Do I Need A Collet Chuck?

Ended up going with a d1-5 bison collet chuck. Run out is at about .0002 measured with a drill rod, and body concentricity is at .0003 versus the Accusize chuck from eBay-> .002 and .013, respectively. Huge difference. Decided to stick with a 5C chuck since I already had a set. Thanks all for the input.
 
I have a Gator 5C chuck and backing plate which works well on my 40003G Lathe. You might want to check with Global Tooling Solutions at; http://www.gts-tools.com/5c-collet-chucks.html

Ask for Karl, he should be able to get you set up. The backing plate gets machined on the lathe and the chuck sort of press fit onto the ring on the backing plate to ensure it repeats its zero when you mount and re-mount. I marked one of the cam locks and the backing plate so I would be able to re mount each chuck, 5C, 3 jaw set tru and 4 jaw on the same spot on the spindle nose each time. Consistent procedure has given consistent results.
 
with a 5mt spindle you can buy a hardened and ground 5-c collet adapter. the company I got mine from is called jkf tooling. its on santa fe street in los angeles. its been years since I dealt with them they will ask for the large end id of the spindle an will send you the adapter to try it in your lathe if it fit then pay or send it back and tell them you need larger or smaller try it if it fits pay. bill
 
After 15 years of not owning a 5C collet system, I was educated on the 5C chuck with true-set. I purchased a 65 piece collet set for around $200 and was pleased with quality and TIR. I found this to be an awesome addition to the lathe and used it more than I ever thought. Like mksj stated, they have a narrow clamping range but with a full set, I have yet to find one that doesn't work. Very happy with the system and its one of those "I can't believe it took so long to buy one" moments, I don't look back. Especially for multiple pieces and operations.
 
After reading all these uses for Collet Chucks, etc., I remembered from my Apprenticeship Days, one more job I had. We had a (relatively) small Harding lathe with a collet closer set up. I spent most of one afternoon making 8-32 by 3/16 set screws into dog point set screws. Never shut the spindle down, it was "stick the set screw in the collet, close the collet, turn the dog point, (one pass) open the collet, take out the old one, put in a new one, repeat." I find I still have perhaps a dozen of them, just in case. These set screws were used to keep gripper inserts from turning when they were screwed into a pocket.
 
I just ordered a 5c collet from CDCO for my Enco 13 x 40, but they shipped the wrong one (with a treaded mount adapter instead of the D1-4 I requested). As soon as the correct one shows up I'll have a better idea of the quality.
Mike S
 
I had time to piddle with my new 5C collet chuck. First off, if you've used a collect closer that has the handle (sorry for not knowing the correct terms for stuff) at the back of the lathe, you will not like the collet chuck.....it takes a long time to "wind" the collet into the chuck.....maybe a cordless drill & a square driver can speed it up). It seems to take too many "turns" to loosen the stock to swap in a new piece (when making multiple parts) too.
Just my opinions so far.....we'll see after I've had reason to use it seriously on a project.
Mike Sal
 
Mike

I understand your issue. Search for a thread titled speed handle chuck key posted by MKSJ. He made a simple speed handle that really works well.
 
Thanks Bill, that's it. Seriously this speed handle is really the ticket. If you have one of these collet chucks I recommend you run not walk to the shop to make one of these. It's a big improvement over the T handle for sure. Mine is a snug fit in the socket which seems to help keep it engaged while spinning the handle to draw the collet in or in reverse to eject it.


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