Newbie question about collet chuck sizing

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Leonardo

Leonardo

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Joined
Jun 3, 2025
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Nashville, IN
Hello folks,

Possibly a dumb question, but I am looking at collet chucks and I have a JET 1015vs that has a 1"x8 TPI.

One option I am seeing says:

1 Inch by 8TPI thread with 3/4-Inch by 16TPI spindle adapter

Another set says:

Available in 1–1/4"X8TPI with 1"X8TPI spindle thread adapter.

Logically, I would interpret this to mean it can be used without the adapter at the first measurement, or on another size spindle with the adapter, but I wanted to make sure I understood correctly. If I do, it would seem like it would be better to get one that natively fits my lathe, but I feel it's also possible I am misunderstanding.

Thank you in advance for helping a noobie make sense of this!
 
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Agree with David on this - adapter's are nice for convenience, but everything in the tooling path adds possible variants. One exception I have stayed with is insert chucks. Most larger lathes have a 1 1/4 by 8 spindle size vs the midi/mini lathe size of 1 x 8. As I have grown in my tool collection and skills, having the ability to change inserts in chucks has been a plus - allowing me to move my chucks with me to new lathes. As for collets, I might suggest looking at the Stainless Steel Bottle Stopper ER32 chuck in 1 x 8 as a possible quality option. I bought one at MATES and it has worked very well at a reasonable price. Buy it sized to your lathe - https://www.stainlessbottlestoppers.com/product/er32-collet-chuck/ . You can purchase the actual ER32 collets off Amazon, Shars Tool, or other suppliers in the sizes you will need. Keep turning!

Kevin
 
NJturner said:
Agree with David on this - adapter's are nice for convenience, but everything in the tooling path adds possible variants. One exception I have stayed with is insert chucks. Most larger lathes have a 1 1/4 by 8 spindle size vs the midi/mini lathe size of 1 x 8. As I have grown in my tool collection and skills, having the ability to change inserts in chucks has been a plus - allowing me to move my chucks with me to new lathes. As for collets, I might suggest looking at the Stainless Steel Bottle Stopper ER32 chuck in 1 x 8 as a possible quality option. I bought one at MATES and it has worked very well at a reasonable price. Buy it sized to your lathe - https://www.stainlessbottlestoppers.com/product/er32-collet-chuck/ . You can purchase the actual ER32 collets off Amazon, Shars Tool, or other suppliers in the sizes you will need. Keep turning!

Kevin
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Thank you! That's one of the ones I was considering.
 
alinc100 said:
While I haven't used the collet chuck in person https://www.stainlessbottlestoppers.com/product/er32-collet-chuck/ I like the looks of it better along with the wrench placement than I do with my PSI collet chuck that tightens with tommy bars. At the time I bought mine there were not many options out there. Just a thought.
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I concur.

I have the Beall, which uses two wrenches, an ER25 for the body and an ER32 for the nut.

For the one linked above, be aware, you may not have an adjustable wrench large enough for the flats on the body of this collet chuck.
 
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As mentioned, get the one that fits the headstock of 1-8.
Lived in KY from 1974-1982. Enjoyed the basketball games of IN and KY.
Leonardo, my father always said the only dumb question was the one not asked.
 
d_bondi said:
I concur.

I have the Beall, which uses two wrenches, an ER25 for the body and an ER32 for the nut.

For the one linked above, be aware, you may not have an adjustable wrench large enough for the flats on the body of this collet chuck.
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David -
Funny you should mention the wrench - I own both the PSI and the Beall Collet chucks, along with a bunch of collets for both. I got used to dealing with each's unique way to tighten/loosen the collet lock nut - no big deal, but not a total fan.

While attending MATE, I got to chatting with Dan from Stainless Steel Bottle stoppers during the show and he showed me the then prototype for their new collet chuck. He let a few attendees use it to test it out during the show and it worked very well. He only had a few for purchase, and I bought one as I thought it worked great, was nicely thought out and well made. It comes with a collet nut wrench, but not a wrench for the chuck body, which has flats on it to hold it when securing to the lathe. My lathe has a spindle lock, so didn't see this as an issue.

Screwed it onto the headstock, had fun turning some stuff without issue. Then went to remove it from my headstock. No dice - it was locked down tight! Not one of my larger adjustable wrenches would fit the 1 3/8 size of the flats on the chuck. I immediately reached back out to Dan and asked for his thoughts. He gave me a lot of insight into why the wrench was not provided (cost control and availability) and suggested buying a 1 3/8 capable adjustable wrench since none of mine were big enough. Has been my solution ever since.

So be prepared to buy a large wrench if you don't have a big one - mine came from Harbor Freight and it was under $20.

Second real difference between the PSI, Beall, and SSBS chuck is the center bore. The SSBS chuck is a 'closed end' collet chuck, meaning it does not have a through hole in the chuck body. If you mount longer stock in the collet, you have to keep in mind that you can only go so deep into the collet before bottoming out, whereas the Beall and PSI have through holes, so you can pass clamped things through the collet chuck into the normally hollow headstock quill. Sometimes this is an issue, but generally not - but be aware it is a limiting factor.

I'm a fan of using a collet chuck versus a Jacob's chuck whenever possible - I like the hold and tolerances of the collets vs some of the flexibility of a Jacob's, and am very happy with the SSBS chuck - I'd buy it again.
 
