Newbie Collet Question

With all due respect David V. The 5C collet is better in IMHO because of its thru the spindle capability. ER Collet systems can't do that, at least not that I am aware of. With that said I believe the 5C is the better choice.

"Billy G"
 
ER collets are for MILLS, I have an Iscar ER40 collet chuck for my mill, and a Bison 5c collet chuck for my lathe....
 
I would go with 5c collets. Because you can hold round, hex , and square parts plus put a collet stop into the collet to hold parts to length. You can also buy step collets that you bore yourself. With a step collet you can bore a .06 wide 2 inch dia piece with ease.
You can also buy a rubberflex collet chuck that will hold up too 1.375 dia parts thru the spindle. That is how I bored my 5c collet tube when I had to repair the threads. I own 5c ,2j, 3j and rubberflex collet setups.
 
if you got the money you can go bigger, S16, S20 all depends on the money you have, and whats available to adapt to your spindle, but for the hobbyist 5c is the most flexible and cheapest
 
Chipper5783 said:
Collets are nice for certain work holding, but they are not a game changer. I got along very nicely for 30+ years before getting a collet set up. They are handy, but they don't really add to your capability (in my experience). Why don't you use the 4 jaw chuck? As Paul said, soft jaws are great, also really planning your work steps. Can you leave the work piece long and machine it all in one grip, then cut the "handle" off? Can you machine that component between centers? Have you tuned your chucks (what sort of runout are you getting)? How good do you need? Collets are not perfect either.

There is often more than one way to get the job done.
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Thanks for you input. Your right I really need to plan my work. I haven't used my 4 jaw yet. I will check in to some soft jaws, that's the first of heard of the. Always been self taught and sometimes need help and this forum I'll have to say is full of knowledge.
 
Bill Gruby said:
With all due respect David V. The 5C collet is better in IMHO because of its thru the spindle capability. ER Collet systems can't do that, at least not that I am aware of. With that said I believe the 5C is the better choice.

"Billy G"
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Front closing ER collet chuck will provide through access.

There are other reasons I like the 5C over ER. The 5C collets are designed for material handling whereas the ER collets are for tool holding. You also have a lot more available configurations with a 5C system, such as: 5C expanding mandrels, machinable "emergency" collets, the aforementioned square/hex stock collets, etc. And the price difference!

For production, you have lever and power closing options for the 5C collets. Not available for the ER collets.

For just anti-mar holding, the OP can make a couple of pot chucks of common sizes that would work fine in a 3-jaw chuck. Not cost a penny except time and materials.
 
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As mentioned on another thread about collets, I've seen ER collets get sprung and are no good anymore for anything.
 
ER series collets have through spindle capability, the same as 5C. ER collets and have a wider clamping range, so you will need half as many collets as 5C. The actual clamping area of a 5C is less than an ER system. I have both, but for a 5C you most likely need a full set of 1/64" collets to cover stock that is slightly smaller/larger then standard. There are more collet and work holding options with 5C collets. I have tried soft jaws, 4J chucks, etc., but when turning small stock parts would often skew in the chuck. A collet system is great for doing small diameter/short stock and for holding material that you don't want to get damaged. Great for holding threaded materials.

There are inexpensive ER32 and ER40 collet chucks with a D1-4 mounting (about $80), a 5C D1-4 mount will be 2-3X the price, and the run-out is sometimes a problem (A decent set-tru 5C D1-4 is going to run you around $300). One can also use collet blocks chucked up in a your 3J or 4J if you only need to do small projects occasionally.
 
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planeflyer21 said:
As mentioned on another thread about collets, I've seen ER collets get sprung and are no good anymore for anything.
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Jon, how does an ER collet get sprung? Serious question. If used properly within the 0.40" clamping range I've never heard one can spring/sprung a collet.
 
I made an 5" ER25 adapter plate for the lathe (attaches to the chuck backing plate). It also fits my rotary table for mill work. I also bought an R8/ER 25 adapter for the mill spindle.

The lathe adapter provides pass through for long stock, but not on the mill RT or spindle.

http://www.hobby-machinist.com/threads/maximizing-versitilty.40677/#post-350811

Collets hold better (360*) with less tension and no marring. Downside: you need to determine what size/ranges that you will be mostly working on unless you want to invest lot of $$$ for a wide range on say, an E40 or 50.

For me, I determined that I wanted smaller-than-larger so I went with the ER25 (smaller nut OD) for more working clearance on my mini mill and close work on the lathe. They are also a lot less expensive, my set was only about $89. The downside of the smaller ER25 is the maximum size is I believe 3/4" - less than 1" stock. But, I decided that I generally don't do fine finish work on anything that large.
 
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