R8 Collet Set What Should I Buy????

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mickri

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My Excel mill/drill uses R8 collets and it didn't come with any collets so I need to buy some. I can't decide whether to buy a set of collets with every 1/8, 1/16 or 32nd sizes. I have a Jacobs drill chuck MT2 model 100 hold drills from 9/32 to 1/2 and a Cushman drill chuck MT2 that goes up to 9/32. I know that a I need a R8 to MT2 adapter to be able to use the drill chucks in the mill/drill. My drill press is a cheapy HF and no good for precision drilling. I plan to use the mill/drill for any precision drilling. Should I go with the 1/8 set which will probably cover my milling needs and use the drill chucks for drilling? Or do I need the 1/16 or 1/32 sizes. I am a newbie to this and have no experience using my mill/drill. Thanks for any advice you guys can offer.

Chuck
 
Welcome, I can’t predict my future? So if you can’t either? If your wallet can handle it, just go for it and get the best and biggest set you can find. You just might be needed them all one day…Dave
 
have a 32nds set and rarely use any other type of tool holder on my mill. I do have the usual stuff like a drill chuck but the collets do me fine.
 
Consider that there are fractional, wire size, letter size, metric and off sized drills. Having an R8 collet for everything you may need isn't practical.

I would suggest you consider a good keyless chuck (Albrecht, Rohm) with an R8 arbor or 3/4" straight shank that can be held in a 3/4" collet. Add an ER-32 chuck with an R8 arbor for tool holding and a decent set of collets (Techniks is good and they're accurate enough). Then buy a basic set of good R8 collets in 1/8" increments (I like Crawford collets but there are many others) and you should be able to hold almost anything in the shop with a fair degree of accuracy.
 
Keep your eye on ebay , If you buy a 16th set now from shars or elsewhere , you can find 32nd's sometimes cheap on ebay if you needed . A 20mm is also a good one to have , sometimes you see some good ebay deals on a tool but it's 20mm metric .
Sometimes when you run out of "Z" room , you need to put a drill in a collet , or even a stubby drill in a collet to do the job , And that drill (by murphy's law) will be a 32nd or 64th) A 1/2-13 needs a 27/64 drill ... i've ran out of Z room and had to do this use that collet. There's only a few others that fall on a 32nd or 64th , I see them on ebay cheap from time to time ....a whole 32 or 64 set will cost alot though .
Looking back , I think I would have gone with an ER32 instead of the drill chuck ...more range , a little more Z room... idk ...I hold end mills in the collets too
 
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Thanks for the suggestions. I like the idea of using my two drill chucks, an ER32 collet set and a basic R8 1/8 to 3/4 collet set. I looked on Ebay and found that metric ER32 collet sets are significantly less expensive than ER32 inch collet sets. In researching the clamping range of metric and inch ER32 collets is it looks like a 19 piece metric set, 2mm to 20mm, covers the entire range whereas you need a complete 32nd set in inch sizes. Any reason that you guys can think of why I shouldn't buy a metric set instead of an inch set?
Chuck
 
Any collet, whether imperial or metric, ER or R8 or whatever, will grab optimally at the stated size of the collet. When you need a cutter to run dead on, the right collet matters. For example, a woodruff keyseat cutter has to run dead nuts to cut the slot as intended. If it's even a tenth or two off , it will cut the slot wide and your key will slip fit instead of having the interference fit it should have. If you are using mainly Imperial tools then I suggest buying Imperial ER collets. Also, buy good collets; the difference between cheap Chinese sets and a good collet set from makers like ETM, Lydex, Centaur, Crawford or Techniks is significant.

Use Chinese collet sets for work holding in the lathe where balls-on accuracy is less important. On the mill, use good collets if you can afford them.
 
A 32nd R8 collet set will adequately hold any diameter within its range. I bought a 1/16" to 3/4" by 32nd set years ago from Enco and have never had to resort to using a chuck for holding drills since. I prefer the collets to a chuck because drills mounted in the collets are closer to the mounted tool length for end mills which is a plus when you have limited z axis travel. The TIR is also better than can be attained with a chuck.
 
I started buying and collecting good R8 collets in the sizes I will use most, 3/4", 3/8, 1/2, 1/4" and a few others.
I buy them as I find them, mostly Hardinge, Bridgeport and News JAPAN in good condition.

I also bought a few new Crawford and Grand Germany.
All in all, my collet set is growing slowly but I will have good collets. Hardinge is by far, the best but at $42 each for new R8's, it may get a little
prohibitive to buy many. My Albrecht chucks will fill all other needs. Why stack more run out when you can reduce it with better tool holders.
 
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