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Had this idea for an easy-to-make rack to hold my ER-11 collets. Video is short and doesn't get into details, because I felt it really wasn't necessary. Once you see it, it's pretty self explanatory I think.
EDIT: I made a few attempts to put a plain link to the video here, but the forum software keeps converting it to an embedded video, which is unfortunate because it doesn't seem to allow full screen viewing that way. :(
https://youtu.be/OHO_IefxoA8
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Thanks mars-red! We've added your Collet Rack to our Storage and Organization category,
as well as to your builder page: mars-red's Homemade Tools. Your receipt:
<div id="blocks"> <div class="block b1 pngfix"> <div class="bimg"> <div> <a href="http://www.homemadetools.net/homemade-collet-rack-4"> <img src="/uploads/204094/homemade-collet-rack-4.jpeg"/> </a> </div> </div> <div class="head pngfix"></div> <div class="left pngfix"></div> <div class="right pngfix"></div> <div class="blockover b1 pngfix"> <div class="title"> <a href="http://www.homemadetools.net/homemade-collet-rack-4">Collet Rack</a> <span> by <a href="http://www.homemadetools.net/builder/mars-red">mars-red</a></span> </div> <div class="tags">tags: <a href='http://www.homemadetools.net/tag/rack'>rack</a>, <a href='http://www.homemadetools.net/tag/collet'>collet</a> </div> </div> </div> </div>
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mars-red,
I envoy watching everything on your YouTube channel. The collet rack is a very practice design.
I like the carbide insert milling head shown early in the video. Who makes this and what are the insert specs?
Paul Jones
Nice job
looks great
That's pretty fancy. I just drilled some holes in chunks of plastic to hold my collets. http://i.imgur.com/VSfkEiS.jpg http://i.imgur.com/M7tob2Y.jpg
When I first saw the video I was thinking that sure is a lot of material removal until I happened to see the collet size
Super clean job nice work my problem is I would somehow manage to place it where it would be knocked over and I'd have little collets going everywhere.
Thanks Paul! The carbide insert end mill is one I found in my buddy's stash of stuff when he was selling off his metalworking tools. It was still unused, in the tube. I didn't realize you could even get them that small. I don't like insert tooling enough to pay new prices for tool holders, in this case I got the thing so cheap that I couldn't pass it up. I really like it for mild steel. The inserts aren't the best for aluminum, like in this project, but it was more convenient than using a fly cutter.Quote:
Originally Posted by Paul Jones
Mine is an "Anser Dex", by the Harbor Tool Company. Model HS-050 end mill. They apparently went out of business well over a decade ago. But Cutting Tool Technologies makes an identical model, and suspiciously the model number is even the same - HS-050. You can buy them new, here, for $180: Cutting Tool Technologies: HS-050 End Mill That seems very reasonably priced based on what I've seen, so if you're inclined to buy new insert tooling then it's probably worth a look. The inserts are SPEH-2.522, and reputable ones seem to cost about $20 each. You can find the less-than-reputable ones for just a few bucks each.
Nice! I nearly did the same, but had to follow through with this idea once it popped into my head.Quote:
Originally Posted by pfredX1
Haha thanks! If these had been larger collets I would have made the rack from several pieces. The nice thing about this design is if the slots aren't a snug enough fit to keep the collets from going anywhere, it's just as easily mounted on its back so they really won't go anywhere.Quote:
Originally Posted by Frank S
Thanks! The description says it's made of steel, but it's actually made of aluminum, would you mind making that correction?Quote:
Originally Posted by DIYer
mars-red,
Thank you so much for researching the availability of the small carbide insert end mill at Cutting Tool Technologies. I was impressed by your video because many of us have smaller milling machines and the 1" dia. carbide insert end mill would be very useful.
I don't want to take away from your excellent work but not all HMT members have the sophisticated milling machines to duplicate your elegant aluminum ER11 collet rack. Instead, I took the very easy way with a simple flat oak wood collet holder and using a two step hole with Forstner bits to accommodate the collet tapers.
http://www.homemadetools.net/forum/w...4984#post19349
This design was based on creating a small ER16 rack that easily would fit into the small draw under the Unimat SL 1000 ( http://www.homemadetools.net/forum/m...00-lathe-10111 ). I am now considering what to design for a new ER32 collet rack. One approach is using a Jalapeno Pepper Rack and adding wood sides to elevate and angle the rack (King Kooker Jalapeno Rack with Corer Tool-36JR - The Home Depot ). This may be an easy way to build the ER32 rack.
Thank you for posting the YouTube video and providing the current supplier for the carbide insert end mill.
Regards,
Paul Jones
The holders I made are basically the same thing. Blocks with holes in them. But I opted for plastic because I figure it is more inert than wood is. So collets held in plastic are less prone to staining or rust than those in contact with wood may be.
you could always make a 5 or 6° cut to the back and bottom of the rack then no matter if it was sitting on a bench an dgot knocked around or mounted on a wall the collets would have a natural tendency to stay in place
Attachment 19388
Attachment 19389
Attachment 19390
pfredX1,
I agree. Plastic, metal or anything that cannot retain moisture is better than using wood for the collet rack. I live in an area of the USA where the relative humidity is extremely low and using wood is less of a problem. Along with the extremely low humidity comes the potential for wildfires.
