- Joined
- Jan 21, 2015
- Messages
- 67
I bit the bullet and purchased Sherline's complete set of metric collets for my Sherline lathe. 77 different sizes all lined up in a wooden box. Cost over $900.
The disappointment began the instant I opened the box. One of the reasons I bought the entire set, rather than buying individual collets as needed for projects, was so all the collets would match--nothing nicer than seeing an entire matched set ready for work. This 'set' consisted of pieces from at least 7 different sets, and not logically--like all the .0's were one type, all the .1-.4's were different--no, this was just random. Different finishes (some circular grained, some polished), different markings (some marked "33", some marked "3.9mm", some marked "4.4MM", and within each category, 3 different fonts are used), different face angles (some are highly domed with a 20 deg angle up to the hole, some are flatter with only a 10 degree slope), different face depths (the distance from the end of the taper to the start of the face is random), different diameter through holes (some are 4.5mm, some much less), and different total lengths (why?). The markings also varied from deep, uninked and clear, to surface inking only, some with the ink smeared out across the entire face rendering the numbers illegible.
Also, apparently I didn't read down to the end of the fourth paragraph of the spec sheet linked to the online description where it is mentioned that this set of 77 WW-type collets is NOTHING OF THE SORT. Actually, there are only 42 WW-type collets, but there are 35 pot-type collets since at every size above 4.5mm, the hole does NOT go through. Where would you use a 1/4" diameter, 5mm-deep pot chuck? I can think of tons to do with it if a 1/4" rod can pass through, but when the collet can grip only the last 5mm, in what situation can it be used?
The slits are not always radial or 120 degrees apart. In the smallest sizes, the slits nearly missed the central hole, hitting tangentially rather than radially. Can collets with different sized flanges ever grip concentrically?
And it's a small additional quibble, but the box is so small and the holes so close together, there is no way to pick out a single collet with your fingers. You have tap them out like cigarettes from a pack (hold your hand over the rest so you don't get 50 of them spilling out), or use a separate tool.
If I could get a Sherline drawbar threaded with M7-0.75 (rather than Sherline's favorite .275-40), I would get a decent 8mm collet set from China and send this American-made mess back. But I haven't found a 116mm drawbar with that threading (72mm ones are easy to find).
Anyone know where I can get either a long drawbar with metric threads, or a .275-40 set of collets that don't suck? Thanks in advance.
The disappointment began the instant I opened the box. One of the reasons I bought the entire set, rather than buying individual collets as needed for projects, was so all the collets would match--nothing nicer than seeing an entire matched set ready for work. This 'set' consisted of pieces from at least 7 different sets, and not logically--like all the .0's were one type, all the .1-.4's were different--no, this was just random. Different finishes (some circular grained, some polished), different markings (some marked "33", some marked "3.9mm", some marked "4.4MM", and within each category, 3 different fonts are used), different face angles (some are highly domed with a 20 deg angle up to the hole, some are flatter with only a 10 degree slope), different face depths (the distance from the end of the taper to the start of the face is random), different diameter through holes (some are 4.5mm, some much less), and different total lengths (why?). The markings also varied from deep, uninked and clear, to surface inking only, some with the ink smeared out across the entire face rendering the numbers illegible.
Also, apparently I didn't read down to the end of the fourth paragraph of the spec sheet linked to the online description where it is mentioned that this set of 77 WW-type collets is NOTHING OF THE SORT. Actually, there are only 42 WW-type collets, but there are 35 pot-type collets since at every size above 4.5mm, the hole does NOT go through. Where would you use a 1/4" diameter, 5mm-deep pot chuck? I can think of tons to do with it if a 1/4" rod can pass through, but when the collet can grip only the last 5mm, in what situation can it be used?
The slits are not always radial or 120 degrees apart. In the smallest sizes, the slits nearly missed the central hole, hitting tangentially rather than radially. Can collets with different sized flanges ever grip concentrically?
And it's a small additional quibble, but the box is so small and the holes so close together, there is no way to pick out a single collet with your fingers. You have tap them out like cigarettes from a pack (hold your hand over the rest so you don't get 50 of them spilling out), or use a separate tool.
If I could get a Sherline drawbar threaded with M7-0.75 (rather than Sherline's favorite .275-40), I would get a decent 8mm collet set from China and send this American-made mess back. But I haven't found a 116mm drawbar with that threading (72mm ones are easy to find).
Anyone know where I can get either a long drawbar with metric threads, or a .275-40 set of collets that don't suck? Thanks in advance.