NJturner said:
Second real difference between the PSI, Beall, and SSBS chuck is the center bore. The SSBS chuck is a 'closed end' collet chuck, meaning it does not have a through hole in the chuck body. If you mount longer stock in the collet, you have to keep in mind that you can only go so deep into the collet before bottoming out, whereas the Beall and PSI have through holes, so you can pass clamped things through the collet chuck into the normally hollow headstock quill. Sometimes this is an issue, but generally not - but be aware it is a limiting factor.
Click to expand...

Question for you Kevin, how far into the chuck will a piece of material go? For example, if you have a 3/4" or 18mm collet in it and put an alumilite rod into it, how far, measured from the front flat of the collet and nut will the material go into the chuck?

I ask because when I work on a kitless pen barrel, I typically start with a piece of material about 96mm long. I prefer to leave only ~15mm of it sticking out of the chuck to work on the tenon and threads. This provides for maximum rigidity.
 
d_bondi said:
Question for you Kevin, how far into the chuck will a piece of material go? For example, if you have a 3/4" or 18mm collet in it and put an alumilite rod into it, how far, measured from the front flat of the collet and nut will the material go into the chuck?

I ask because when I work on a kitless pen barrel, I typically start with a piece of material about 96mm long. I prefer to leave only ~15mm of it sticking out of the chuck to work on the tenon and threads. This provides for maximum rigidity.
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David -
Measuring mine with a 3/4" collet in it, loosely tightened, I have about 2.2" or 55.75mm of depth in the hole from the outside rim of the collet nut to the bottom of the center bore. A good tight collet will reduce the depth slightly.

I also work with longer length rods for my kitless pens, and I've had to change my work methods to accommodate the shorter barrel - I now cut body, section, and cap into distinct pieces doing each operation on the separate pieces. Sometimes this is an issue, but if it gets critical, I switch to one of the other collet chucks. My real preference for working is to leave each tool set up for its dedicated operation - so I tend to have multiple identical tools, with each for a particular process step to reduce set-up times and minimize setup errors, which allows me to also deal with some of the particular limits of any tool. Not really cost efficient, but it works for me.
 
NJturner said:
David -
Measuring mine with a 3/4" collet in it, loosely tightened, I have about 2.2" or 55.75mm of depth in the hole from the outside rim of the collet nut to the bottom of the center bore. A good tight collet will reduce the depth slightly.

I also work with longer length rods for my kitless pens, and I've had to change my work methods to accommodate the shorter barrel - I now cut body, section, and cap into distinct pieces doing each operation on the separate pieces. Sometimes this is an issue, but if it gets critical, I switch to one of the other collet chucks. My real preference for working is to leave each tool set up for its dedicated operation - so I tend to have multiple identical tools, with each for a particular process step to reduce set-up times and minimize setup errors, which allows me to also deal with some of the particular limits of any tool. Not really cost efficient, but it works for me.
Click to expand...

Thank you for taking the time to measure this Kevin.

I too cut my longer rods down into Cap, Section and Barrel before chucking anything up. My concern, at least for my process, would be leaving about 26mm sticking out as I am drilling, cutting a tenon, and then using the tap and die. Probably not a serious concern given that we aren't making parts for NASA, but I do like to reduce the opportunity for loss of rigidity and additional runout whenever possible.

I totally agree with leaving tools set up for their operation in the sequence. An example for me is die holders. My M13 and M10 will both fit the same holder for Rick's ER32 Sliding tailstock holder, but I have two so I don't have to switch them out. Though I'm not sure how much time I save given that I remove them from the holder to chase the threads from the back side of the die.

Anyway... thanks again for measuring.
 
NJturner said:
So be prepared to buy a large wrench if you don't have a big one - mine came from Harbor Freight and it was under $20.
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I'll take this opportunity to say I have a drawer (or two) full of American made adjustable wrenches. I go to estate sales frequently and buy and sell tools on FBM and Ebay. I'll be happy to sell a wrench that meets these needs. If I sell enough I can afford the new SBS collet chuck.
 
d_bondi said:
Thank you for taking the time to measure this Kevin.

I too cut my longer rods down into Cap, Section and Barrel before chucking anything up. My concern, at least for my process, would be leaving about 26mm sticking out as I am drilling, cutting a tenon, and then using the tap and die. Probably not a serious concern given that we aren't making parts for NASA, but I do like to reduce the opportunity for loss of rigidity and additional runout whenever possible.

I totally agree with leaving tools set up for their operation in the sequence. An example for me is die holders. My M13 and M10 will both fit the same holder for Rick's ER32 Sliding tailstock holder, but I have two so I don't have to switch them out. Though I'm not sure how much time I save given that I remove them from the holder to chase the threads from the back side of the die.

Anyway... thanks again for measuring.
Click to expand...
David -
I agree with looking to make sure everything is rigid as possible. I use a Hinze tenon cutter for my tenons (and love it) vs cutting them by hand, so the stress on the blank is downward towards the collet, vs laterally pressure from hand cutting. With the lateral pressure really reduced, I don't normally see any flexing or distortion when doing the initial drill for the tenon cutter guide, nor when I cut the tenon, but I think your concerns are very valid especially depending on the blank materials. I do this often without truly thinking about it, so I may be swapping out the SSBS collet holder for the Beall when I am troubled by the amount of blank sticking out of the collet and don't even know it - happens when I get that weird feeling on the back of my neck that something just doesn't look or feel right - so you just go to plan 'b' without much deep thought....lol.

Glad to help out! Hope you have a fun weekend!

Kevin
 
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