Beall collet chuck - maiden voyage

[PMisiaszek]

I decided to use my Beall collet chuck for the first time, today, and I must have slept through a lesson. I wanted to chuck up a mandrel with a .298 diameter. The collets that came with the set include a 1/4" and a 3/8". Clearly, the 1/4" is too small, so I tried using the 3/8". I tightened it up, but it came nowhere close to gripping the mandrel. What am I missing?

 

[mrcook4570]

5/16" collet

 

[wdcav1952]

1/4" collet holds "A" mandrel
5/16" collet holds "B" mandrel

 

[PMisiaszek]

Thanks for directing me to the 5/16 collet. Based on the advertising, I mistakenly concluded that the collet assortment that comes in the "kit" covered all diameters from 1/4 up.

 

[KenV]

ER 32 collets are graduated by 1/32 or 1mm intervals. 8mm or 5/16 works for the B mandrel.