Home made I.D expanding collet

Jimsehr

Jimsehr

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I have been making my own expanding collets for 50 some years. This one has the Logan spindle taper. It has a bushing for the back end of the spindle and has a 1/2 13 allthread rod with a tapped 1/4 inch thread in one end . I use a 1/4 shcs with a 15 degree taper formed on it to tighten and expand tha collet that is threaded into the Logan tapered collet. I slit the collets on my band saw. The expanding part can be recut and reused many times. This one is tightened with a nut and a wrench
I also made one with a shorter length of allthread that has a 5c collet thread that will work with a lever collet set up.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/UAtILpRPA5UqRIWa2
 
Nice. I could only see 1 picture. I'd really like to see the collet slits & how you held/orientated it for the band saw operation.

Aside from eyeballing & hand feeding non-critical parts, about the best I came up with is attach a mini fence on the saw baseplate to run a small toolmaker vise against. But I'm intrigued with how round objects like yours could be done.
 
Petertha asked me how I held the collets in the saw to slit them. Well I made a plate with two drilled and tapped holes in plate. I then I put a stop on end of plate to adjust for center of collet . Then I lifted one side of plate to make saw cut come out square to top of plate. Plate is 1/2 in thick so I stoped the saw from coming all the way down by putting a piece of pvc pipe over a stop. I timed the slot by making first cut with collet screwed against plate and then divided thread pitch by forth and used shim stock and res rescrewed collet
down to shims. It came out close. I cut about 30 collets that way.


https://photos.app.goo.gl/EHq1rpuAEg0yN7jD3
 
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I'm so glad I asked. That's brilliant!
 
I make some but use a taper to expand the collet with a flat head Allen bolt .
 
I might as well show two other versions of my home made ID collet set ups. One is a threaded cap that has a Logan 2 1/4 8 thread inside. It screws on spindle and collet screws into it. This is for people who don’t want to cut locking tapers. The other is the set up for using a lever collet in a spindle with a 5c collet . Also shows forming taper on shcs and tool for cutting I.D taper for collets.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/GdB2bxWDXAR7wUca2
 
What do you do if the bore you are holding on is blind?
 
Jimsehr said:
What do you do if the bore you are holding on is blind?
Click to expand...
I have been at this trade since 1964, and have not yet needed to deal with that situation, but clearly, the way you have dealt with it is the best fix. I see you live near Sonora; are you acquainted with Stan & Jim's auto body shop? My friend Jim Davis runs the place & he has one of my steam engines in his boat.
 
benmychree said:
I have been at this trade since 1964, and have not yet needed to deal with that situation, but clearly, the way you have dealt with it is the best fix. I see you live near Sonora; are you acquainted with Stan & Jim's auto body shop? My friend Jim Davis runs the place & he has one of my steam engines in his boat.
Click to expand...

Benmychree
If you look at pic in the center with the 3 legs it was a blind hole and I cut the slot in the end with the same collet that I moved to the mill. Also used it to drill the holes. And my girlfriend has had work done at Stan & Jim's shop.
 
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