Collet Chuck Style?

[Wayne Cannon]

I see two styles of collet chucks. The Beall and Woodcraft chucks (http://www.theturnersshop.com/turning/colletchuck/bcc2.html and http://www.woodcraft.com/family.aspx?FamilyID=5352) appear to use a short standard metal-working collet with its own tapered seat an external tightening ring. The Best Wood Tools style collet (http://bestwoodtools.stores.yahoo.net/colsysfor2mo.html) uses the lathe's #2 Morse taper and a drawbolt.

The drawbolt style appears to provide better access close to the collet, while tightening ring on the Beall and Woodcraft style chucks appears to keep the collet back from the face of the ring, and have a larger ring to interfere with close in access.

Are there any advantages of one style versus the other that I should consider before purchasing one?

[David Walser]

...Are there any advantages of one style versus the other that I should consider before purchasing one?

Yes, there are advantages to each system. In theory, the morse taper version should run truer than a collet chuck that screws onto the outside of the spindle. (The farther you get from the center of the spindle, the more any "error" is magnified.) However, your spindle's threads may have been ground truer than your spindle's morse taper, or the manufacturer of one collet system may have had a better day than the maker of another. Any of these real world factors may swamp any theoretical advantage of the morse taper design.

The screw on design doesn't require a draw bolt, which makes it easier to swap collet sizes whenever you want. (With the morse taper design, you have to remove the entire collet and draw bolt, and insert a new collet and re-attach the draw bolt whenever you changes collet sizes. With the screw on version, you simply screw off the collet retainer ring and swap the new collet for the old.) This advantage may never come into play for you. If you are using your collet to hold a bolt or a dowel as a mandrel, a particular collet will always hold your work. On the other hand, if you want to hold a finial in the collet by a tenon you just turned, you might need to use several collets -- unless your tenons always turn out to be the same size. (Mine don't!)

Both systems work and Beall and Best are quality manufacturers. The nice thing about the Best system is you can pick up a spare collet on the cheap from Enco (and other sources) should you need a size Beall or Best does not make.

Hope this helps.

[Kevin McPeek]

Also, with a draw bar system it would be hard to use it if you were using full length pen mandrels but turning a short pen or one barrel. You could only bury the mandrel to the draw bar. Same applies if you had a dowel that you were cutting finials off of.
You can get tap in collets for MT2 for really cheap, but without a draw bar I'm not sure how well they would stay in.

I have a Beall and it is a quality piece and would buy it again. The collets are cheaper to buy elsewhere than they are from Beall though.

[Wayne Cannon]

I read somewhere that the collet style used in the Beall is also very commonly available in metalworking circles.

[Wayne Cannon]

I had not considered that, but it seems like it could be a significant limitation of the Morse-taper collet chucks. Does the Beall have a fully-through hole so I could, for example, turn short pieces off the end on a long length of dowel with the remainder of the dowel protruding through the head-stock?

[Chris Rolke]

i have heard of a lot of people using these

http://littlemachineshop.com/products/product_view.php?ProductID=1752&category=

may be work looking in to

[David Walser]

I had not considered that, but it seems like it could be a significant limitation of the Morse-taper collet chucks. Does the Beall have a fully-through hole so I could, for example, turn short pieces off the end on a long length of dowel with the remainder of the dowel protruding through the head-stock?

Wayne,

From the photos of the Beall chuck at the link you provided, the answer would appear to be "yes".

[Kevin McPeek]

Yeah it does have a large through hole. You are only limited to what collet you are using and the through hole of your headstock.
The Beall uses and ER32 collet. Easily available from a variety of machinist supply places.

If clearance to the work is a concern you may look at the Axminster, but you may be limited on collets there.

[Scott Oldfield]

Also, PSI recently came out with their own collet chuck system that has gotten good reviews. comes with 5 collets for about 80-89 dollars, depending where you get it. Like beall/unlike woodcraft it uses standard er-32's. I bought one and it looks good, but haven't had a chance to use it much yet.

Oh and some are preferring it to the beall because the lock collar is knurled, allowing you to tighten it by hand, and not having too mess w/ the wrenches or tommy bars.