ER40 Collets

I have been keeping my eye out for a 56B Jacobs chuck, seems like a useful item to have. (Anyone have one they want to sell?)
I have one in quite nice condition, currently has a 1" shank in the mounting threads. PM me if you are interested in buying one from the US (postal rates.)
 
Along the topic of MT2 to collet adapters, if one wasn’t drilled for a draw bar is there any reason you couldn’t add one?
No, no reason not to and a very good reason to do it. One should never use a collet or cutter holder on a taper arbor in the spindle that is not held in by a draw bar other than something like a live or dead center. End mills pull and vibrate slightly. If the holder is not retained by a draw bar, sooner or later it WILL come loose. The only problem you might have in drilling and tapping a Morse Taper arbor for a draw bar may be how you are going to hold it for modification. That depends upon the shape of the big end of the arbor.
 
In probably most cases, the spindle chuck and the collet chuck are alternative ways of doing the same thing.
 
Along the topic of MT2 to collet adaptors, if one wasn’t drilled for a draw bar is there any reason you couldn’t add one?
The first concern would be how to hold it in the 4 jaw.
Then it would be how hard the adapter is and if you have the tools to drill and tap it.
However it is not likely that an MT2 collet adapter would come without a drawbar thread.
 
Re the 3 jaw chuck I have been well served by a 6'' Phase II version, it is a budget chuck that represents great value.
Bear in mind that tooling up now without having a clear notion of the work you will be doing is risky. You might end up with tools you don't use. Also, if later down the line you want to upgrade to a bigger lathe much of the tooling for your first lathe will probably not work on the new one.
At the hobby level we can take a few years to accumulate the tools we want. Often, it is rewarding in itself to use what we have to the limit and find ways to make do with what we have. Then it becomes more clear what our next tool addition should be.

I agree, I would not spend much money getting specialised tooling until I had the lathe or machine I wanted, because any late changes in machine choice could make the tooling choices redundant. This is not so important with generic tooling, but still get the machine first, you never know, it might come with all the tooling you need.
 
Re the 3 jaw chuck I have been well served by a 6'' Phase II version, it is a budget chuck that represents great value.

I forgot to write earlier and make clear that Tozguy was meaning that his experience was that Phase II is an acceptable brand, not that he had a 6" diameter chuck on a 6" swing lathe. The 101.07301 will swing 6" over the bed but only 4-1/8" over the carriage. I've forgotten which lathe he has but it must be 10" or larger. The largest 3-jaw chuck that you should put on a 6" lathe is 3". 4" will fit (barely) but you would have to be careful when mounting anything larger than about 3" diameter in it because that is about the diameter at which the outer ends of the jaws begin to stick outside the chuck body. So for a 6" lathe, the recommended limits would be 3" 3-Jaw and 4" 4-jaw.
 
I've forgotten which lathe he has but it must be 10" or larger. The largest 3-jaw chuck that you should put on a 6" lathe is 3''
Right on Robert, fyi my lathe is a gap bed 12x36. My 4 jaw is 8'' and the jaws pass real close to the ways when they are open to the practical maximum.
 
Never thought of that, that a good idea! I imaging you could do the same thing for small stock with a Jacobs Chuck mounted on a straight bar in the four jaw.

except that drill style chucks are not generally noted for repeatedly running true.
 
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