Collet Chuck

[Bob Haverstock]

I had been wanting a collet chuck for awhile. I haven't read much on SMC about them. Our well known supplier in SLC had $5 shipping, That was enough to pull me back into the vortex. I now have a new Apprentice Collet Chuck.

I'm impressed with it so far, the machine work is very good. There is no visable runout. I orderd it with 1 1/4 X 8 thd. An 1 X 8 thd adapter was included, so far I haven't needed the adapter. Yesterday, I turned some spintops for my grandsons, I used the 1/4 and 3/8 collets. I will be buying a 5/16 collet soon. I was abled to push the flat face of the tops up against the chuck nut to support the face and reduce flex of the wood. Life is good.

Bob Haverstock

[Steve Schlumpf]

Sounds cool! A few photos, or better yet, a short tutorial on your tops would be appreciated!

[Terry Murphy]

What Steve said..

[Michael James]

hmmmmmm...I've wanted one of those for a while. I turn small stuff and Im sure I'd be using that a lot. +1 on posting the tut, please?
mj

[Bob Haverstock]

Sounds cool! A few photos, or better yet, a short tutorial on your tops would be appreciated!

O.K. Folks,

I'll see what I can do in the next few days. (this may not be pretty)

Bob Haverstock

[David E Keller]

Looking forward to seeing what you have to say about it... I've got that page dog-earred in the CSUSA catalog, so I'll probably wait to read your report before I pull the trigger... Tick, tock, tick, tock... Are you done yet?

[Dave Bell]

Congrats Bob on the new addition to your tool arsenal. Everyone should own one of these, the uses are endless.

I have both the metric and imperial collets for my ER32 collet chucks. One is the Beall, the other is the PSI version and the collets are from Ebay member 800watt.

Dave

[Peter Fabricius]

I too have the Beall collet chuck and would not be without it. Shortly after buying it I was convinced (by Dave Bell) to get a set of 18 METRIC ER32 collets and that was the best ever purchase. The metric sizes fill in all the spaces between the standard 5 collets provided with the chuck. Get a set of Metric collets from 800watt on ebay, he is reliable. Thanks Dave.
Good luck Bob, with your chuck and we look forward to your review and pictures of the tops being made.
Peter F.

[Bob Haverstock]

O.K. Folks,

I'll see what I can do in the next few days. (this may not be pretty)

Bob Haverstock

Steve S has tried to help me with the tutorial. So far, I have not been successful.195613

Because the stems of the tops are small in diameter, they are pushed completely into the collet so that the face of the top is riding against the collet chuck knurled nut. Perhaps you can see that there is not room for a piece of paper between the blank and the face of the collet chuck.195614 Here are the components of the collet chuck.195615

Maybe someday I will be more computer savvy.

Bob Haverstock

[Bob Haverstock]

Well, I'll be... It worked! Just another note, the collets are not very forgiving. They have a range of about a 1/32 of an inch, so turn size is important.195616


Bob Haverstock

[Peter Fabricius]

Bob;
The Metric set of Collets will allow you to get a good fit every time...
Peter F.

[Paul Williams]

For anyone interested in trying out holding in a collet without buying a chuck or complete system morse taper collets are available and can be purchased as individual collets. Most require a 3/8 16tpi drawbar to tighten into your spindle. MT2 collects are available from 1/8 inch to 1/2 inch. I paid $6 each for mine several years ago. I googled to get this photo and saw many at $12 to $15

195625

[Paul Williams]

Regarding the MT2 collects, I should point out that the drawbar means you are not going to hold a long piece extending through the hole in the spindle. Also I suspect these require a much closer fit as there is not a lot of movement as the collect tightens.

[Bob Haverstock]

Bob;
The Metric set of Collets will allow you to get a good fit every time...
Peter F.

Peter,

I've got my eye on a set from the fore mentioned vendor. Of course if I win the bid, I'll have to make a new box for the collet chuck and all of my collets. I really don't mind trying to hold close dimentions on the wood lathe, it helps me stay in practice for making boxes.

For the money, I feel the Apprentice Collet Chuck is a good buy. I have not used all of the collets but, those that have used have no visable runout.

Bob Haverstock

[Bob Haverstock]

[QUOTE=Paul Williams;1708897]For anyone interested in trying out holding in a collet without buying a chuck or complete system morse taper collets are available and can be purchased as individual collets. Most require a 3/8 16tpi drawbar to tighten into your spindle. MT2 collects are available from 1/8 inch to 1/2 inch. I paid $6 each for mine several years ago. I googled to get this photo and saw many at $12 to $15

[Paul,

I few years ago I made a collet chuck to adapte 5C collets to my Logan engine lathe. It works much like the Apprentice Collet Chuck. The down side is the amount of collet over hang. The collets are located my the taper on the back and the radius on the nose.

Bob Haverstock

[Dan Forman]

I use my collet chuck a lot, especially in pen making. FYI: To minimize runout, it is important to turn your tenon to a consistent diameter along the length of the tenon in order for it to seat correctly. A flat scraper of skew comes in handy here, even a file or sandpaper block for longer things such as pen bodies. Get it right, and you can feel no runout with a thumbnail with the lathe turning. Need for accuracy varies with the task of course, but in pen making, the need is higher. I also got a full set of metric collets, glad I did, but I mainly just need them for pens.

Dan

[David E Keller]

Bob or anyone else... Does the CSUSA apprentice collet use ER32 collets?

[Bob Haverstock]

Bob or anyone else... Does the CSUSA apprentice collet use ER32 collets?

David,

I talked with a CUSA costomer service rep before I bought the collet chuck. He stated that the Apprentice Collet Chuck uses tge ER 32 collets.

Bob Haverstock

[Ed Morgano]

Sounds cool! A few photos, or better yet, a short tutorial on your tops would be appreciated!
Steve,
You can see photos here: http://www.woodturnerscatalog.com/store/New_Products___Apprentice_Collet_Chuck___app_colle t?Args=. If the link isn't allowed, delete it. It's a link to woodworkers catalogue. A google search of Apprentice Collet Chuck will bring it up.

Ed

[Dennis Simmons]

Well, I'll be... It worked! Just another note, the collets are not very forgiving. They have a range of about a 1/32 of an inch, so turn size is important.195616


Bob Haverstock

So how did you get this lucky with the .0375? please tell me, my chuck from PSI is in transit. I made one from a hand tighten drill chuck, time lost. It is hard to make a wood collet.

[Bob Haverstock]

So how did you get this lucky with the .0375? please tell me, my chuck from PSI is in transit. I made one from a hand tighten drill chuck, time lost. It is hard to make a wood collet.

Dennis,

Do I have to tell all of my little secrets? The stem on the top is about one inch long, I turned it with a Bedan tool. I made the tool from a long 3/8'" square H.S.S tool bit. Keep it sharp and take facing cuts until the desired diameter almost finished, the switch to very light linear passes. Continually measure the progress.

I spent most of my working life in heavy industry and tool rooms. I'm very familiar with chips, both heavy and very fine. Control the tool pressure and to a large degree you can be precise. Oh, and sometimes I'm just a lucky ol' dog.

Bob Haverstock