Apprentice collet chuck help

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sbarton22

sbarton22

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Ok, I know as soon as you read this, you are going to think (or know) I am an idiot. Fair enough, but I don't have time to coddle my ego.

I recently purchased an Apprentice collet chuck. So, I mount it to the lathe and start to tighten it down. Then, there is a big slipping sound and the jaws are loose. Obviously I have tightened it to the point where the jaws have slipped into the groove and now the face of the jaws are flush with the face of the chuck. Cool.

Then I realize I have the wrong size. So, now I go to remove that size jaw to insert another, but I can't get it out. I can't figure out how to tighten the jaws enough to get them back out past the groove.

I feel like a complete idiot and now I am completely stuck. Please, if anyone can shoot me some advice, I would greatly appreciate it.
 
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I don't know if yours is the same as my PSI collet chuck,or if I read your situation correctly,but on mine if I have rounded my 3/4 in barrel a little too much so its a little loose fitting and I tighten it down,when I need to remove the collet it gets stuck.When it does that,I gently squeeze it with a pair of slip-joint channel lock pliers & it pops right out.

Thought I'd throw that out there,in case that is what is happening to yours.

Steve
 
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Yeah, I think that is similar. I used a screwdriver to "start" the removal process. I then tapped it with a wood dowel and it shot out.

It was just very weird that I couldn't get it loose and I didn't want to damage it.
 
With a collet chuck you need to put the collet in the ring first and make sure it's seated correctly, then screw the whole thing on the body. Don't put the collet in the body and then screw on the ring.
 
rherrell said:
With a collet chuck you need to put the collet in the ring first and make sure it's seated correctly, then screw the whole thing on the body. Don't put the collet in the body and then screw on the ring.
Click to expand...

How do you do that? I could not have set the collet in the groove by hand. That took quite a bit of pressure.
 
You just give it a twist and it should drop right in and the face of the collet should be flush with the outside face of the ring. At least that's how I do it for my er32 collets.
Who makes the Apprentice chuck? I'd like to have a look at it, does it use er32 collets?
 
sbarton22 said:
rherrell said:
With a collet chuck you need to put the collet in the ring first and make sure it's seated correctly, then screw the whole thing on the body. Don't put the collet in the body and then screw on the ring.
Click to expand...

How do you do that? I could not have set the collet in the groove by hand. That took quite a bit of pressure.
Click to expand...

Sounds like something is wrong there. The collets should drop right in, did you have anything in the collet or was it empty? Anything in it can spread the collet slightly and will cause that problem.
 
OK , I found it. Is it the one at CSUSA? If so then that's a four jaw wood chuck, not a collet chuck. If that's the one then disregard everything I said!:biggrin:
 
Ok, I'll try a slight twist to get it grooved. Now, with that said, what's the trick to getting it out of the groove?
 
I have a PSI collet chuck and to remove the collet from the ring I just press the collet gently sideways from the back of the ring and the collet will pop out. There is a thin spot on the inside of the ring where the collet pops into and if I hit that spot everytime the collet pops out the easiest.
 
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