What tooling and collet should I get

This topic has 25 replies, 13 voices, and was last updated 1 April 2017 at 10:01 by Julian taylor.

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29 March 2017 at 15:53 #8633
Julian taylor
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@juliantaylor20573
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29 March 2017 at 15:53 #291098
Julian taylor
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@juliantaylor20573
Hi Guys

First time poster here so hello

I'm just about to buy a Warco WM12 mill to start building my own dive gear, mainly machining Delrin but also will be using aluminium. The types of things i will need to do are facing, removing material and cutting o-ring groves so it needs to be fairly close tolerances and neatly done.

I just had a question about collets, collet chucks, tooling and associated stuff.

Basically the question is whats the best way to go? Should I get a collet chuck and collets, an arbour so I can directly connect to the drawbar or another way. If I go collet chuck which tooling should I use.
I think tools I would need would be
– Endmills from 2 – 16 MM
– Facemills
– Groove cutters for perpendicular o-ring grooves (max 4mm wide).
– Any other stuff too

Any help and advice is greatly appreciated.

Jools
29 March 2017 at 19:43 #291141
John Reese
Participant
@johnreese12848
I would suggest an ER collet chuck capable of holding up to 16mm.

Then get arbors for the size face mill you intend to use.

Get a boring head to do the face grooving.

Get a good quality drill chuck.

Get a good quality copy of a Kurt vise.
29 March 2017 at 19:49 #291144
Neil Wyatt
Moderator
@neilwyatt
Welcome Julian.

+1 for ER collets. They will always win on maximum flexibility at reasonable cost.

Neil
29 March 2017 at 19:52 #291145
Julian taylor
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@juliantaylor20573
Hi Guys

Thanks for the input. Do you know, or can you suggest, which ER collet chuck I should get? All the other things I'll put on the list too.

Cheers

Jools
29 March 2017 at 20:45 #291149
Julian taylor
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@juliantaylor20573
Just looked and I think that ER25 looks to do the job.
29 March 2017 at 20:54 #291150
bricky
Participant
@bricky
Hi Julian.

I would go for an ER32 or better still the ER40 because you will find in the future that you will want to use bigger tools or workpieces.

Frank
29 March 2017 at 21:04 #291151
Julian taylor
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@juliantaylor20573
Good advice, thanks Frank.

Could people list their reputable suppliers please.
29 March 2017 at 21:39 #291157
Journeyman
Participant
@journeyman
Julian, the WM12 is a very small mill, ER 40 would be seriously oversize I think. I have the WM14 and I find ER25 adequate. I have used a 20mm endmill but it is definitely pushing the limits.

John
29 March 2017 at 21:48 #291158
SillyOldDuffer
Moderator
@sillyoldduffer
Cutting grooves for O rings sounds like you'll need a rotary table to fit the mill.

Dave
29 March 2017 at 21:48 #291159
Julian taylor
Participant
@juliantaylor20573
Hi John

The max end mill a WM12 can take is 16mm anyway.

A larger one would would save me buying it again if I upgraded but as the new set would be an extra couple of hundred quid it wouldn't break the bank.

I suppose the downsides are that a larger collet may clash with work holding and clamps more.

Jools
29 March 2017 at 21:52 #291160
Neil Wyatt
Moderator
@neilwyatt
If only using it for holding milling tools, anything bigger than ER25 is not really worth it, as I doubt you would ever want to hold a cutter with more than a 16mm shank in that mill. Larger faces mills etc. will normally fit directly into the spindle.

ER32 can be handy if you want to use it as an accurate woirkholder in the lathe.

Neil
29 March 2017 at 21:58 #291162
Journeyman
Participant
@journeyman
It may be difficult to find ER40 with a 2MT shank the other drawback of large tooling is that it takes up precious headroom which is a problem on these small milling machines.

John
29 March 2017 at 22:12 #291174
John Haine
Participant
@johnhaine32865
If it's available, buy one with an R8 taper and get R8 collets. That way you will get an additional 50mm or so of headroom as they don't project from the spindle more than a few mm. R8 collets grip like the proverbial, don't need to be furiously tightened, and are relatively cheap to buy.
30 March 2017 at 12:04 #291242
mechman48
Participant
@mechman48
I would go for ER32 collet set; it will give you the facility to use a 20mm collet for that 'bit extra capacity'. if your machine has R8 spindle then go with R8 collet set.