We had one very bad wildfire in November 2008 that totally destroyed about 140 homes in our city and hundreds more damaged. In 2008 our next door neighbor's house ignited due to 50+ MPH winds and a firestorm that was almost unstoppable. Our house is in the background and the destroyed neighbor's house has been rebuilt.
Attachment 19391
Our house was saved with the fire dept. foaming but it just a matter of time before this happens again. We are better prepared for this 2017 fire season but always subject to a chance ignition no matter how well prepared. I spend about 80 hours per year in brush clearing down into our box canyon each year to be prepared.
Paul Jones
Tools stored in wooden boxes or holders do not rust as fast or hardly ever compared to plastic. I always choose wood containers over plastic
That's a neat design for a collet rack. I like to make such tool blocks from dense hardwoods and after finishing I soak them with a drying oils to enhance the color and retard moisture absorbtion. In this design I'd still make the top slotted part out of aluminum or brass screwed on to a bottom "L" shaped wood piece. It might be interesting to sink a small cylindrical neodymium-iron into the base under each collet to hold it in place incase of a tip-over. Those magnets are cheap and easy to get in quantity and various sizes from Chinese eBay sellers.
Ed,
I like your suggestion for using a drying oil to enhance the color and retard the moisture absorption. This would be an excellent solution with our dry weather. Even a drop or two of ordinary oil per collet opening in the wood should improve the moisture resistance. I also use sticks of raw camphor as desiccants and this makes the tool boxes smell like VICKSŪ VAPORUB™ never a rust problem for the precision tools..
I am not sure if the small cylindrical neodymium magnets would be an ideal solution if the the magnets caused a residual magnetism on the collets. Over time there could be a fine steel dust adhering to the collets and the collets may not seat perfectly into the collet chuck. I use the Techniks brand of collets that have a standard of 0.0002" TIR and it doesn't take too much dirt to ruin the TIR.
Paul Jones
Agreed & most whole-heartedly; magnets [esp neodymium] are not a good idea in close proximity to collets and metalworking tools in general for a few reasons, including iron fines attracted to holder itself. I visited a construction trailer, they held reduced shank bits on a magnetic bar. Wood doesn't care. I 'warned' them, asking if they drill structural materials on occasion. A big howl broke out; recounting some guy high on a lift swearing a blue streak about wads of red iron chips halting the work....So now they maintain two sets, lol
Sometimes well meant practicality outruns logic and or uhh-oh. They usually catch up.
I do like magnets on the underside of things you'd like to remain 'parked'. Counter-bore them in a bit and seal the hole with a nonferrous blank slug, right under flush. Any materials that adhere wipes off readily.
Paul - I didn't think residual magnetism in the collets would be a problem until you mentioned how small steel particles could mess up the mounting or gripping trueness of the collet. Looking for a simple "plan B" now for retaining the collets against the compromises in my old body. Like in recent years more things I come near to end up falling on the floor. 7 day plastic pill boxes work well for small collets; but, well, they look like 7 day pill boxes. Easiest solution I can think of at this point is a stretched out oring glued into a groove deep enough that only .010"-.015" protrudes and located just in front of the bottom of the collet so it holds it in place.
Ed,
I think the 7 day plastic pill boxes for storing small collets liked the WW style (Webster/Whitcomb) of collets would be a quick solution. Whatever you do, you don't want to drop the collets on a concrete floor. I like having the concrete over a wood floor for supporting the heavy machine tools but I cringe every time some slips off the workbench and lands on the concrete. I would prefer rubber mats along the front of the workbenches but this can be pretty expensive so I use left-over sections of carpeting to pad the areas.
Paul
If you go the Rick Sparbers web site he also made a collet holder from wood. A metal box absorbs the cold especially in unheated or only heated when in use shop then when it gets warm the inside tools( metal ) sweat and rust starts forming, that how it is where i live. High humidity also contributes to the problem. That is the reason i stay away from metal boxes. One can also make wood holders for small collets I always try to incorporate a lid for my storage boxes. On my south bend !6" lathe there is a metal collet holder that will be insulated with wood with a lid on it to keep them from rusting and keep to dirt of.
It's much, much easier just to set the rack down on the other surface, so the collets are held in place vertically. Set it on its "back", if you will. That's likely how I'll end up mounting it once the machine these collets are for has some kind of bench or table made for it.Quote:
Originally Posted by Frank S
Lay the collet rack down on its back is a good idea if you have the wall space. Like in a shallow rack in back of or above your working area. And you get to see the diameter of the collet directly. Most machinists are highly tuned to small visual differences in things like hole sizes whether or not they have something close for comparison. If your collet sets live in a drawer or shallow box make it so there are short wood dividers between each rack so that when you take a set out and close the drawer the adjacent set doesn't tip over into the open space and let things get loose.
If you have access to a big table saw and a dado head or similar woodworking capabilities make some channels out of 2x lumber scraps and set them up to hold your collet sets. Once you are set up to do this there are lots of other tool holding and storage blocks you can build on a cool autumn afternoon... expecially if you have some of those nice specialized wood drills that cut the hole edges without tearing out chunks between the grains. Sure beats raking leaves.
