Bolt up feed through ER32 collet chuck for a small metal lathe

[@cdrive5757]

There are elements of classic machinery that's absent in modern manufacturing. That's a beautiful old lathe you have there! I'd love to see more of it. Chris

[@Xynudu]

Hi Chris, yes I totally agree. Modern CAD designs have almost completely killed the beautiful adhoc designs seen in old machinery, cars and buildings. They had real style back in those days. The old Schaublin is a classic case. It always puts a smile on my face when I use it. Being a toolmakers lathe is also a big plus regarding it's capability, compared to the more "user friendly" offerings most people have. Cheers Rob

[@Xynudu]

NOTE: Any reference to a regular lathe chuck in this review is for a scroll chuck. Obviously any independent four jaw chuck is able to equal or exceed the accuracy of any collet system within it's design limitations. Cheers Rob

[@AmateurRedneckWorkshop]

Collets can be very handy for quick accurate work holding. Thanks for the review.

[@davidjames1007]

I have one mounted on my 7x12 with a full set of collects from 1 to 26mm, I love it and it's so much more accurate than a 3 jaw scroll chuck. It's on my lathe most of the time.

[@richardphatthenguyen195]

Hi David, did you purchase from China or trusted brand? At the moment I have a MT3 ER32 but they are a pain to remove when I have to switch back to 3 jaw chuck. Also, how is the runout adjustment? Is there a fast way to get rid of the runnout and run close to true?

[@CraigsWorkshop]

You got a good one there Rob. I only measured the taper inside when I did mine, because I noticed a lot of run out using the method you show, and I was trying to figure out what was causing that runout. Turns out for mine, after ruling the other things out, and double and triple checking with a DTI, that it was the taper that was ground inaccurately. (Must have been a bit of crap on the morse seat when they set it up for internal grinding?) Not only was there a fair bit of run out, the surface finish was like a gravel road! It was night and day difference from the CTC one I got. Your new collet chuck though, looks same quality as the CTC one. That makes it a very good buy indeed. Thanks for the detailed review - it's good to get more detail, and know what you're buying - as you said, the ad often leaves a lot of info to be desired.

[@ChrisB257]

This certainly looks like a great option. Useful appraisal Rob :)

[@kymcopyriot9776]

Good stuff Rob. I have a Hercus 260 and after a bit of head scratching to decide on a collet solution I was lucky enough to run into a forum member who made me a collet chuck that threads straight onto my spindle nose. Gold! Totally agree that the best collet setup is one that allows you to pass material through the spindle bore. And besides...who needs the hassle of a draw bar?

[@Xynudu]

Hi Kym, I made a thread on pass through collet chuck for the Schaublin years ago and it worked fine until recently when I decided to try and get rid of the last bit of error - yep, stuffed it right up. So rather than make another I decided to review this bolt up one which has intrigued me for quite a while. I wondered how accurate it could be compared to a similar bolt up scroll chuck and the thread on collet chuck. I was quite surprised, as I expected it to be way off. I think the final runout has more to do with the lathe spindle bushes being worn, than the collet chuck. Cheers Rob

[@springwoodcottage4248]

Nice! Made me feel like I should go this way, helped by having damaged some threads in a 3 jaw job last week. Thanks for sharing!

[@Xynudu]

Collets are the answer for gripping threads without damage. Plus they go down to 1 mm diameter. Cheers Rob

[@shawnmrfixitlee6478]

I am thinking on one of those to hold bolt stock ... Thanks Rob !

[@MrUbiquitousTech]

Great review Rob, I'm going to put this guy on my want list as I have no (usable) collect chucks at all and was recently lamenting that.

[@pierresgarage2687]

Taking in consideration the price, those results are quite good, even better so if it repeats reliably... A good looking and well machined affordable tool...

[@Xynudu]

Surprised me Pierre. I expected a worse result given the number of variables that come into play. I think wear in the spindle bushes prevented me doing better, but overall the end result will depend A LOT on the lathe mounting plate accuracy, both radially and axial. My initial result wasn't as good, but after a bit of juggling and adjustment it came up OK. Better than I was getting from the home made thread on collet chuck (which I managed to stuff up big time by going that extra step after watching Cliffs Shed make one). LOL. If it's working OK, leave it alone. So it was a good opportunity to check this out. Cheers Rob

[@MattysWorkshop]

Gday Rob, great review as always, after you did the review on the Shane indicator I got one myself, very happy with it, really smooth in the movement and a decent size dial which is important especially with eyes like mine, one day I will get enough spare coin to buy a set of collets, from what I have seen they are the way to go, thanks again mate, ATB Matty

[@Xynudu]

Hi Matty, I think the Shahe test indicator is worth the extra coin over the cheaper ones. I'm like you, eyesight going off and the larger dial is great, but still not overly large. I Rarely use dial indicators due to their size and access issues. That little test indicator mount I used is also really good. Cheers Rob

[@rayfalcone6897]

nice video Rob,thanks for sharing.see you next time.....

