# Cdco 5c Collet Chuck



## sanddan (Mar 23, 2015)

Has anyone here used the CDCO  5C collet chuck? I know it won't be as good as a Bison but for a home hobbyist is this a decent option? The price at $160 for the chuck which includes the D1-4 mount is attractive, just not sure of the quality.


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## pdentrem (Mar 23, 2015)

I have one, bought it used. Seems to be fine. There has been discussions on quality for this unit being sold by many vendors. It is either go for it, luck of the draw, or spend a lot more. The other question is whether it will be used enough to justify spending the big bucks.
Pierre


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## Reeltor (Mar 23, 2015)

People seem to have a love or hate relationship with Frank over at CDCO.  I bought my CXA QCTP and holders from him.  It was cheaper than other imports from China, and it ships from Chicago so you don't have to play the "only worth a few bucks game" on customs forms.   I thought the quality was fine, except for the soft screws, machining was actually pretty good.
I'd rate my experience as above average, but I've heard some people bad mouth them.  Then again you don't know if they had unrealistic expectations.

Mike


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## alloy (Mar 23, 2015)

His prices seem to be decent and the shipping from the US is a plus.

Who ever does his web site needs to use spell check though.


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## Doubleeboy (Mar 23, 2015)

In my experience they frequently ship the wrong item, or a item that had been returned by previous customer.  Protective packaging was not very good.   They repeatedly sent me the same D1-4 backplate when I ordered a D1-3.   On the third try they got it right only when I wrote on backplate I returned "do not ship this to me again".

Never was able to talk to anyone who knew squat about machine tools at their phone#

michael


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## sanddan (Mar 23, 2015)

Thanks for the feedback everyone. food for thought.


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## bpratl (Mar 23, 2015)

I purchase one from CDCO and it has very little run out and good quality.
It was well worth the price that I paid for it.


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## Cactus Farmer (Mar 23, 2015)

I bought one and mounted it on a 2 1/4 X 8 backplate. I was anal about fitting the backing plate to the chuck and it has minimual runout. It has become my go-to chuck for small work  as the repeatability of collets is so good. I just got a new to me lathe with a D 1-5 mount and will buy another of these collet chucks and fit it to a D 1-5 adapter.


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## george wilson (Mar 24, 2015)

I have heard of the Chinese 5C chucks being full of chips and crud and not running true. But,I don't actually have one since my lathe has a built in 5C chuck.(Hardinge HLVH). Buying Chinese is always a bit of a gamble. I have sent back whole Bridgeport clone milling machines. not fun. Luckily it was at work,where the warehouse had fork lifts.


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## kd4gij (Mar 24, 2015)

A member of this site did a nice wright up on truing that chuck up.


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## JimDawson (Mar 24, 2015)

Take a look at my adventure

RANT: 5C Collets Chuck, D1-4 Cam-Lock


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## bpratl (Mar 25, 2015)

JimDawson said:


> Take a look at my adventure
> 
> RANT: 5C Collets Chuck, D1-4 Cam-Lock


 I guess that I lucked out with my purchase, non D1 series back plate,  as my measured TIR was .00015".


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## george wilson (Mar 25, 2015)

You lucky dog!!!!!!


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## alloy (Mar 27, 2015)

Well took a chance and just ordered one while thy are on sale..  Plain back so I can mount it myself and get it dialed in as close as possible.  Hopefully I won't regret my purchase.


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## jaybeckham (Mar 28, 2015)

I have a 12 inch Jet older lathe.  It has a threaded head stock.  Can I use the D1-4 to mount a collet holder?  I do have a plain plate that has the proper threads.  Also I know the opening is big enough because when I purchased it years ago I made sure the internal diameter was large for the C5 collets.  But now I want to do some projects that will require the accuracy of a collet rather than a three jar chuck.

Thanks

Jay Beckham


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## JimDawson (Mar 28, 2015)

jaybeckham said:


> I have a 12 inch Jet older lathe.  It has a threaded head stock.  Can I use the D1-4 to mount a collet holder?  I do have a plain plate that has the proper threads.  Also I know the opening is big enough because when I purchased it years ago I made sure the internal diameter was large for the C5 collets.  But now I want to do some projects that will require the accuracy of a collet rather than a three jar chuck.
> 
> Thanks
> 
> Jay Beckham




I'm a little confused here, does you lathe have a D1-4 or a threaded spindle?  If you have a threaded spindle then I would use a MT to 5C adapter that goes in the the spindle hole and uses a draw bar to tighten, you could also get a plain back 5C collet chuck, and mount it on a backplate.  If you have a D1-4 spindle, then you could go either way with a collet chuck or a spindle adapter.  In either case, if you get a collet chuck, I recommend that you get a plain back and a backplate


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## ashur (Mar 28, 2015)

I bought one of these, from CDCO, about a year ago and it's working out very well.  I bought the back plate separate for a 1.5"X8 spindle and fit the chuck to the plate myself.
I think that most of the problems with these chucks is with the back plate fit.  If you do it yourself it should turn out much better.  This is one of my most used chucks now.

