Lathe collet chuck with a miniumum 30mm(ER50? but 40mm would be ideal) capacity??

[MasterMaker]

I have a Er32 lathe chuck and I'm pretty much sold on using collets in the lathe but I need something larger, I have been looking but I have found very little past ER40, anyone have any idea as to where I might find a lathe collet chuck that is at least ER50(34mm)???

[TGTool]

Just make one. You can get replacement nuts and wrenches from the usual suppliers. You've got a lathe. What more do you need?

[old mart]

Try www.Ecolletchucks.com ,they seem to have the lot for a price.

[Mark Rand]

You could look at 16C collets. They go up to 41mm, although the adjustment range is smaller than ER colletc, so you need more of them for a given range.

[dalee100]

You could look at 16C collets. They go up to 41mm, although the adjustment range is smaller than ER colletc, so you need more of them for a given range.

Hi,

Yep. This is another reason C series collets for work holding are a better choice than ER for work holding. A 5C would work easily if you can use a pot collet.

[Magicniner]

Hi,

Yep. This is another reason C series collets for work holding are a better choice than ER for work holding. A 5C would work easily if you can use a pot collet.

The reason C series collets have smaller range steps is that they are single taper and after a very small adjustment only close further at the front, this makes them worse than ER unless the C series is very close to the size of the work.

[Alan Smith]

Crawford Multibore/Multigrip goes from 1/16" to 1 1/2" Collets are not cheap new however.

[Mcgyver]

get a 2J, the collets and chucks are common and they go to 1.375" (35mm). Same basic form factor as the C series......which have many advantages for use in lathes over ER

[dalee100]

The reason C series collets have smaller range steps is that they are single taper and after a very small adjustment only close further at the front, this makes them worse than ER unless the C series is very close to the size of the work.

Hi,

What makes ER less desirable for work holding is the lack of versatility. Fine if all you want to do is small round stuff held by the OD. But show me the square or hex ER collets? The pot or clutch collets? Emergency collets? None of those are available for ER collets.

There would be a lot of things I make that would be impossible to do if I had to use ER collets.

[Mcgyver]

Hi,

What makes ER less desirable for work holding is the lack of versatility. Fine if all you want to do is small round stuff held by the OD. But show me the square or hex ER collets? The pot or clutch collets? Emergency collets? None of those are available for ER collets.

There would be a lot of things I make that would be impossible to do if I had to use ER collets.

Supposedly ER's do not hold with the same axial alignment, i.e. more runout a certain distance from the chuck...not 100% on that one but read it on another forum. In addition to those you mentioned, another big one is holding short work pieces. ER's are great for tool holding, not so much so for work holding.

[Toolguy]

From what I have seen, the quality ER (extended range) collets have very low runout and strong clamping. The ones I think are a little short on strength and accuracy are the DA (double angle) collets.

[BCRider]

ER is nice if the engagement length is longer or at least nearly as long as the collet. But they won't hold short parts. That's where 5C or similar one ended collets come in. Otherwise you'd need to pack the far end of an ER collet with a spacer that is the same size as the part you want to hold. And that would be a PITA in short order.

This need to fill or nearly fill the length of the collet so the ER can seat correctly is going to be worse as the size of the collet increases. And I see from a quick search that an ER50 collet is 2.36 inches long.

With this in mind I can't see it taking the place of a regular scroll chuck for my needs.

[Magicniner]

Hi,

What makes ER less desirable for work holding is the lack of versatility. Fine if all you want to do is small round stuff held by the OD. But show me the square or hex ER collets? The pot or clutch collets? Emergency collets? None of those are available for ER collets.

There would be a lot of things I make that would be impossible to do if I had to use ER collets.

Yeah, most of that's just rubbish put about by people without any experience of using ER collets on a lathe, and you only need an emergency collet for systems with gaps in their range ;-)
In addition to round stock up to 30mm OD (My Myford Super 7 only has 30.5mm through capacity), I also machine octagonal, hex and square in ER40 on the lathe without issues, here's a "Cookie Cutter" I made today from hex brass bar for quickly and neatly removing pan lubed Martini Henry 45-70 heads from the set lube, I make them in stainless too



The end of the 1m length of stock sticking out the back of the head stock had a tiny bit of run out at the end but not enough to require using the stabilising support.
HTH

[MasterMaker]

Square or hex parts isn't a huge issue for me as I don't do a lot of that on the lathe(not any so far) and a morse taper pot-chuck or a shoulder bored split ring will take care of what little need I have for short parts(suppressor baffles), my only use for a large collet chuck will be round-stock and it will be as much raw stock with good surface finish(no mill-scale/hot-rolled) as it will be round pieces that have already been turned.

All of this is why I would prefer a ER50 over something else, 16c looks interesting but the prices are less so(if one can even find a page with the price listed...) and I do need at least a range of collets from 20mm and up so price wise ER seems to be the only option, so far it looks like I will either have to make an ER50 chuck or buy an ER40(which short-term, is the most likely option unless I find a ready-made ER50).

Give the relative low price and the versatility for home shop use even on smaller lathes it is strange(annoying) that ER50 chucks aren't more prevalent and available...

[mattthemuppet]

Give the relative low price and the versatility for home shop use even on smaller lathes it is strange(annoying) that ER50 chucks aren't more prevalent and available...

most likely because in industry AFAIK ER chucks are used mostly for tool holding, so the extra diameter that ER50 gives isn't really needed, whereas I'm guessing most hobbyests/ fab workers either don't need that big of a collet chuck (small work or small spindle bore) or need it enough that a 5C chuck is a better option.