[@RetroSteamTech]

Thanks for posting this Rob. Just ordered a 100mm one. I see that for the 100mm chuck Banggood have now included the recess diameter in specifications. Cheers, Alan.

[@Xynudu]

Hi Alan, I noticed that. It is an important specification after all. Cheers Rob

[@adrianharrison5208]

thanks for this review it has helped me make up my mind to get the 80mm chuck.. im still learing so this has really helped

[@rodbutler9864]

I purchased the 100mm version twice! A disaster both times. …ended up making one myself. A great exercise to practice skills.

[@Xynudu]

What brands did you buy ?

[@johnkinnane547]

G’day Rob good review mate it was well timed as I have just bought one from ausee tools and that’s ER32 as well with backing plate for my SC6 lathe. Like yours the finish and machining of it is very good together with the backing plate, I liked how you checked all the measurements on it which gives anybody that’s thinking of buying one a good start. Once again Rob best wishes John Tassie PS really love that Lathe!!!

[@Xynudu]

Hi John, I see Banggood sell a pivot type C spanner with a round pin on the end for sizes including 80 mm. It's about $30. The old Schaublin is a looker for sure. Cheers Rob

[@romualdaskuzborskis]

Correction - carbide steel is literally - steel. Carbide is chemical term describing any metal and carbon chemical junction. In machinery we are just used to shorten "tungsten carbide" in to "carbide. But in essence Fe3C is an iron carbide - well known as cementite. In this case it may very well be Iron (FE) and Carbon (C) carbide just used as a marketing mumbo jumbo.

[@mr.ranyhomemade2466]

I’m planning to build homemade milling machine so I want to buy ER32 Collect for my milling but I can’t find in my city how can I get it ? And how it cost ? I like your introduction

[@Xynudu]

www.ctctools.biz/

[@mr.ranyhomemade2466]

Thanks for sharing

[@Xynudu]

CTC Tools have been going for quite a long time and only sell accurate tooling (within the specs/TIR quoted) from my experience. They are the only retailer I would recommend for ER collets at a reasonable price. There is a lot of poorly made cheap tooling on the market, so be careful. Cheers Rob

[@mr.ranyhomemade2466]

I’m looking in my city never founded And online I never buy any things but I will learn if I can . 🙏

[@tomr8761]

Thanks for posting. Technically the vernier has an accuracy of plus or minus 0.02mm on any measurement. I prefer to preload the dial indicator at least 1mm to ensure that the tip actually touches the work piece and then take readings.

[@Xynudu]

I can't see how you can use any compression type indicator without pre-loading it.

[@glenboult3306]

Thanks rob, great review. Would be interested in repeatability of the collett and also the drive plate when multiple production set ups are used, eg lathe to mill back to lathe or feeding stock through collett ect. Very respectable run out regardless of hobbyist or not.

[@Xynudu]

Hi Glenn, the collet chuck is permanently on the drive plate. No need to remove it and I had to juggle it around to get the final result. There are a lot of variables that come into play with this setup. I made up a bar to lock the chuck (using the slot in the dog drive plate) this morning which works a treat and gave the collet chuck a work out - repeatability is excellent. In fact the accuracy is way better than my screw on home made jobbie. It's really impressive. The only issue is the lack of a locking wrench/spanner. Rob

[@dalemcinnes1834]

Hi Rob, they sell the spanner wrench separately and reasonable price. Dale Canada

[@Xynudu]

Hi Dale, I looked for that but couldn't find one the correct size. Got a link ? Cheers Rob

[@paultrimble9390]

Hello. I was wondering the distance from bolt holes. Try get for unimat db200.

[@rayfalcone6897]

good honest review .thanks Rob

[@chattonlad9382]

Rob, is that a Blackbird singing in the background. Suprised how similar the song is to ours in the UK.

[@Xynudu]

Probably. We have them here, introduced by the colonials.

[@michaelidarecis]

Excellent

[@BasementEngineer]

When chasing measurements of .01mm TIR or less, it's best to verify the test pin for geometric accuracy. These pins are usually centreless ground for cost reasons. Unless carefully set up this type of grinding operation can produce a number of shapes that are anything but round or cylindrical. Even centre holes in the test pin is no guaranty that the final grinding was done on dead centres. To check such a pin for cylindricity, place it in a precision V-block on a surface plate, with the appropriate indicator test leg resting on the apex of the pin. Without moving anything, simply rotate the pin under the indicator. Any out-of-roundness will be immediately apparent by the indicator's needle movement. By sliding the pin along, any out-of-parallelism also becomes apparent. If the pin is indicated to be out-of-round, odds are it will have 3, or possibly 5, lobes. These are impossible to detect with an ordinary micrometer, hence the V-block set-up. When I was teaching I had an amusing anecdote with this condition on an endmill cutter. Even though the cutter's shank's dia. measured less than the holder's bore dia., the shank would not fit into the bore! Using the V-block test illustrated for my students the problem.

