# ER 25 collet ?



## Tin Falcon (Dec 23, 2011)

When I purchased my mini mill from micromark in October of 2001 I purchased there collet set for holing end mills. I thought that this set was er 25. While diving into the cnc build posted by steve hucks I manages to damage the 1/8 collet. So purchased a replacement off Ebay well it don't fit. there are some fairly significant diferences between what I purchased and the old one. are these not standard ? were the older collet holders not er -25 . I will be taking some the collets to cabin fever to figure it out. I may just get a new er 25 set and just use the old one for larger sizes. Well more research will be done . insights welcome. 
Tin


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## Mosey (Dec 23, 2011)

Tin,
Hope it works out for you.
By the way, what is your thought about whether ER Collets are as rigid as conventional MT or R8 for holding mills?


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## shred (Dec 23, 2011)

Are you sure it's an ER collet? I see stuff that looks like ER collet sets advertised in the usual places but they seem very careful not to use the letters "ER" with them. Always wondered if that was intentional (the ER people charge a royalty or something) or if they were compatible or not.


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## Tin Falcon (Dec 23, 2011)

I think that the original collet set was not ER . i saw a similar set to what I have from cdco for $ 49 these are not as spingy (Is that a word) as the ER at least the good one I bought. this machining journey can be interesting learning experience. I think if I had an er in in the first place the bit would not have pulled out. 
Tin


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## mu38&Bg# (Dec 23, 2011)

ER is not a trademarked or patented.

Tin, a photo may do wonders. Proprietary collets are a pain. Machinery's Handbook shows a Type "B" that looks like an ER, but has less taper and are quite a bit larger for the same designation number.

Greg


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## arnoldb (Dec 24, 2011)

Tin, are the collets and chuck you have of Chinese origin ?
They produced a lot of chucks and collets that looks like ER but isn't. The collets are about the same diameter as ER25, but use a shallower taper and are about 1/4" longer. The closer nut also uses a different thread than ER.

I fell into this exact same trap; I now have an additional set of ER25 collets and a closer nut in the wings just waiting for me to stop flapping around and turn up a new chuck for my mill...

Kind regards, Arnold


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## Tin Falcon (Dec 24, 2011)

the original set I purchase with the mill looks like this set currenttly sold by cdco for $49
and yes from china I expect. 






sold simply as a collet set. like I said I discovered the hard way that they do not really hold tools very well. 

These are the current versions from Micromark for $65.75
these are listed as ER25









and for what it is worth MM sells a machinable collet that looks like it will fit my old tool system, but no one seems to give a designation of these collets. If I knew a week ago what I know today I could have and would have purchased an ER set Likely from MM. Live and learn. 
If I get a chance later today I will take a photo of the two collets side by side. 
Thanks for the help guys.
I think my suspicions are confirmed these unspecified collet sets that look similar to ER are not.
Tin 

In comparing the old collet I have and the new ER 25 it seems like the ER 25 will hold tools better. it seems to take much less force to close the collet. And I expect a better holing range as well.


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## woodchip85 (Dec 24, 2011)

Tin, it looks like your original collets are 50TG series single-angle type.


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## bezalel2000 (Dec 24, 2011)

Hi Tin

If Its TG here is the specs of the TG series






As seen at Tools-n-Gizmos http://www.tools-n-gizmos.com/specs/TG_Collet.html


Bez


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## Tin Falcon (Dec 24, 2011)

well sort of.The original does not fit these spec either thanks for trying guys. The one in front of me is:
L=1.771 in 45mm
A= .941 in 24 mm and there is a flat area on both sides of the groove. and the nose end has more meat 
so does not look like it fits that standard either but much closer in appearance than to the ER 25 depending on what vender photo one looks at. grr.
Tin


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## bezalel2000 (Dec 24, 2011)

EO16 is pretty close

EOC 16
A= 0.95 (24)
L= 1.7 (43)
 1/8" to 5/8" by 1/16"

http://www.tools-n-gizmos.com/specs/EOC_Collet.html

Bez


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## jonkett2 (Dec 24, 2011)

You may find that they are either Ortlieb which look like ER collets but aren't or a Chinese look alike which are not interchangeable either. ER collets do hold milling cutters without problems and are one of our first choices, we sell many of them into industry.

John K.
In the Engineering supply trade for 33 years.


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## Tin Falcon (Dec 24, 2011)

Again thanks all for the input . yea Chinese looks like something but meets no standard . 

bez that looks about the closest dimension but the design is a bit different, 
I think I am leaning towards a new ER collet set with a MT 3 holder. 
I know I can get ER25 replacements from several sources 
Tin


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## vcutajar (Dec 24, 2011)

They look like the set I have when I started out in machining. Arc Euro Trade used to have spares but I doubt if they still do. I eventually changed to ER32 for the same reason. More wildly available.


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## Mosey (Dec 24, 2011)

Which ER system would be best for the mill, only need up to 1/2", for mills?
Would it be good to have one system ( would have to be ER32) for both lathe (MT3, up to 5/8") and the mill (MT2 up to 1/2")?
I have 6C system on lathe including many of the 1/64" sizes, but am tired of the MT2 collets, so am very tempted by the ER25 or 32 for it.
What do you think?
Where is the best value for an ER32 system (accuracy vs. cost)? Where to buy?
I once bought an ER25 system and sent it back because runout at nose was poor.


