I have seen many extol the virtues of collets and colletblocks for various operations. I only have R8 collets. Quite a while ago Iasked on several forums about the possibility of making R8 collet blocks for Hex and Squarefeatures. I mostly got giggles, ridicule, and in general laughed at.
Then, a fella called Davyboy just went ahead and made some.Some folks even applauded the idea. Then the subject of dividing/indexing headscropped up. This reawakened in me the interestin R8 collet blocks, and spindles.
I decided to go ahead and make an R8 collet block forseveral reasons. I wanted to, I had a use for one, and making a collet blockwould be a good practice for making a spindle, whatever the taper.
So, over the last couple of days, I set about measuring,studying, researching, and finally making a R8 collet block.
My collet block started out as a piece of 1 ½” brass Hex.Why brass? I was the only material I had that was big enough to make a R8collet with, that stood a chance of being useful.
First I cut a 4 ½” length of the brass hex, and faced theends. As my 3” chuck was near its limit chucking the 1 ½” hex, and only withthe outside jaws, I turned 1 ¼” of one end round, allowing me to use my 4” 4jaw self centering chuck to hold it. I drilled it through 7/16”, bored to a close fit on the R8 collets,and then bored the 16° 51’ closing angle. I added a pin to fit the key slot onthe collets. I even had to make the closing bolt as I didn’t have a 7/16 x 20bolt in my collection, and I wasn’t going to town for one bolt. I turned downand single point threaded a bigger bolt I did have.
As I was drilling the hole for the key pin, I realized Iwould not be able to mill square from round stock. I milled ½” wide flats on 2opposite sides of the hex, effectively giving me the ability to create squares on round stock.
All in all, I made a tool that may not last as long as I do,and may not get a whole lot of use. But, I did it. I gained invaluableexperience to guide me in making an R8 spindle for the Dividing/Indexing headwhen I make it. It also showed me the limitations of some of my tools, and howto work around them.
Pictures here: http://s571.photobucket.com/user/chucketn/library/R8%20Collet%20Block
Chuck
Then, a fella called Davyboy just went ahead and made some.Some folks even applauded the idea. Then the subject of dividing/indexing headscropped up. This reawakened in me the interestin R8 collet blocks, and spindles.
I decided to go ahead and make an R8 collet block forseveral reasons. I wanted to, I had a use for one, and making a collet blockwould be a good practice for making a spindle, whatever the taper.
So, over the last couple of days, I set about measuring,studying, researching, and finally making a R8 collet block.
My collet block started out as a piece of 1 ½” brass Hex.Why brass? I was the only material I had that was big enough to make a R8collet with, that stood a chance of being useful.
First I cut a 4 ½” length of the brass hex, and faced theends. As my 3” chuck was near its limit chucking the 1 ½” hex, and only withthe outside jaws, I turned 1 ¼” of one end round, allowing me to use my 4” 4jaw self centering chuck to hold it. I drilled it through 7/16”, bored to a close fit on the R8 collets,and then bored the 16° 51’ closing angle. I added a pin to fit the key slot onthe collets. I even had to make the closing bolt as I didn’t have a 7/16 x 20bolt in my collection, and I wasn’t going to town for one bolt. I turned downand single point threaded a bigger bolt I did have.
As I was drilling the hole for the key pin, I realized Iwould not be able to mill square from round stock. I milled ½” wide flats on 2opposite sides of the hex, effectively giving me the ability to create squares on round stock.
All in all, I made a tool that may not last as long as I do,and may not get a whole lot of use. But, I did it. I gained invaluableexperience to guide me in making an R8 spindle for the Dividing/Indexing headwhen I make it. It also showed me the limitations of some of my tools, and howto work around them.
Pictures here: http://s571.photobucket.com/user/chucketn/library/R8%20Collet%20Block
Chuck
