Collet Chuck set.

This topic has 19 replies, 10 voices, and was last updated 5 October 2011 at 16:56 by Ed Duffner.

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27 September 2011 at 22:29 #75493
Ed Duffner
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@edduffner79357
Hi Everyone,

I am new to the Model Engineer forums and also to machine tools. I’ve recently purchased a milling machine and a 2MT collet chuck set to go with it. I’ve included some photos below.

The issue I have is, if I rotate the collet so that it slides further into the chuck, the clamping nut will screw on all the way without tightening the collet and the collet spins around freely.

The only way I can get a collet to tighten onto a cutting tool is to put the collet in so that “Side A” (in the bottom photo) rests against the grub screw. But this seems a very insecure way to hold a collet.

Could somebody kindly explain how this particular chuck is supposed to hold its collets please? I can take more photos if necessary.

Many thanks,

Ed.

Inside view showing the side mounted grub screw.
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27 September 2011 at 22:29 #5674
Ed Duffner
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@edduffner79357
27 September 2011 at 23:04 #75494
Phil P
Participant
@philp
Can you confirm that you have inserted a screwed shank cutter into the collet ?

The idea is that the centre hole in the back end of the cutter bears against the male centre in the chuck. The grub screw is there to prevent the collet turning when you tighten it up, and the shoulders should go down past the grub screw.

Edge A should never touch the chuck body, all the end load is through the actual cutter and onto the male centre.

Have a google for “Clarkson Autolock Chuck” and you will find more info.

Phil
27 September 2011 at 23:05 #75495
michael cole
Participant
@michaelcole91146
Hi Ed

I use the same collect chuck. The end of the cutter is ment to be supported by the point in the chuck body. What i normally do is screw in cutter is threaded end is just short of coming through the threads in collect. Insert collect in body so your Edge A is as inserted as far as it can. tighten up nut hand tight give the cutter a final turn then tighten nut with wrench. Does not have to be very very tight. The grub screw is to stop the shoulders on the collect rotating..

Mike
27 September 2011 at 23:29 #75497
Steambuff
Participant
@steambuff
I have the same collet system.. it’s a Quick Release Collet, I got mine from Axminster in the UK.

It will only work with screw shanked milling cutters … Axminster also sell these. (I have yet to find another UK source at a reasonable price)

I was told that you screw the cutter into the collet a few turns and then insert into the body and tighen up the body nut by hand, then finish screwing the cutter in and then pinch up the body with the spanner supplied. (If you screw the cutter all the way in first, you won’t be able to tighten it in the body)

Dave
28 September 2011 at 00:02 #75498
Ed Duffner
Participant
@edduffner79357
Phil, Mike and Dave,

Many thanks for your replies and help, I understand now . I bought milling cutters with a plain shank. I misread the info on the Warco wbsite about the chuck being interchangeable, which just means that it’s possible to use imperial or metric collets in the same chuck.

Regards,

Ed.
28 September 2011 at 14:06 #75507
Ian S C
Participant
@iansc
I made a holder for plain shank cutters that fits in a 3/4″ collet in my chuck. It consists of a bit of steel (from the junk box) turned to 3/4″ dia and screw cut and center drilled at one end, then turned around in the chuck and drilled to fit the shank of the cutter, the cutter has a flat gound on the side, so a hole was drilled in the side of the holder to correspond with the flat, thiswas tapped 1/4″ UNF. I can also fit a HSS countersink in it. Itr was made to cover an emergecy when I did’nt have a cutter with a screw shank. Theres usually a way of doing these things if you have to. Ian S C
28 September 2011 at 18:30 #75518
David Littlewood
Participant
@davidlittlewood51847
Posted by Steambuff on 27/09/2011 23:29:39:

I have the same collet system.. it’s a Quick Release Collet, I got mine from Axminster in the UK.

It will only work with screw shanked milling cutters … Axminster also sell these. (I have yet to find another UK source at a reasonable price)

Tracy Tools sell sets of screwed shank milling cutters at quite low prices. They are very readily available, though normally not as cheap.

David
28 September 2011 at 18:59 #75519
Steambuff
Participant
@steambuff
Many Thanks David … I’ll take a look
29 September 2011 at 10:26 #75542
Ian S C
Participant
@iansc
A threaded extention, a size larger in dia could be silver soldered on to the plain shank in a similar way to the one that I made held together with a grub screw, just an idea if you must use that collet chuck. Practical??? Ian S C
29 September 2011 at 12:00 #75546
Steambuff
Participant
@steambuff
Thats an idea …. or even tap the ends … oouch !!!

