# Needed Collets



## ozzie46 (Mar 21, 2009)

I needed some collets to work with small dia. stock and can't afford them so I located some plans on the web and adapted them to my mini lathe.

 First I needed to turn a #2 and #3 morse taper. I turned the #2 by using my compound and found out that was alot of work turning the compound feed screw
so I made a tailstock taper attachment .

Ron


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## ozzie46 (Mar 21, 2009)

With the taper attachment I could use my feed screw to move the carriage instead of using the compound. I wouldn't have had enough travel on the compound for the #3 taper anyway.

 I used some old bolts and boy were they hard.

 The #2 taper was for the taailstock taper attachment and the #3 was for the beginnings of the collet assembly.

  I made a female and a male center for the attachment. These are one time use items so they are not hardened.


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## ozzie46 (Mar 21, 2009)

Heres pics of taper turning


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## ozzie46 (Mar 21, 2009)

The large #3 taper I made in college back in 82. The Small #2 taper Came with my lathe, I used these to get the settings to turn the tapers.


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## ozzie46 (Mar 21, 2009)

Here are the collet asembly pieces.






Colet Taper with Collet Chuk attached






Collet taper and chuck with collet blank inserted. Collet has not yet been dilled to size or slit .


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## ozzie46 (Mar 21, 2009)

Collet taper and chuck with collet blank and collet closer nut .

 I made three closer nuts before I got it right.





Assmbly in lathe






Assembly extends 2 3/4 in. from spindle.


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## ozzie46 (Mar 21, 2009)

Now I'm trying to figure out how the collets should be slit.


1. Should they be slit only part way on three sides or slit full length on one side and part way on two sides? 

2.Should they be slit at he front or the rear?

 Any help here would be greatly appreciated. 


 Finally figuered out how to ost pics from photo bucket. 

 Thanks, Tin Falcon for the advice to use Photo Bucket.

 Ron


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## ozzie46 (Mar 21, 2009)

Draw bar for Collet assembly







Ron


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## djc (Mar 22, 2009)

ozzie46  said:
			
		

> Now I'm trying to figure out how the collets should be slit.



Have a look at Taig collets (unhardened), eg

http://www.super-tech.com/root/taig/pix/accessories/tg-1040m.jpg

Also ER-series ones (hardened).

Both are slit alternately from each end.

Holding the buggers to slit them is somewhat of a challenge!

http://unitaig.jalling.dk/index.php?id=99
http://www.neme-s.org/Model_Engineer_Files/3071-Machining Small Collets.pdf
http://www.haythornthwaite.com/Collet Myford.htm


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## ozzie46 (Mar 22, 2009)

Thanks djc, thats what I needed.

Ron


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## Tin Falcon (Mar 22, 2009)

Nice work there guys. 
tin


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## ScottM (Mar 22, 2009)

yes, very nice work.

For slitting you could turn a mandrel with a shoulder,
superglue the Collet to the mandrel and cut towards the shoulder.
Then heat to break the glue joint and glue if back on the other way to cut the second end.

just an idea...

Scott


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## Kermit (Mar 22, 2009)

Another method I know of would be to use one of the LOW temp alloys that melt around 200 F Use some boiling water and cast yourself a piece to clamp in your mill.

Mcmaster has them and MSC should but I haven't checked them.

Kermit


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## Cliff (Mar 22, 2009)

Hey Ozzie I see your post said that you live in Pueblo, Co. well so do I where do you live at maybe can get together and compair notes. I live across the street from Passkey's on Abriendo. On your collets look in Enco catalog and see how there made and go from there. Cliff.


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## ozzie46 (Mar 22, 2009)

Thanks guys,

  Cliff, I sent you a PM.


  Ron


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## ozzie46 (Mar 28, 2009)

I am at a stand still. I cant seem to get a hole thru the collet without run out :wall: :wall: :wall:. I have tried peckdrilling, progressive drilling and running an end mill in for little bit to give the dill bit a straight start. I'm doing it on my chinese 7 x 12 mni lathe. Maybe it just isn't up to it or maybe its ME :shrug: :shrug:. 

 I am dilling the collets mounted in the collet chuck so they would supposedly be true, but they aren't.


 Any and all ideas are welcome. 

 Ron


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## Mainer (Mar 28, 2009)

Drills wander, the best you can do. To get a concentric hole, you'll need to bore it with a single-point boring bar. Drill, say, 1/16" undersize and bore to final size.


