Glen Blanchard
05-19-2013, 6:25 PM
After watching a You Tube episode of Captain Eddie's where he promotes the use of a collet in the lathe, I filed this information away in case I ever had a need for it. Last week, after making a finial, I parted it off and placed it in its base. Upon inspection, I didn't care for the contours and wanted to modify it some. Then I had to figure out how I could do that with a 1/4" diameter tenon that was only 1/8" in length. I remembered the Cap bragging about the collets he uses, so I bought a full set. Once received, I chucked that collet up with the finial in it, fairly certain that it either would not adequately hold the finial or that it would not turn true. To my surprise, that collet had a gorilla's grip on that small tenon and the thing turned just as true as it did before I parted it off in the first place. I was able to tweak and modify the finial without incident. There is no doubt in my mind that I will find many uses for these little fellas and thought I'd share.
A set of seven collets, #2 morse taper is $67.00.
262594
http://littlemachineshop.com/products/product_view.php?ProductID=1752
A set of seven collets, #2 morse taper is $67.00.
262594
http://littlemachineshop.com/products/product_view.php?ProductID=1752