Al


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## jaybeckham (Mar 28, 2015)

Sorry to confuse.  I don't have the D1-4 mounting.  I have a large thread and a MT.  I also have a back plate with the proper threads to fit the spindle.  It is eight inches in diameter and has eight slotted holes around the plate.  Sort of like this without the three threaded holes.



The slots are a bit rough.  It does have several concentric grooves cut in it apparently to help you center a work piece.

Thanks


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## JimDawson (Mar 28, 2015)

That looks more like a face plate.  Not sure that would be a good mount.  If the spindle hole is not a MT5 or larger, I think you will need to purchase a threaded backplate that will fit your spindle nose.  Then mount a plain back collet chuck on that.


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## Doubleeboy (Mar 28, 2015)

Jay, that is a faceplate not a back plate.    A backplate is not going to have the 8 slots.   you want a back plate to mount a chuck not a faceplate.  I see Jim beat me to it.

michael


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## 18w (Mar 28, 2015)

That plate is for using lathe dogs for turning between centers or as a faceplate. A nice item to have. I would just buy a new back plate with the proper threads or a blank back plate and cut threads to fit your spindle or go the mt to 5c route as Jim suggested.. Seems to be a waste of a useful item to use it for a chuck mount. And Jim and Michael beat me to it.lol.

Darrell


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## Dataporter (Mar 28, 2015)

I bought a less expensive 5C chuck and careful made a mount for my lathe. The run out was excessive, IMO, like .006 TIR. So I witness marked the chuck and the lathe so that I could always return the chuck to the same position. Then I mounted my Dremel in the toolpost and used the compound set at the angle of the head of a 5C (10 degrees?) and careful re-ground the mouth of the 5C chuck.   This worked fantastic! It was easy. I really did not have to grind that much to true it up. The TIR now insignificant.


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## jaybeckham (Mar 28, 2015)

Thanks guys, also I noticed the CDCO collet holder has three bolts so that is the other problem.  CDCO does have a back plate with various threads and diameter, would that be suitable for their collet holder?  It is plain and could be faced and maybe grooved for the collet holder.


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## 18w (Mar 28, 2015)

jaybeckham said:


> Thanks guys, also I noticed the CDCO collet holder has three bolts so that is the other problem.  CDCO does have a back plate with various threads and diameter, would that be suitable for their collet holder?  It is plain and could be faced and maybe grooved for the collet holder.



As long as the plate is the correct dia. just face it and cut a shoulder as required, drill the required holes and you are good to go.

Darrell


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## jaybeckham (Mar 28, 2015)

Here is the CDCO one:


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## jaybeckham (Mar 28, 2015)

Here is maybe a dumb question.  Looking at the CDCO collet chuck, I gather the tee wrench tightens the collet?  No long rod needed like you would for a MT mount?  In other words I get this and the back plate and that should be all I need except for the actual collets?
Thanks again for everyone's help.


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## 18w (Mar 28, 2015)

jaybeckham said:


> Here is maybe a dumb question.  Looking at the CDCO collet chuck, I gather the tee wrench tightens the collet?  No long rod needed like you would for a MT mount?  In other words I get this and the back plate and that should be all I need except for the actual collets?
> Thanks again for everyone's help.



Yup.....now bear in mind there are pros and cons to this choice. Collets offer several advantages at a price. Repeatable accurate centering and speed of changing parts. Accuracy, either a collet chuck or draw bar style work the same. Speed, the lever closer can't be beat. Just depends on the use you need the collets for. Also if you have a short bed lathe the collet chuck sticks out and reduces the amount of room you have.

Darrell


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## jaybeckham (Mar 28, 2015)

Thanks Darrell
My lathe is a 12 x 36 short not short.  I am turning wheels for O Scale engines.  They are about 1.5" in diameter and a 1/4" deep.  So I need repeatable accuracy.  I turn down the wheel and then mount a "tire" on it with a press fit for half of the wheels.  The other half have to be turn about .003 more so that I can slip "Fish Paper" between the wheel and tire to insulate half of the wheels.  The top items are tires and the lower ones are the actual wheels.  The tires have the typical railroad flange on them.


