CDCO Collets

[rdfoster]

Got some new collets from CDCO today. My first experience with collets. Seven out of thirteen needed to be fixed. The slot was not deep enough to fit in my G0619 mill. Is this typical of collets or is it a problem of buying from CDCO? With about three hours of filing I got them to fit but haven't had time to try them out.

 

[Ray C]

ouch. That's a little unusual -never heard of that problem before. Was the slot not deep enough radially or was is not cut long enough? How far off? After verifying it wasn't a problem with the lathe, I would have returned them. Tool steel -not exactly the easiest thing in the world to file.


Ray

Got some new collets from CDCO today. My first experience with collets. Seven out of thirteen needed to be fixed. The slot was not deep enough to fit in my G0619 mill. Is this typical of collets or is it a problem of buying from CDCO? With about three hours of filing I got them to fit but haven't had time to try them out.View attachment 54569

 

[Chuck K]

That's certainly not usual for new collets....but you have to keep in mind that you usually get about what you pay for. I know different people have had different experiences with CDCO. I personally haven't had a problem. There are only certain things that I buy there and I keep in mind that I'm not paying top dollar, so my expectations aren't real high. I personally wouldn't buy collets from CDCO. I would guess that others have and some of them probably got serviceable collets. Kind of the luck of the draw.

Chuck

 

[rdfoster]

Ray, the grooves were long enough, the just weren't deep enough. All I had to do was to file and scrape them a few thousands deeper. They fit very snuggly now.
I have usually had good luck with CDCO except when sending things back. I never got a replacement for a boring bar cutter that I sent back and the owner never seemed to have the time to deal with the problem.
I know you usually get what you pay for but some times you pay a lot for advertising, Old brand name etc.
Over all I am OK with the cost/quality I get from CDCO but there will be exceptions I'm sure.

Bob

 

[Pacer]

Those are R-8s, right? I had a similar prob with either CDCO or Shars R-8s (My memory fails me...) and several needed an "adjustment" - it went pretty quickly and the collets have been very serviceable otherwise now for some 4-5 years.

Speaking of "adjustment", Frank (CDCO) could really use an attitude adjustment....

 

[Ray C]

I've had a couple glitches with CDCO -minor ones and he's made it right. One time, I placed an order and something was back-ordered. I completely forgot about it and a year later when placing another order, the old stuff was packed with it. The other problem was with a thread micrometer that operated much too stiffly. The new one arrived before could have got the old one from me.

I buy a lot of stuff from shars.com. Probably 10-12 grand worth in the past few years -not one single problem and the stuff is good enough for my purposes.

Does your spindle have a removable pin? Maybe make a new one a little shorter. You'll need to harden it a little if you make one.

Ray

Ray, the grooves were long enough, the just weren't deep enough. All I had to do was to file and scrape them a few thousands deeper. They fit very snuggly now.
I have usually had good luck with CDCO except when sending things back. I never got a replacement for a boring bar cutter that I sent back and the owner never seemed to have the time to deal with the problem.
I know you usually get what you pay for but some times you pay a lot for advertising, Old brand name etc.
Over all I am OK with the cost/quality I get from CDCO but there will be exceptions I'm sure.

Bob

 

[lens42]

I'm done with cheap collets. Had a set I got with my Grizzly mill, but when I upgraded to an import baby bridgeport clone, half the collets wouldn't fit. In my case the diameter of the back portion of the collet was too large. You might double check that your problem really is the slot. I thought that too, and turned out to be wrong.

I started trying to take the back diameter down on the lathe with emory cloth, but after an hour or so I only got one to fit to my liking. You can get VERY good Crawford collets from Wholesale tool for $21/ea. Yes, it's more than the cheap imports, but you'll use them forever. All my Crawford replacements fit perfectly.

Got some new collets from CDCO today. My first experience with collets. Seven out of thirteen needed to be fixed. The slot was not deep enough to fit in my G0619 mill. Is this typical of collets or is it a problem of buying from CDCO? With about three hours of filing I got them to fit but haven't had time to try them out.

 

[rdfoster]

Yes, they are R-8 collets and yes Frank needs an attitude adjustment. There is a big difference between Frank and Matt at PM. The few times I talked to Frank he was always too busy to deal with me while Matt always responds and tries to help.
I've made several R-8 tool holders and have had very good luck with them. I like to make all the tools I can but collets aren't something I can make.

Thanks for your responses.

Bob

 

[tripletap3]

I have had similar experiences as Ray with CDCO and Shars. To be honest I feel embarrassed sometimes but I can't afford to buy expensive brand name tools so I have to watch for comparable items that are cheaper but with useable quality. These are my findings when dealing with this stuff. Some stuff can be a great value and other stuff can be total junk. Both companies try to move as much Chinese product as possible with as little personnel, customer contact, support and interaction as possible to keep the cost to a bare minimum. BTW. Their products come from numerous cheap sources in China and are not opened or looked at until you receive it. In my opinion I don't think they don’t always know if they are selling good or bad quality tools. They just go by the number of complaints they get on a particular item before they make a change. Shars is a little better at this than CDCO.
Both Shars and CDCO are on opposite ends of the table form QMT and LMS in my opinion and not just because of their personal service. Both companies sell China tools but the quality of these tools at LMS and QMT are consistent. Because of their experience they spend time to find the best source and they are able to vet them in house before selling them to you. Time=$.


I would like to see a forum or sticky where people could discuss their experiences with particular tooling (not machines) vendors. IE one for Shars then one for CDCO ect. We had started something on HF once.

 

[rdfoster]

Tripletap: I think a retailer specific experience category would be good as long as it doesn't become a rant. Real experiences should be shared, good and bad. Sometimes I think some go overboard with U.S. verses Asian products. Sure I would like to support U.S. manufactured products but I don't understand why the Greatest nation in the world can't compete with other country's products. I live in an area where our farmers compete successfully with the world and export more than any other producers of goods. I don't think it's all the price of labor either. I think it is greedy management. My folks both worked for Maytag at Newton, IA for nearly 30 yrs. Management decided to export the jobs to Mexico to "compete", the quality declined and they lost their reputation as the best appliance manufacturer in the world. Before you know it they sold out to Whirlpool put <>2000 people out of work, paid the president $3,000,000 and whirlpool tried to cut my retired mothers pension and health benefits for which she had worked hard, sometimes 60 hrs per week for.
Well, I ought to quit, I'm ranting.

Bob