Collet Chuck

[JCochrun]

I am looking to start making some other items, like bottle stoppers. I have seen several videos about making them and it seems like a collet chuck is a good thing to have. I have looked at difference collet chucks and was wondering, what does the size refer to and which one should I get? I saw that Craft Supplies has an Apprentice and a Beall one. Their price difference was about $100. Are they that different in quality or is just the name that I would be paying for?

Appreciate all comments/suggestions.

Jim
NorCal

 

[Dan Masshardt]

I and several others have the psi version. It is good ad will suit your needs is think.

Amazon is often the cheapest place to get it.

 

[Dan Masshardt]

If you are going to make chrome or stainless stoppers, I find the screw on stopper mandrel from psi the simplest to use. Really nice and easy.

 

[its_virgil]

Be sure the one you get uses industry standard ER32 collets kill and has the correct threads to use with your lathe. The ones from Beall, PSI, CSUSA do use ER32 collets. The one from Woodcraft, Wind River brand IIR, claims to use propriatary collets. I have both a Beall and the one from PSI and they both work well. Collets are available cheaper via eBay. As mentioned the Psi one can be purchased cheaper than from PSI.
Do a good turn daily!
Don

 

[ironman123]

I also have the PSI Set and it works great for me.

Ray

 

[longbeard]

I have the PSI version, purchased it thru amazon for about 20 or so dollars cheaper. As far as stoppers goes, i use the screw on mandrel as mentioned above to be the easiest to use.

 

[JCochrun]

Thanks all for the comments. I had purchased a bottle stopper combo pack. After reading some of the comments, I went to check on what actually came in the combo. I was happy to see that it came with a screw on mandrel and it fits my lathe. At least I don't "have" to go buy something new. I will still add it to my wishlist though. I'm hoping to do my first bottle stopper later this week. I've got several pens, a set of chess pieces, and a coin holder to finish up too.

Jim

 

[duncsuss]

I have the CS-USA collet chuck and I'm very happy with it.

It's 1.25" x 8tpi thread, which fits my lathe (Nova 1624-44) perfectly. It comes with an adapter so it can fit onto 1" x 8tpi drive shafts also.

The PennState model is 1" x 8tpi thread, with an adapter to fit 0.75" x something else.

(I have a 1.25" to 1" adapter, but the whole point of using a collet chuck is to improve accuracy -- I didn't want to sabotage things by going for a chuck which needed an adapter to fit the lathe.)

My point is, I think you should choose the chuck that fits your lathe without extra pieces of metal that can only serve to introduce run-out.

 

[monophoto]

Like Dan, I prefer a threaded mandrel when making stoppers using stainless steel cones. I drill and tap the blank to match the 3/6x16tpi thread.

But if you are making stoppers using the silicone sleeves that fit over dowels, the hole in the turning needs to be a full 3/8" diameter, and that's not compatible with the 3/8" threaded stud on the mandrel.

The dowels are actually tapered - the 3/8" end is glued into the finished turning, and the end that is covered with silicone is typically 1/2" diameter. Some options include:
1. Glue the dowel into the blank before turning, and then use a Jacobs chuck with a drawbar in the headstock to grip the 1/2" end of the dowel. The downside here is that Jacobs chucks grip in three places and may damage the dowel. Usually that damage will be hidden when the silicone sleeve is later slipped over the dowel.
2. Glue in the dowel, and then grip the 1/2" end with #1 jaws on a scroll chuck. Marginally better than using a Jacobs chuck because you don't need the drawbar and the chuck will grip the dowel at four places.
3. Glue in the dowel, and then grip the 1/2" end using a shop-made collet mounted in your scroll chuck. Make the collet from a scrap of face-grain wood that you have turned to form a tenon that is 3/4 - 1" in diameter. Then, with that tenon mounted in your scroll chuck, drill a 1/2" hole all the way through the tenonl. Finally, cut a saw curf on one side. Grip the split tenon in the scroll chuck with the saw curf between two jaws - so that when you tighten the jaws, they will squeeze the tenon and try to close down that saw curf, which also marginally reduces the diameter of the hole. Simply slide the blank on its 1/2" dowel into the collet, tighten the chuck jaws, and proceed with turning.

 

[kirkfranks]

I am also very happy with my PSI brand Chuck. ALao purchased from Amazon. Was cheaper at the time than PSI direct and sipping was less and I know how quickly amazon will ship.

 

[PenMan1]

As Don Ward mentioned, it is important to get a collet chuck that uses ER32 collets.
I use the collet chuck for almost every application and I own several, including the Beall, the PSI and the CSUSA Apprentice.

I much prefer the Beall. First, the Beall collet holder is made in Ohio. The other two are Chinese products. I get LESS THAN HALF the runout with the Beall, than I do with the other two (which seem to be IDENTICAL products). I suspect this is partly because of the SUBSTANTIALLY smaller footprint of the Beall reduces wobble. In fact, you can "eyeball" the runout on the big, knurled chucks. Finally, since the Beall has such a smaller diameter (and NO KNURLS), I take the skin off of my left pinky finger much less frequently when doing intricate detail work with the Beall.

On a side note, a 3/8 inch x 16 TPI bolt inserted through the rear of the corresponding collet makes the best stopper mandrel I've used. By putting a couple of nuts on the 3/8 bolt it gives me MUCH MORE room to do detailed work on the face or cheek of the stopper.

Respectfully submitted.

 

[JPMcConnel]

Pat McConnel

I have the Beall and PSI ER32 collet chucks, which I use for making kitless fountain pens on my metal lathe. My experience with the two is that both will allow the use of a standard ER32 collet. The Beall collet chuck is also threaded to allow you to use a standard ER32 collet clamping nut; important if you have to replace the nut because you inadvertently crashed your cutter into it. The clamping nut is critical for proper holding of the collet in the collet fixture. The PSI product has a proprietary clamping nut that, to my knowledge, is not replaceable with a standard ER32 clamping nut (I have tried without success). In my experience the PSI clamping nut does not seem to grip the ER32 collet as well as the Beall product, YMMV. The machining on the Beall product is excellent. There are also what are known as collet chuck fixtures that mount directly to the lathe spindle; I use them for ER32 and ER40 collets. Ciao!

 

[edstreet]

I am looking more and more at maybe going with a collet chuck but to date have not liked any of the commercial ones that I have seen. Now if they looked like this set then I would switch immediately.