# ER40 Shank for lathe (MT3)



## Alan H. (May 7, 2017)

I recently bought an ETM ER40 collet setup for my mill.   It is a set with a full complement of ER40 collets and R8 holder.

Mark Jacobs gave me some advice on a MT3 shank so I could use them on my lathe as well.  There aren't too many MT3 shank options out there for ER40 collets.  Mark shared his experience and also gave me some tips on adding a tang on the end so it would not rotate under use in the tail stock of a lathe.

The shank is a Shars and appears to be well made.  Add to it a Maritool bearing cap, make a tang and you have what I think is decent tool holder for the tail stock of a lathe.  (EDIT: also can use it in my drill press.) 

Based on Mark's advice, I made a tang this morning.   His coaching was spot on as usual.

Here are some photos:


----------



## mikey (May 7, 2017)

Nice job, Alan!


----------



## Silverbullet (May 7, 2017)

Great idea, I need to buy some 2 morse tooling for my atlas mill . Planing on getting set up with er 32 collets, with an r8 arbor with er 32 . Ill only need one kind of collets. With the screw in tail pin I can use it in the drill press or tailstock . Thanks


----------



## richl (May 7, 2017)

really nice, think i'll do that on mine also. I went with the er40 blocks also to keep everything in the shop the same collets

rich


----------



## Alan H. (May 7, 2017)

Silverbullet said:


> Great idea, I need to buy some 2 morse tooling for my atlas mill . Planing on getting set up with er 32 collets, with an r8 arbor with er 32 . Ill only need one kind of collets. With the screw in tail pin I can use it in the drill press or tailstock . Thanks


Silver, we can thank Mark for the idea.  

Yes, I agree with you that it is a good idea.  I think your choice of ER32 is a good one and I think the shanks are available.  There are lots of shanks on ebay with shipping from China.  While I bought a chinese made Shars, I did not feel good about buying one of the chinese shipped versions.


----------



## Alan H. (May 7, 2017)

mikey said:


> Nice job, Alan!


Thanks Mike,
I appreciate your coaching as well since you have also coached me into the collet world and I now have both 5C's and ER40's.   Who knows, maybe I will add some ER32's and 16's to be sure I have a more significant part of the collet universe covered!


----------



## extropic (May 8, 2017)

Alan,
I'm not sure who's ER40 x MT3 chuck you bought. It looks like a nice one. Can you tell us the brand and source?

Nice job on the tang.


----------



## Alan H. (May 8, 2017)

extropic said:


> Alan,
> I'm not sure who's ER40 x MT3 chuck you bought. It looks like a nice one. Can you tell us the brand and source?
> 
> Nice job on the tang.



The brand is Shars and I bought it via their ebay store.  In my limited searching for Shars tooling it was quickly apparent that it is cheaper to buy their stuff on their ebay store than through their website.  Their ebay store is called "discount_machine".  They are one of the best ebay vendors I have dealt with in terms of communication on status, shipping, etc.  I am now generally opposed to buying chinese tooling if there are other options but this piece seems okay.

The bearing cap I bought was based on recommendations from Mark and others and is from Maritool.   My friends had it right, this makes the holder even higher quality since it improves the way the collet is tightened down.  The center of the collet nut have to slide/spin on the collet, it simply compresses it.   Maritool sells a special spanner for this nut.   Although you may well have a spanner that would fit.   Just understand that the standard ER40 collet nut wrench does not fit the Maritool bearing nut.


----------



## mksj (May 8, 2017)

Alan's tang is much nicer than mine, I had to modify the length on mine several times to get it to fit. The drawbar version of the MT3 arbor is slightly longer than the machined MT3 tanged versions, so when fabricating the tang to thread into the MT3 arbor the tang should extend no longer than 0.600". 

There are several MT3 drawbar versions of the ER40 chuck holder. I ordered with the nickle plated version, I am not sure what they are currently stocking. The rated TIR is 0.0001" and they are nicely machined. Alan is correct, cheaper to buy via eBay, and the shipping charges if you order from the Shar's website is often way more. 

http://www.shars.com/morse-taper-3-er40-er-collet-chuck-tool-holder
http://www.ebay.com/itm/SHARS-MT3-M...t-Chuck-Tool-Holder-0-0001-MT-3-/302018698776


----------



## ddickey (May 8, 2017)

Another option. $69 shipped.
http://www.arceurotrade.co.uk/Catal...-Morse-Taper-Shank/ER40-Milling-Collet-Chucks


----------



## carlquib (May 8, 2017)

Curious, did you use loctite to make sure your tang would stay put? I think this tool could be useful when I want a flat bottom hole using an endmill. I always seem to get more chatter than I would like when trying to use an endmill over .25 in a drill chuck. 

Sent from my SM-T550 using Tapatalk


----------



## Alan H. (May 8, 2017)

I did not use loctite.  It has a shoulder, threads turned on my lathe for a tight fit, and is in there quite snug.  Not sure if Mark used Loctite or not, so I am hoping he will answer too.

Yeap, great application in a lathe for milling flat bottom/stepped holes.


----------



## mksj (May 9, 2017)

No need for Loctite unless you are considering running the spindle in reverse with left hand cutters. You can lock the tang in very securely, put the tang in the vise and the collet holder has some flats for a large wrench. End mills are great for flat bottom holes, although I do most of the material removal with twist drills. On larger holes I have MT2 and MT3 drills from 1/2" through 1 1/2".  The Tang is helpful because of the large twisting forces on the arbor, but because it does not have a drawbar, the cutter can grab into the work and pull the drill/end mill forward into the piece. So I am extremely careful when boring with end mills, and mostly use them to do a finishing sizing cut or square the bottom.

One key factor that I find minimizes drill chatter is to use shorter machinist drills. I also always drill a pilot starter hole with a center drill.


----------



## darkzero (May 9, 2017)

ddickey said:


> Another option. $69 shipped.
> http://www.arceurotrade.co.uk/Catal...-Morse-Taper-Shank/ER40-Milling-Collet-Chucks



And if anyone does order from them, they also sell the tang already made.

http://www.arceurotrade.co.uk/Catalogue/Chucks/Drill-Chuck-Arbors/Screw-In-Tangs


----------



## Alan H. (May 9, 2017)

Just be aware that it appears the shank's drawbar threading uses Whitworth threads.  So it's likely best solution is to buy the tang from them plus they're quite inexpensive.

I've hated Whitworth threads since 1972 when I had my first British motorcycle!  Still have an old Triumph and yes, I still dislike Whitworth threads.

Edit: Incorrect, DDickey points out you get a metric drawbar thread not Whitworth.


----------



## ddickey (May 9, 2017)

It uses 12mm-1.75 on the MT3


----------



## Alan H. (May 9, 2017)

Stand corrected, my disdain for Whitworth sucked me in!
So be sure and buy the proper tang.  They offer two here, the metric and the Whitworth.


----------



## marcusp323 (May 10, 2017)

Ordered one yesterday at 8 AM. Was on my doorstep at 11 AM today. From England to WA state in 27 hrs. Impressive shipping, to say the least.
Haven't tried it yet, but it looks well made.
Mark


----------



## Alan H. (May 10, 2017)

Mark, That's unbelievable shipping and really good to know.  

How about a photo of what you got?


----------



## marcusp323 (May 10, 2017)

Here ya go. Bought a few tangs too


----------