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## shred (Dec 24, 2011)

FWIW, ER-20 will go up to 1/2", but not much more. It's not as common as some of the other sizes-- ER-16 (3/8" or so max) or ER-25 and ER-32


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## mu38&Bg# (Dec 24, 2011)

That sure looks like the DIN 6388 Type B, seemingly also called EOC collet as mentioned. I wouldn't be surprised if it was non standard, but even that would seem to be expensive to make. They like to copy in China. Some random design would be much more work that it's worth.

Greg


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## bp (Dec 25, 2011)

I use ER32 collets on both my Sieg C3 lathe and Sieg X2 mill. They hold material in the lathe and cutters in the mill. Both are fine, run true etc etc.
There are gazillions of places in the colonies that sell ER32 collet chucks and collets, LMS, Maritool, etc.
cheers
Merry Christmas
Bill Pudney


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## Tin Falcon (Feb 23, 2012)

AARG? well i drug my feet too long the collet set I was going to buy basically doubled in price. what was $65 is now $110 for the same set. 
the other option is go with straight shank ER-16 holder similar to the Tormach tooling set. I do have 3mt collects up to 3/4 inch. I cold just use the 3mts I guess . I want some sort of QC set up eventually. decisions decisions. 
a bit of pondering a single straight shank I believe 3/4 ER 14 holder from tormach is a "mere $55" wrench and collet extra. I could make my own but time hmm. 


Tin


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## Herbiev (Feb 24, 2012)

Hi Tin. I just bought a 15 pc set of ER25 collets for $37.50 from
http://www.ctctools.biz/servlet/the-16/FULL-ER25-COLLET-SET/Detail
I'm pretty sure the deal is still going. 
Good luck
Herbie


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## steamboatmodel (Feb 24, 2012)

I have always preferred End Mill Holders over collets.
http://www.busybeetools.com/categories/Metalworking/?sort=pricedesc&page=11 E.M. HOLDER MT 3 1/2 415435 $24.99 $19.99
E.M. HOLDER MT 3 3/8 415430 $24.99 $19.99
I also got the Collet Set with my new X2 Mill, but haven't tried them yet, still trying to find time to set mill up. Its uncrated, but thats as far as I got. It would have fit on the table of the last CNC centre that I used.
Regards,
Gerald.


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## Topos (Feb 29, 2012)

I have found my German ER-25 collet set most useful
on my ancient Atlas 618 lathe for accuracy on small
rods.

I have just received a collect chuck holder with straight shank in order to
make an indexible holder for making small gears with a spindle.
Harprit Sandhu has a super book "Spindles" #27 in the 
WORKSHOP Practice Series that I am following. I have two Atlas 618 
Milling attachments that will hold the spindle assembly.

The end mills are held in an MT-2 end mill holder ... the
only safe way.


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## blackfoxsteam (Mar 1, 2012)

So what is a reliable source for quality ER-25 collet chuck and collets? I'm currently just using the three jaw chuck on my inherited Atlas/Craftsman 6" lathe for holding milling bits.


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## Topos (Mar 2, 2012)

blackfoxsteam  said:
			
		

> So what is a reliable source for quality ER-25 collet chuck and collets? I'm currently just using the three jaw chuck on my inherited Atlas/Craftsman 6" lathe for holding milling bits.



I purchased from Prazi "ER-25 Super Precision Chuck and Spanner Wrench (MT2 Only)"
from << http://www.ismg4tools.com/prices/Pricelist_for_D6000.htm >>.

The reason I chose this set was on the recommendation of a tool & die maker's advice.
On my Atlas 618 I used my DTI on the Prazi set versus a cheapie ER-25 set made
by the Yak-Track-Set. Hands down the Prazi. If super accuracy is not a necessity in
one's work the cheap set holds slightly better than a 3-Jaw ... but not as well
as my 4-jaw chuck.


I again thanked my Dad for his guiding motto: " I am too poor to buy cheap things. "


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## pete (Mar 3, 2012)

If it were me? I'd chose the ER-32s. There's a few reasons, And especialy so if your planning to use them on both a mill and lathe. They will handle larger material for use on the lathe. Arc Euro in the U.K. sell what's commanly listed by them as a Stevenson's design spindexer. Normally these are used with 5C collets. This one will accept ER-32s. Very handy for mill use. I wish they would make one for ER-40s though.

Everyones shop buget is obviously different. But if you need collets, Then you need accurate ones or there's no point. I'd hesitate to buy any collet if the manufacter won't provide hard numbers as far as runout tollerances. Without those? "It looks and works like a collet, Isn't that what you bought?" But I have read numerous times of people who have had great luck and good accuracy with the cheaper ones that don't have those specifications. (also a few times of people who were not so lucky.) 

And as others have already pointed out. It seems like there's a few Chinese manufacter's who provide ER type collets that look very close to, But aren't ER collets that conform to actual ER dimensions. Maybe that's what you have?

Pete


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