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## ozzie46 (Mar 28, 2009)

Drills wander, the best you can do. To get a concentric hole, you'll need to bore it with a single-point boring bar. Drill, say, 1/16" undersize and bore to final size.


 Mariner, is there no way to get smaller sizes then? 3/32 and up?

 Ron


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## steamer (Mar 28, 2009)

You do the small holes the same way you do the big ones...

Drill rod or drill blanks make nice stock for small boring bars

Even end mills mounted in the tool post make nice boring bars.

For really small holes, you might want to try a pivot drill....it looks like a two flute spade bit. It cuts with less wander because it is stiffer than a twist drill.


Dave


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## ozzie46 (Mar 28, 2009)

Thanks for the response guys. What do you think about using small carbide tipped masonry drill bits as small boring bars? 


 Ron


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## ScottM (Mar 29, 2009)

Ron,

I think masonry bits might be a bit flexible... 

I'm not sure what kind of accuracy you need but if you drill the hole then put it on an arbor it may help.

I'm not horribly experienced but I'd do it in this order.

center drill
drill to size
ream if you have one
part off

chuck a piece of bar and turn down to the size of your hole leaving a lip to but the part up to
then either
1. glue it to the mandrel and cut both tapers
2. press it into the mandrel with a live center and cut the taper closest to the chuck
  rotate and repeat for the other taper

leave the mandrel in the chuck after it's turned to size - I'm assuming you are using a three jaw.

YMMV

and make sure you have fun doing it :-}

- Scott


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## ozzie46 (Mar 29, 2009)

Scott

 I have a 4 jaw and a 3 jaw but was drilling the collets mounted in the collet chuck to for the best accuracy. It didn't help. I contacted "Bogstandard" and he suggested boring the holes. I think that is the way I will go. I wanted collets as low as 1/16 th but I now believe that is not doable with my tooling and experience level. 

The collets only have a taper on the rear.

 Your mandrel idea sounds good. Do you think I could go as low as 3/32 and 1/8?

 Ron


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## ScottM (Mar 30, 2009)

Ron,

1/8, yea that may be a bit small for a mandrel.
It would probably work if supported by a center.

The idea I was tying to convey was that if you drill the hole, 
Then use the hole as the reference for the rest of the turning 
it should be concentric without boring the little tiny thing.
Same with not removing the mandrel once turned to size.

if Bogs says bore it - you should probably bore it.

little itsy bitty boring bar :-}


- Scott


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## ozzie46 (Apr 11, 2009)

Finished my collet tools. Yeah!! ;D ;D ;D

 Collet material and blanks






tapering collet





 Drilled then bored collets in the collet tool and chuck. Sorry no pics of that. 
 Forgot to take some.

Slitting Collets





Cheap slitting saw from h/ frieght





Burnt one up before I realized needed cutting fluid.

Secret cutting fluid. It worked great.






Finished product. I now have 8 collets ranging from 5/16 to 3/4 by 1/16ths.
I originally wanted them as low as 1/8th or 1/16th but found that I could not do them accuratley that small.







 Thanks for all your help and encouragement.

 Ron


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## Tin Falcon (Apr 11, 2009)

Good going OZZIE
As far as small boring bars grind one up from an 1/8 cutter blank.
Tin


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## ozzie46 (Apr 11, 2009)

I had thought of that but didn't think it would be strong enough to bore approx 3/4 to 1 inch deep. You think it would work huh?

 Ron


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## Tin Falcon (Apr 11, 2009)

Ron :
Do you need to bore that deep ? I think if you are grabbing 4 times the diameter with the collet that should be enough. Relive the extra material from the back then drill and finish the hole in the front.
 I just checked one of my ER collets the part that holds the 1/8 stock is only a 1/4 long . . The hole in the back is 1/4 inch diameter.
 And checking a 3c 1/16 collet looks like grip length is about 1/8. So looks like 2 times the diameter is more in the ball park. So no worries mate
Tin


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## ozzie46 (Apr 12, 2009)

Tin 

 Thanks for the info. I have never seen a factory made collet so didn't know how they looked. That would save a ton of perspiration and tears.

 Ron


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## abby (Apr 23, 2009)

Good work on an interesting project , I make more tools than models. I collect old taper shank drills, the shanks are not hardened so you can machine them easily, it's a cheap source of accurate morse tapers as they are usually thrown away once the drill is no more use.


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