Collets

[David Watson 3Participant @davidwatson3]

Along with the Mini Lathe I inherited from my late father are some odd lathe parts not related to the Mini Lathe.

There is a Myford threaded nose cone and a set of collets that mach the nose cone, probly from his ML7. They are MT2 taper. How can I identify wihat collets they are. They look like ER collets but I am not sure what size they are?. The other problem may be that the Mini Lathe headstock is MT3.

I would like to use collets on the Mini Lathe having seen my Father using collets on his Rivet 608 for his clock making.

[David Watson 3Participant @davidwatson3]

What Collets

[Phil PParticipant @philp]

Do you have a photo of the collets in question to help with identity ?

Phil

[RobboParticipant @robbo]

David

They sound like Myford collets and with the threaded "nose cone" – called a "nose piece" or collet closer – will only fit Myford machines as the spindle nose thread has to match the Myford thread inside the collet closer.

Myford collets are 2¼" long and 0.58" dia at the thin end. For ease of reference one is shown here

And the instructions for using them here

O f course I may be wrong!   E&O always excepted

Edited By Robbo on 24/03/2017 21:56:40

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

David,

I was thinking along the same lines as Robbo … but there is one important caveat

Any resemblance to ER Collets is quite superficial: Yes, both have a groove for the closing ring BUT the Myford ones are fixed size, and do not have the range of an ER.

MichaelG.

[David Watson 3Participant @davidwatson3]

Thanks folks. The photos from Robo prove my thoughts that they are Myford only collets. I think starting again with ER 32 and a collet holder for the Mini Lathe is my best choice. My next thoiught being do I go for metric or imperial?.

I was offered an ML10 recently and if it wasnt thirty plus years old and a lot of money I would have found a use for the collets. Sadly my father gave his ML7 away when I was stationed abroad later followed by his Rivet 608 to be replaced by the mini lathe. Sad times but I am getting some use out of the mini lathe.

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

David,

I have sent you a message

MichaelG.

[RobboParticipant @robbo]

David,

The good news is that genuine Myford collets command a premium price on ebay and elsewhere, so you can get some money back to pay for your ER collets.

These days, unless you have a stock of Imperial cutters, I would go for Metric. My own ER collets are metric, while my old Clarkson and Myford ones are Imperial (as befits an old fogey).

Edited By Robbo on 25/03/2017 09:00:29

[Brian OldfordParticipant @brianoldford70365]

Whatever range of collets you have (imperial in 1/32"s or metric in millimeters) you should be able to grip anything within the range of the collet set you have.

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Posted by Brian Oldford on 25/03/2017 09:56:04:

Whatever range of collets you have (imperial in 1/32"s or metric in millimeters) you should be able to grip anything within the range of the collet set you have.

.

Brian,

If you are referring to the Myford collets, then i beg to differ.

… each collet is designed for a specific size +/- a few thou' at most.

ER collets however, are, of course, 'extended range'.

MichaelG.

[Thor 🇳🇴Participant @thor]

Hi David,

I think getting an ER 32collet system is a good idea. You ask: "My next thoiught being do I go for metric or imperial?." That depends on the shank diameter of the end mills (or work) you use. I have mostly metric collets with a couple of imperial ones – 1/8" and 1/4" because I occasionally use 1/16" slot drills which have a 1/4" shank.

Thor

[Brian OldfordParticipant @brianoldford70365]

Posted by Michael Gilligan on 25/03/2017 12:26:02:

Posted by Brian Oldford on 25/03/2017 09:56:04:

Whatever range of collets you have (imperial in 1/32"s or metric in millimeters) you should be able to grip anything within the range of the collet set you have.

.

Brian,

If you are referring to the Myford collets, then i beg to differ.

… each collet is designed for a specific size +/- a few thou' at most.

ER collets however, are, of course, 'extended range'.

MichaelG.

You are, of course, quite correct. I failed to mention I was, in fact, referring to the sets of collets I have which are of the ER11 and ER25 series. My apologies for the ambiguity.

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Thanks for clarifying that, Brian

MichaelG.

[Phil PParticipant @philp]

Posted by David Watson 3 on 25/03/2017 08:37:20:

Thanks folks. The photos from Robo prove my thoughts that they are Myford only collets. I think starting again with ER 32 and a collet holder for the Mini Lathe is my best choice. My next thoiught being do I go for metric or imperial?.

I was offered an ML10 recently and if it wasnt thirty plus years old and a lot of money I would have found a use for the collets. Sadly my father gave his ML7 away when I was stationed abroad later followed by his Rivet 608 to be replaced by the mini lathe. Sad times but I am getting some use out of the mini lathe.

David

If you should be thinking of parting with your Myford collets, I am looking for 3/64", 13/64", 27/64 & 31/64" sizes.

These are not very common sizes, but if you do have any spare I would appreciate a message.

Thanks

Phil

[Jon GibbsParticipant @jongibbs59756]

I have a full set of metric ER32 collets for workholding but then a second smaller select mix of metric and imperial collets for end-mills since I have both metric and imperial.

I opted for 16mm, 1/2", 12mm, 10mm and 1/4" as the cheapest combination. It's fairly obvious but with this set none of the collets needs to be closed more than 0.5mm (10mm -> 3/8" worst case) to cover almost all of my end-mills.

HTH

Jon

[peter blairParticipant @peterblair72074]

I don't mean to steal this thread but wonder if anyone can identify these collets I picked up for $5.00?

Hard to see in the photo but they are threaded on the outside of the end and do not have an internal thread.

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Peter,

Your slightly fuzzy photo appears to show them marked CD13

… So try here: **LINK**

http://www.miyakawa.com/en/products_e/multiple_head/collet_drill.htm

Nice find at that price !!

MichaelG.

[peter blairParticipant @peterblair72074]

Thanks Michael. I'm sure that's what they are. Now I don't know if I should buy the rest so I can use them or try to make a few $$$ by selling them. Once again, love this site!

[Author]

Posts