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## 18w (Mar 28, 2015)

So here is another option because you are dealing with diameters over 1". You will need a step or pot collet to machine per your requirements or http://www.dillonmfg.com/index.asp. Soft jaws for your 3 jaw chuck. I am a huge proponent of these. Available in steel or aluminum, machine to fit your parts and way cheaper than the required chuck and collets. Or these.http://www.breakhearttool.com/products machineable arbors for I.D holding.

Darrell


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## jaybeckham (Mar 28, 2015)

Darrell

The information I have about turning these wheels suggests the use of a custom mandrel like this but without the pin as I am turning electric engine drivers and they don't have a crank pin like a steam engine does.  See photo below.  He turned the mandrel to .500 to fit his collet.  I could mount the stock in my three jaw and turn it true there and as long as I didn't remove it, it would stay accurate.  If I had to remove it, I could mark the jaw and the mandrel so I would get in back into the same position.  The tires I have are ready to press on so only the wheels have to be turned.  I do have one problem the wheel are sintered iron and I am told that it can be difficult to turn.  I do have carbide inserts and I imagine they would be better with the iron than using HSS cutters. 

That said some day I do want to get a collet chuck.


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## jaybeckham (Mar 28, 2015)




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## 18w (Mar 28, 2015)

Yes Jay that is a option. You could always install the mandrel in a 4 jaw and dial it in if you have one. The beauty of the expanding mandrels like the ones I linked to at Breakheart Tools is they expand with a tapered bolt. You machine a slight amount to get the dia. you need and to be true and then install your part and tighten the bolt to expand the arbor. This holds the part tightly enough to machine it. If you remove the arbor just dial it back in with a part mounted or take another light cut on the arbor. We are only talking a couple thou to be true again so a arbor will last a long time doing the same parts. You might be surprised that hss tools will cut your parts with the correct geometry. I am not trying to talk you out of a collet holder...only giving you other options. I live by the tooling philosophy "some  is good, more is better, and too much is just right!

Darrell


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## GarageGuy (Mar 28, 2015)

Watching this thread with serious interest.  I want a D1-4 mount 5C collet chuck too, and CDCO is where I was planning to buy it.  It's at least $100 cheaper than the next closest competitors price, and they're probably all made in the same Chinese factory.  Very glad to see that if it is not true to specs, it can be fixed with a tool post grinder.  Thanks to everyone for such good information!

GG


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## Cactus Farmer (Mar 29, 2015)

My Rockwell 11X36 has a 2 1/4 X 8TPI spindle. I sowanted a collet chuck and when I saw the CDCO price i bought it and a blank backing plate threaded to fit my spindle. There are a lot of machine shops around here so I ask a lot of questiond and then tackled the backing plate. #1, I took a face cut to true it with my machine. #2, Measured the recess in the back of the collet chuck, measure 3 times,cut once. #3, After measuring diameter and depth of the recess I turned a positive to fit the collet's hole. #4, I used Heinman? transfer screws to mark the back plate. #5, Drill and counter bore the plate to fit the allen cap screws that mount the chuck to the plate. #6,Take a tiny (read- 0.005) cut in the projected part of the plate to assure the outer lip is in good contact with the chuck. #7,Install plate with mounted chuck on machine. #8, Install collet and test bar (ground round, pin guage, ect) and check runout.
       Now, I will admit that I was anal about this mounting but the runout is NIL! On the Last Word guage the needle just bearly moved at all! Now that is a lot of zeros right of the decimal point before there is a whole number. That if you think 0.00001 is a whole number.
     I now am tooling up a 13X40 Acra-turn with a D-1-5 spindle and will buy another CDCO plain backed chuck and I found a D-1-5 backing plate. It will be fitted just as the first one and we will see if I was lucky on the first attempt.
I need another D-1-5 backing plate to mount a 4 jaw self centering chuck I've had for years. I do a lot of octagon
barrels and some square work too. It isn't a Buck chuck,if fact it's Polish made,and is accurate enough for 95% of this work. And it's way faster than a 4 jaw independent chuck.


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## alloy (Mar 30, 2015)

I just got my collet chuck today.  Looks pretty nice for the price I paid.  Shipping was pretty fast, packed well.

I've not mounted it yet, so can't speak to runout or how it works, but so far I'm impressed with it  for the price I paid.


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## JimDawson (Mar 30, 2015)

alloy said:


> I just got my collet chuck today.  Looks pretty nice for the price I paid.  Shipping was pretty fast, packed well.
> 
> I've not mounted it yet, so can't speak to runout or how it works, but so far I'm impressed with it  for the price I paid.



Let us know how it works out for you.


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## Cactus Farmer (Mar 31, 2015)

Ordered mine and a D-1-5 back plate, plus a few other small goodies. Yep, tool junkie for sure. Every bit as addictive but it won't kill you and you can do fun stuff for yourself and friends (sometimes customers too!)


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