[eodjeep2000]

Ok...I've been reading(lurking) for a bit and watched the MIT videos. I unpacked my HF X2 and immediately noticed that I need colletts.

The embarrassing question that I have to ask is whether or not I need a collett chuck or just colletts? I thought I needed the chuck for sure but the MIT video #4 didn't mention them in his description of tooling.

If I do need one is there a "best budget minded" option? This is only for hobby/farm purposes.


Also, the house that I recently purchased was filled with all of the previous owners "stuff". Most is junk but there are some major gems. One of which is a PILE of mill and lathe tooling. The former owner had an auto shop years ago and worked as a machinist as well. All of the big stuff is long gone but I have a couple of boxes of new and used end mills and other various tools. Can I use my R8 colletts on anything that will fit in them or should I tailor my purchase to the bits?

Thanks!

Damon

[LUCKY13]

I am not sure about your very last questions. But anything that will fit the R8's inside diameter will work in them.


Do you need collets? Yes and No. I am guessing the spindle is R8 ? You can get tooling that has a R8 shank built into it ( or what ever tapper your spindle has). Lets say it is R8, you should get you some R8 collects if so. You will always need collets. But you can also get other size collet systems which will come with a collet hold to fit your spindle tapper. For example if you wanted to use some ER32 collets you would get them with a holder that would fit your R8 spindle ( or what ever tapper your spindle has).


Drill chucks come either with the tpper all ready on them ( built in or add on) or you can get the chuck and add what ever tapper you want. You dont want to use a drill chuck to hold cutter though.

A lot of times someone using a mill such as you can get by with a few collets to fit there spindle. The buy mostly cutters to fit the few collets you buy. Ofcourse you will always run into wanting/needing more sizes so its best to get a set if you can afford. ER series collets will normally have better quality/runout specs. Meaning the cutter will run straighter which will be more accurate and help the cutter last longer.


There really is no one way to do all this. Much depends on what your willing to spend, how much time you want to give tool changes, how many cutters you want ready in a collet to do a job, and how much accuracy you want.

A good middle of the road set that will be affordable and still have some accuracy plus better usability ( quick tool changes) is the Tormach tooling system. You can get several different type cutter holders ( end mill holders, drill chucks, ER system collet holder and others) in the tormach system. Its not really what you would call cheap, but priced very good for the quality and performance you get. Probably more than you want for your needs though but thats up to you.


A picture of the tooling you have, and give us spindle taper of your mill would help give us some dirrection on what would be a good way for you to go. Also what type work you will really be doing with the machine. A homeshop/farming need is kinda left open too guesses of what your really doing.

You may find that putting some of the tooling you have up for sale will even pay for tooling you may need. Or you may have most of what you do need.

Measuring equipment, work holding and other neeeds always get forgotten until the need shows itself so there will be other things you will need that you dont expect. A mill in manual use will need even more than a CNC all though a CNC will need other things itself ( like software for instance).

So again some pics, and more info will help. But just for bottom/cheapest way a few collets to fit your mills tapper with sizes for the most used cutters you will use is the quickest/easiest way to get started ( all though slowest on tool changes). If you get very good quality collets good accuracy can be had ( like for instance Lyndex collets instead of Chinia made collets).

Really there is alot to all this, and different jobs may be more compatable with different systems. A lot depends on you and your needs.

Jess

[eodjeep2000]

Thanks Lucky,

My mini mill has an r8 taper. My mill only came with a drill chuck and I've read enough to know that that would be the bad way to go for end milling. In fact, the reason that I bought my mill is that I tried doing a little milling on my drill press. It did not go well...

I'll post some pictures later in another thread. I was already thinking about doing that since I still haven't figured out what some of the stuff is. Some is carefully stored away, still in it's original packaging. Some is thrown in a combination of little cardboard and plastic boxes.

So far all I know is that I have quite a few endmills, drills, lathe type cutters, and some nice older calipers. I think I have some boring stuff and maybe a fly cutter or two...

[bladehunter]

I'm using ER series collets. Like this but with a MT2 taper (to suit my machine) rather than R8

LittleMachineShop.com - Collet & Chuck Set, R8, ER-32

[eodjeep2000]

Thanks BH!

Are there any advantages to different colletts/collet holders?

D

[bladehunter]

I'm using the ER collets as I can leave the collet chuck in and just swap the actual collet to suit the cutter. Only thing is you need a range of collets.
Mind tho this my first foray into milling and this may not be the right way. I'm not too sure the affect this would have on heavy cuts, I'm going quite cautious being pretty new to this. Maybe one of the more experienced members can chime in on this.
Even when I've got the machine fitted with steppers I'm gong to spend a bit of time not going into "full blown" cnc mode.

[packrat]

I'm using the ER collets as I can leave the collet chuck in and just swap the actual collet to suit the cutter. Only thing is you need a range of collets.
Mind tho this my first foray into milling and this may not be the right way. I'm not too sure the affect this would have on heavy cuts, I'm going quite cautious being pretty new to this. Maybe one of the more experienced members can chime in on this.
Even when I've got the machine fitted with steppers I'm gong to spend a bit of time not going into "full blown" cnc mode.

Using an ER or any adapter with another collet is never going to be as good as using only one to hold the tool. The more 'joints' you have the more places for vibration and other problems to start.

If you have a R8 spindle nose your better off to use the correct size collet or Weldon style holder for that diameter cutter.

[eodjeep2000]

Thanks all,

I'll stick with just the colletts for now. Maybe I'll try a more convenient holder later if I need to. Of course if I get too into things I'll have a Hoss style ATC in the end!

[bobrat45]

I have a 30+ yr old Enco Mill Drill, 4 inch column, lots of backlash (never adjusted),etc.
Never do anything high precision or cast iron.
I have gotten along with a set of end mill holders. They have a set screw to lock the mill against vertical slippage. The spindle should have a pin to keep the holder from rotating but mine broke years ago and doesn't seem to affect anything. I worked at a plant that made computers and we were getting into automated testing, so we needed lots of mechanical parts and pieces made and revised. Saw the machinist use collets to hold end mills and they had to really bear down to tighten them to the point where they would not slip. Even then, slippage would happen, not to mention great strain on the collects. I think the basic problem is the collets are not able to grip the end mill due to tempered metals involved. Same trouble with Dremel collets holding carbide bits securely. Might be faster to change mills, but if the mill is the same shank dia., all I do is loosen up the set screw, pull out the bit, slip in the new bit, tighten the set screw.
Just observation from my VERY limited experience.
Bob Thomason

[SCzEngrgGroup]

A collet, used properly, should hold an endmill just as securely as an endmill holder. The outside of the collet, and the inside of the spindle, should be clean, with a very light coating of light grease or anti-sieze. The inside of the collet and the shank of the endmill should be absolutely clean and dry. Obviously, the collet (assumer we're talking about R8 collets, and not ER) MUST be the right size for the endmill - R8 collets have VERY little compliance and will only grip over a very narrow range of tool shank diameters.

Regards,
Ray L.

[eodjeep2000]

Thanks! Since I've posted this I've gotten a bare bones collet set and done a little machining. I can already see that I should have gotten a more complete set but I'm making do with what I have for now.

I have a metric crap ton of projects right now so I haven't been able to get on it as much as I want. I bought a cheap DRO set up and will be installing it when I get time. Eventually I'd like to go CNC with it but with many projects and less money it'll be a while.