George.
30 March 2017 at 12:17 #291247
Julian taylor
Participant
@juliantaylor20573
Hi George/John

On the R8 collet the machine I am buying only has a 2mt option.

In relation to the ER32 collet can I respectfully ask whether that would be required? The machine is limited to a 16mm end mill so there seems to be no need to have a bigger shank than cutting area IMHO.

Julian
30 March 2017 at 12:20 #291248
Martin Kyte
Participant
@martinkyte99762
Posted by Julian taylor on 29/03/2017 15:53:32:

building my own dive gear,

Jools

That's brave of you. Isn't that a little 'mission critical'

regards Martin
30 March 2017 at 12:26 #291249
mechman48
Participant
@mechman48
You don't have to have he ER32 size, ER 25 will do what you need. I have the WM 16 – MT2 taper & on a couple of occasions I have used a 19mm insert type face mill to give me the option of completing the cut in one pass rather than two side by side passes… horses for courses I s'pose

George.
30 March 2017 at 12:31 #291251
Julian taylor
Participant
@juliantaylor20573
That's brave of you. Isn't that a little 'mission critical'

regards Martin

Yes and No I suppose. The equipment I'll be building, though it looks technical, is actually fairly basic in design and build.

But yes it will be keeping me alive while over 60M underwater or while half a mile into an underwater cave system so yes very much mission critical

Julian
30 March 2017 at 12:33 #291252
Julian taylor
Participant
@juliantaylor20573
Posted by Martin Kyte on 30/03/2017 12:20:07:

Posted by Julian taylor on 29/03/2017 15:53:32:

building my own dive gear,

Jools

That's brave of you. Isn't that a little 'mission critical'

regards Martin

This type of stuff

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=rebreather+head+from+aluminium&espv=2&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwilkbTQkP7SAhVMDsAKHan2Dg4Q_AUIBygC&biw=1920&bih=994#tbm=isch&q=rebreather+head&*
30 March 2017 at 12:38 #291256
Muzzer
Participant
@muzzer
Posted by Julian taylor on 30/03/2017 12:33:20:

Posted by Martin Kyte on 30/03/2017 12:20:07:

Posted by Julian taylor on 29/03/2017 15:53:32:

building my own dive gear,

Jools

That's brave of you. Isn't that a little 'mission critical'

regards Martin

This type of stuff

**LINK**

Dear god. That's not just mission critical, it's Darwinian?
30 March 2017 at 12:41 #291258
John Stevenson 1
Participant
@johnstevenson1
Can't you just hold your breath for a bit ?
30 March 2017 at 13:10 #291262
Julian taylor
Participant
@juliantaylor20573
Posted by John Stevenson on 30/03/2017 12:41:41:

Can't you just hold your breath for a bit ?

Yes I can. Just not long enough to swim a mile
30 March 2017 at 15:26 #291281
richardandtracy
Participant
@richardandtracy
I have ER32 collets which I use on my lathe & milling head. I've ended up getting collet chucks with MT2, MT3 & MT4 ends so I can use the lot in my rotary table & drill press (MT2), lathe tailstock/milling head (MT3) and lathe headstock (MT4). Have a range from 6-20mm, bought one at a time when I needed them. On the mill, lathe tailstock & drill press I use the thing for tool holding, but every where else I use them for work holding. This is especially useful in the rotary table and on my little CNC where I have a Stevenson hexagonal collet chuck, to which I filed a number of slots so it could be clamped collet axis vertical.

So, don't get hung up on the fact the mill can only end mill 16mm diameter. There are many other uses for the same collets.

Having said that, you could go ER25 and if you need something bigger, get another collet chuck of the ER32 size. Get them direct from China/Hong Kong via E-bay & perfectly good ones are under £20.

Regards,

Richard
30 March 2017 at 15:39 #291287
Vic
Participant
@vic
For my mill and lathes I've settled on ER32 as there seem to be more fixtures and fitting that take this size than any other.
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