I prefer that collet chuck as I don’t have to keep removing the taper & drawbar when I want to change cutters (i.e from 6mm to 10mm to 16mm etc)

Never have liked hitting the end of the drawbar with a hammer. (Yes I have a small Sieg Mill)

Dave
29 September 2011 at 17:56 #75554
Ed Duffner
Participant
@edduffner79357
Thank you guys for the great ideas.

I did have an idea of making a cutter extension, threaded at one end, with a boss on the other. I’d grind a flat on the end of the cutter’s plain shank which would be secured by a grub screw or two through the side of the boss.

At the moment though I’m very much a novice with machine tools and a few other skills e.g. silver soldering. Until I build up my skill set I’ll err on the side of safety and not try to make an adaptor, I’d always be thinking… is it going to hold? or, will it break? . I also don’t have a lathe just yet (a future acquisition).

Thanks again,

Ed.

PS. I have now ordered a 2MT ER25 collet chuck and collets which takes threaded or plain shank cutters.
29 September 2011 at 19:03 #75556
NJH
Participant
@njh
Hi Ed

Posted by Ed Duffner on 29/09/2011 17:56:52:

Thank you guys for the great ideas.

I did have an idea of making a cutter extension, threaded at one end, with a boss on the other. I’d grind a flat on the end of the cutter’s plain shank which would be secured by a grub screw or two through the side of the boss.

This is just what I did to hold those mini – cutters (less than 1/4″ and come with a flat on the shank) in my Posilock chuck.

It works well but you must be sure that the shank of the holder and the hole for the cutter are concentric.

Regards

Norman

Edited By NJH on 29/09/2011 19:04:30
29 September 2011 at 19:36 #75557
Tomfilery
Participant
@tomfilery
Steambuff makes an interesting point re hitting the drawbar with a hammer.

To avoid doing this on my Axminster MicroMill, I drilled the top part of the mill spindle (which is soft, unlike the morse taper part) using my pistol drill and tapped it M12. This allows a short bar to be inserted (obviously after the long one has been removed) and an M12 bolt screwed down against the bar, forcing the chuck out of the taper – saving hammering which always feels likely to damage the machine.

Regards Tom
30 September 2011 at 11:15 #75578
Ian S C
Participant
@iansc
I did tap a thread onthe end of the shank of a 1/4″ drill, and put a center hole in it, then resharpend it to work as an end mill. With a drill you can do this as the shank is not hardened, but an end mill is hard all over. Ian S C
30 September 2011 at 11:53 #75581
Geoff Theasby
Participant
@geofftheasby
My Warco milling machine recommends the use of a rubber hammer to help extract milling cutters and collets from the taper.

I haven’t bought one yet, so I don’t know how effective one would be, but perhaps you shouldn’t screw down the drawbar too much either.

Regards

Geoff
2 October 2011 at 01:26 #75682
Ed Duffner
Participant
@edduffner79357
Hi Geoff,

I use(d) a rubber mallet on my WM-16 and find that I cannot loosen the drawbar with it even with moderately heavy blows and not having the drawbar overtightened in the first place. I may switch to an aluminim dolly and regular hammer or a nylon hammer.

Regards,

Ed.
4 October 2011 at 18:03 #75814
David Littlewood
Participant
@davidlittlewood51847
My Emco FB2 mill has an external thread on the upper end of the spindle. The drawbar is a very long hex socket capscrew; to remove, there is a threaded cap (with a hole in the end big enough for an Allen key) which screws on the external thread, then with a big Allen key in the drawbar and a spanner on the flats on the cap, you can force the drawbar up against the cap, which pushes out the 2MT tooling.

One problem is that half the tooling you buy has an M10 thread, the other is 3/8″ BSW. I got overt this by making a 3/8″ BSW drawbar, with a hole in the upper end, into which I Loctited a turned-down M10 capscrew. Rather to my amazement and gratification, this has survived about 20 years of use.

David

Edited By David Littlewood on 04/10/2011 18:03:59
4 October 2011 at 20:19 #75820
Mark P.
Participant
@markp
Posted by Ed Duffner on 02/10/2011 01:26:42:

Hi Geoff,

I use(d) a rubber mallet on my WM-16 and find that I cannot loosen the drawbar with it even with moderately heavy blows and not having the drawbar overtightened in the first place. I may switch to an aluminim dolly and regular hammer or a nylon hammer.

Regards,

Ed.

Hi Ed,I have a WM16 mill,I use the self-ejecting method ie.wind the drawbar out of the chuck / collet against the drawbar retaining nut.

regards Pailo.
5 October 2011 at 16:56 #75867
Ed Duffner
Participant
@edduffner79357
Hi Pailo,

Many thanks for the tip, I will give it a try.

Regards,

Ed.
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