Author Topic: Collet Storage  (Read 3202 times)

Online awemawson

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Collet Storage
« on: July 06, 2021, 05:55:33 AM »
Having finished the fitting of the Hydraulic Collet Chuck to the Beaver TC-20 I now need to arrange safe storage for the 19 collets in the Crawford Multibore M673 collet range covering 4 to 42 mm.

(I have 18 of the range and have just bought the 19th on eBay)

Now adjacent to the Beaver TC lathe I have a handy set of tool drawers, the top one of which has been reserved for this use. However, loose collets just stuffed in a drawer is not good practice! VERY conveniently it just so happens that these collets snugly fit in a piece of 68 mm domestic rainwater down pipe.

So this morning I was off early doors to Screwfix and picked up a 2.5 metre length, and promptly cut it into short sections sized so that the top of the collet pokes it's head over the parapet. This is because, although the larger sizes can be extracted by putting a finger into them, this is not true of the smaller ones so the 'bit above the parapet' can be gripped.

I then tried several layouts in the drawer, aiming to maximise remaining space eventually settling on a simple rectangular arrangement.

(Long time followers may recall that when I was looking for storage for collets for the Traub lathe I used a similar technique)

Raining today so minimal chance of being caught borrowing the wife's clothes pegs so after putting down some guiding timbers on a bottom layer of cooking foil (hopefully avoiding it sticking down) I started gluing the bits of pipe with solvent adhesive. Using the clothes pegs to clamp them together.

I added a 20th pocket merely to make the rectangle slightly stronger - you never know I may end up with a spare collet to put in it!

All now done, all all I can do is wait for the solvent glue to set, so off for a coffee !

Andrew Mawson
East Sussex

Offline John Rudd

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Re: Collet Storage
« Reply #1 on: July 06, 2021, 06:33:06 AM »
Nice idea...  :bow:  Might have to copy that in principle for my ER32 set... :scratch:
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Online awemawson

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Re: Collet Storage
« Reply #2 on: July 06, 2021, 08:30:34 AM »
Yes it works well John - OK if the pipe sizes work out OK!

So glue has dried, it didn't stick to the aluminium foil happily, and collets are now tucked away safely.
Andrew Mawson
East Sussex

Offline spuddevans

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Re: Collet Storage
« Reply #3 on: July 06, 2021, 09:04:30 AM »
Nice solution to keeping them together  :thumbup:
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Offline tom osselton

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Re: Collet Storage
« Reply #4 on: July 06, 2021, 06:24:29 PM »
Nice :thumbup:

Online awemawson

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Re: Collet Storage
« Reply #5 on: July 10, 2021, 07:11:35 AM »
Continuing the collet storage theme I thought I'd sort out my 5C collets - previously piled in two totes in a cupboard, finding what I needed or if indeed I had that size was impossible.

So 40 mm waste pipe sliced into sections and solvent glued got them neatly into another drawer and easily 'findable'  :ddb:


(This time in the interests of domestic harmony I bought my own clothes pegs - these things are cheap as chips and I suspect that they will come in handy for all sorts of applications in the workshop, especially when painting small parts)
Andrew Mawson
East Sussex

Offline Pete.

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Re: Collet Storage
« Reply #6 on: July 10, 2021, 07:41:55 AM »
Neat.

What length did you cut the waste pipe to Andrew? I have a bunch of R8 collets I ned to store.

Online awemawson

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Re: Collet Storage
« Reply #7 on: July 10, 2021, 08:05:09 AM »
I think iirc the 5C's were about 75mm

"Design Concept" is that the collet just pokes out of the top of the tube so that you can grab it with your fingers otherwise extraction would be a pain.

Your R8's will of course need to be a different length. (Mine stand in holes in thick bullet proof plastic window material rescued from a skip outside Nat West Beckenham when they refurbished the 'tellers counters' back in the days when the WERE banks on the high street!)

Andrew Mawson
East Sussex

Offline Pete.

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Re: Collet Storage
« Reply #8 on: July 10, 2021, 12:07:30 PM »
Umm, sorry I put 5c but I spelt it R8 :)

Online awemawson

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Re: Collet Storage
« Reply #9 on: July 10, 2021, 12:14:27 PM »
Doesn't the door of your Hardinge have an integral 5C collet rack - I thought that they all had ?
Andrew Mawson
East Sussex

Offline mcostello

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Re: Collet Storage
« Reply #10 on: July 11, 2021, 12:35:08 PM »
The Wife thought She found a $2 medicine cabinet in a yard sale. My wallet was faster and I found a collet storage cabinet in it instead. 
 
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