ER40 Collets

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Voda2000

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I only have a four jaw chuck right now for my 6” Craftsman lathe 101.21400. It would be nice to have another way to mount material on the lathe.

I found a set of 15 ER40 collets locally 1/8”-1”.

Is this an appropriate size range for a 6” lathe?

The set comes with a ISO 40 holder so that isn’t rally of any value to me but I did find the plans for a collect chuck on the forum and watched a series of YouTube videos that show someone making their own chuck. I’ve rebuilt motors and gearboxes before so I have experience with working precise measurements but I have limited lathe time. Is making a my own collet chuck beyond the skill of a novice?
 
ER32 will be cheaper but I think they only go up to 3/4" or so. For larger material I generally prefer to use 3 or 4 jaw chucks.
With ER32, 3J and 4J options, the 3 Jaw gets the most use. ER32 typically comes out for smaller diameters.

Need to also consider your spindle bore, which I suspect is fairly small on that lathe.
 
Hi and welcome to the forum.

I’m sure you could workout making a collet chuck with time, what method do you have for cutting tapers currently? How are your threading skills? I’m happy I bought collets for my Seneca Falls lathe but I didn’t have to build a chuck for them.

A three jaw chuck should be available fairly cheap for your machine but if you’re just starting out, getting proficient with the four jaw will be worth the time. Once you get used to it you’ll find centering work in the four jaw goes fairly quickly and it often provides better results. Also super convenient for offset work which I’ve found myself doing more than I would have thought.

Cheers,

John
 
If you are relatively new to lathe work then continuing to use the 4 jaw independent chuck would give you time to determine what you need in the way of ER collets if any. Basically I use ER collets for holding work too small for the 4 jaw which in my case is 3/8''. My ER 32 collets are plenty for the few times I might need them.
 
I would think that you could mount the ISO40 holder in the 4 jaw chuck using a dial indicator so you can use the ER40 collets.
As long as you leave the ISO40 in the 4 jaw set up, it would be quick to change out collets. I use 5c collets for this
but the concept is the same.
 
I found an ER40 chuck mounted on an M2 taper with a draw bar to secure it in the spindle. I'm not sure which vendor it was but was one of the better known ones. This does, however, eliminate through-the-chuck feeding.
 
Thanks for all the replies. I’ll try to answer in the same order.

I’m not opposed to a three jaw chuck I just have I chance to get set of used E40s for around $100. It’s more about opportunity than preference.

Headstock bore is 17/32” so about half of the collets in that set would not allow passing though the head.

The only method I have for cutting a taper would be with the compound. The one method I saw involved putting a collet on a bar between centres and the using a dial indicator on the compound to get the angle correct. I also don’t have any experience threading with a lathe. This would definitely be a learning opportunity for me.

Good to know I can get by with the four jaw for now. I am getting surprising quick at centring work on it.

Interesting idea about using the ISO in the four jaw or getting a Mt2 with a drawbar. I have a drawbar for my milling holder already so that might be an option.

My current tooling is fairly limited. I’m using a lantern tool post with a couple of left and right hand Armstrong holder. I’ve also got a threading holder and boring bar holder. I do need to order some boring bars.

Overall I’m looking at these ER40s just as being something that is available used locally for a good price. If I’m totally off base please let me know.
 
There are several issues involved here. What works for you may be so much junque to me. So I must reserve judgement and describe my applications. I use a Craftsman 12X36 (101.27440) and have ER-25 collets for doing small work. In my case, small work is the only place I use them.

With a 12 inch machine, ER-40s are gigantic, too much so to be useful in the larger sizes. For a 6 inch machine, they may prove so large as to be unusable. I also have a (Asian) 9 inch machine, fitted with ER-16 collets. The other side of this is that, as a model builder, a great deal of my work is too small for the many chucks I have hanging around. That and the fact that it usually is a "one off" operation. Most times, if I need 2 pieces, it is because I botched the first one.

In any case, the larger sizes equate to a 4 jaw chuck. Which is better is a call you must make, no one else can make that for you. For what it's worth, when I graduated from an electric drill to a real (albeit small) lathe, it was fitted with a 4 jaw chuck. What I learned on. And what I actually prefer for precision work, although I normally have a 3 jaw chuck fitted, for speed on low tolerance work.

My personal concept would be to buy a smaller set more in keeping with your machine. If you need a larger set, buy it then. But that is my opinion, I don't know you or your applications.

.
 
Bi11Hudson said:
There are several issues involved here. What works for you may be so much junque to me. So I must reserve judgement and describe my applications. I use a Craftsman 12X36 (101.27440) and have ER-25 collets for doing small work. In my case, small work is the only place I use them.

With a 12 inch machine, ER-40s are gigantic, too much so to be useful in the larger sizes. For a 6 inch machine, they may prove so large as to be unusable. I also have a (Asian) 9 inch machine, fitted with ER-16 collets. The other side of this is that, as a model builder, a great deal of my work is too small for the many chucks I have hanging around. That and the fact that it usually is a "one off" operation. Most times, if I need 2 pieces, it is because I botched the first one.

In any case, the larger sizes equate to a 4 jaw chuck. Which is better is a call you must make, no one else can make that for you. For what it's worth, when I graduated from an electric drill to a real (albeit small) lathe, it was fitted with a 4 jaw chuck. What I learned on. And what I actually prefer for precision work, although I normally have a 3 jaw chuck fitted, for speed on low tolerance work.

My personal concept would be to buy a smaller set more in keeping with your machine. If you need a larger set, buy it then. But that is my opinion, I don't know you or your applications.

.
Click to expand...
I think that kind of answers my question. I’ll leave these as they are really bigger than I need. I think I might be better to invest in some good tooling for now and keep practicing with my four jaw.

Thanks everyone
 
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