[@RickRose]

Sadly, they do not offer a similar chuck for ER40, which is the size I've gone with. Great review, though. I'd consider machining that drive plate down to 80mm and dispensing with the balance bolts.

[@Xynudu]

Hi Rick, the slot goes in past the 80 mm OD, so it will still have imbalance. I made up a bar that goes in the slot when tightening the chuck and it works great, so the slot is still handy, plus one day I might actually need a drive dog. The previous owners ran it without any counterbalance bolts and it must have vibrated to some degree. It's had a hard life and the BSA scroll chuck was absolutely trashed. The balance weights are a guess at compensating, but must be close as it spins silky smooth now. Cheers Rob

[@jeffhulett4194]

I have a south bend model A, I wonder if it would work on that one.

[@Xynudu]

Hi Jeff, it should work on any lathe that has a suitable mounting plate. Cheers Rob

[@Machine_NZ]

Hi Rob. Well how about that I've just ordered the 100mm version just the other day from Aliexpess. Will be interesting to see the quality, hopefully its good. Regards MachineNZ

[@Xynudu]

I've been looking at one of these for a long time wondering how accurate they can be. I was surprised it came up so well. Cheers Rob

[@Rolingmetal]

You should have made the backing plate adjustable to compensate for the old spindle. Maybe something for a next video.

[@MaturePatriot]

Glad you showed this. I can mount this on a drive plate that can be held in my 4jaw, dial in the work, and go to town on following pieces. Great review. Did you calculate the balance weight you needed to offset the gap?

[@Xynudu]

Hi Vernon, if you are going to use a four jaw chuck, I suggest buy a square (four sided) collet block. Much cheaper and does the same thing. I have one on order to review. Cheers Rob

[@charlesv20]

Sadly, no more available from bangood. Does anyone had the name of another supplier?

[@Xynudu]

I see they are available on Ebay and Amazon from a number of suppliers.

[@charlesv20]

@@Xynudu , thanks, found some on ali express too

[@nikond90ful1]

Thanks for the video.

[@williamthrasher8540]

were you also using bangood collets?

[@Xynudu]

No. Those are from CTC Tools website. They are Chinese, but made to a DIN standard. I am very wary about buying cheap collets. That's why I haven't reviewed any - seen too many bad ones being sold. Cheers Rob

[@williamthrasher8540]

@@Xynudu that is the reason I was asking I have not see a good review of bangood collets the ones I have seen on youtube have not been as good as the ones you were showing. thanks for the reply

[@bustednuckles2]

Good question William, I was going to ask the same thing until I saw you had beat me to it. Rob's reply is interesting too, I have seen a few KZbin reviews of Banggood's collet sets and some were downright horrible straight out of the box.

[@Xynudu]

Have a close look at some of the photo's in the description and you can see the degree of quality ;)

[@denniswilliams8747]

I have to say my results with the chinese 80mm ER 32 chucks did not come out nearly as good as yours. Do the chinese send you guys a checked good unit. You Guys being the ones who get free stuff to review!. I ended up trying to make my own version to get better accuracy. Also I found the ER32 nuts as supplied were poor. I ended up buying a bearing type, twice to get closer to concentric. I also had the 2mm balls fall out after the grub screw plug fall out. I bought a package of balls and replaced them along with some lock tite to keep the grub screw in place. Banggood stuff is rather hit or miss as far as I am concerned. I did end up with a usable chuck, but I treat it as any 3 jaw knowing I will have some runout and once I start a job I do not remove the part until I am done. THe ER 32 nuts HAVE to be very tight to get best accuracy. Thanks

[@Xynudu]

Hi Dennis, I get the same as anyone else. The order goes through the normal channels. I can't imagine how BG would check a chuck for accuracy before posting. LOL This chuck has many variables related to itself and the lathe which all come into play. I showed how to check the lathe BEFORE you bolt up the chuck. If you didn't do that, then there's no point blaming the collet chuck. I had to juggle the chuck around a bit to get the result shown. I have never found it necessary to use ball bearing collet retainers as the standard ones work fine for me. The standard single pin wrenches supplied are pretty crap and a multi grip spanner is a huge improvement. Cheers Rob

[@AlbiesProductsOnline]

You really need to upgrade to a ball earning collet nut it is totally worth the money

[@adaml52]

Nice one Rob :)

[@rbrown264]

whats crackalacking

[@bustednuckles2]

Hey Rob, if you see a short, very angry middle aged blonde coming after you with a stick in her hands, run for your life. I ordered the collet flange and a set of ER 32 collets in the middle of the night last night after I got home from work and blame it on you.

[@Xynudu]

I will keep a weather eye open.