vise gives you quick simple indexing and angle setup capabilities,
definitely a lot of bang for the buck for the low cost of the collet block
set (less than $50).

Good luck-

Paul T.

Unlike many people on this NG, I never use 5C collets for holding tooling.
I use them almost exclusively in 5C collet fixturing where runout is much
less critical. So I buy my collets from Grizzly, and I have no complaints
about their fit or finish. In fact, after 10 years of owning my Grizzly
set I have no knowledge that they are in any way less than perfect. So
save yourself some $$ if you can get away with it.

Me? I'd go dirt cheap or else new Hardinge.

Grant

Paul T. wrote:

Lyndex, Brown & Sharpe, and Hardinge are names to look for.


For your reference collet, I would definitely go with Hardinge, you can by
them online from them. Royal is another top quality collet manufacturer.
Keep in mind these top quality collets have associated prices.

I would stay away from the Lyndex collets. They're mid-ranged in price but
my experience with them is the quality is no better than the cheapo import
collets. I bought a set of Lyndex collets but had to send them back- several
of them had threads out of spec and the run-out on all the collets was just
so-so.

I ended up buying a full 1/64" set of the cheapo Enco collets on sale.
Runout is acceptable (better than the Lyndex ones). A few in the set had
dinged threads but Enco replaced them without a hassle. I supplemented this
cheap set with a selected number of Hardinge collets in the common sizes I
use often (1", 3/4", 1/2", 3/8").

Having the full set of sizes is great for one off and quick repair type
work- I know I can grip any size round workpiece from 1-1/8" on down,
without having a collet compressed or expanded more than about 0.007" from
its nominal size. Compressing or expanding a collet that much is pushing it
a little bit, but as these are cheapo collets I don't sweat that, and this
approach has worked fine. I use the collets a lot more than I even thought I
would, and I'm using my 3 jaw a lot less now.

I also found that buying a low cost "collet block set" allows the collet set
to be very useful on my milling machine for holding round workpieces for
milling or drilling operations. The block set along with your standard
milling vise gives you quick simple indexing and angle setup capabilities,
definitely a lot of bang for the buck for the low cost of the collet block
set (less than $50).

Good luck-

Paul T.