ER32 Collet Rack Made From a Stainless Steel Pepper Roaster

I have been re-organizing storage in my shop now that I retired and have the time to do this. This ER32 collet rack is a stainless-steel pepper roaster rack from Home Depot store. You can find it in the barbecue section. Sometime in August 2016 at HMT we saw another article about a ER32 collet rack made from one of these racks (see http://www.homemadetools.net/forum/collet-rack-49589 by hardtail69 ). I bought one of these on sale for $7 and planned to use it but never started the project until now. The pepper roaster hole sizes are 1.135” in diameter and a good fit for the ER32 collets.

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On each side of the rack I added ¾” thick wooden triangular-shaped parts to elevate the rack for a better view. These are elevated 7” which is about as high as needed without the collets falling out (I know because the collets fell-out when elevated to 8”). Each collet has its own unique size labelled-identification (these were made with 1/8” wide labels from a P-touch Labeler). Adding the labels makes it easier to find and return the correct collet sizes because over time the factory-etched labels on the front of the collet can wear-off due to use. There is plenty of room for storing more metric-sized collets.

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Thank you for looking.

Paul Jones

Nice looking job Paul
I retired 11 months ago myself and I'm reorganizing as you are, got a couple cabinets to build yet but I'm getting there.
Great looking job

Doug

Thanks Doug,
Lately, most of my HMT postings have been the easy ones about tool storage rather than any specialized tools like the ones you make. It is so nice to now go into the shop when things are better organized and cleaner. Now my big challenge is isolating the very dusty wood shop area from the clean machine shop. I am considering using some form of clear PVC or vinyl strip-curtains to isolate the wood shop dust from the machine shop but still have easy access.
Regards,
Paul

Very nice Paul but we should warn our talented community to be careful. Anybody considering this rack should read my post #6 in the original post by Hardtail. Hardtail’s post was more than 3 years ago. I bought my rack 2.5 years after his posting and by that time the hole diameters had changed considerably! Check carefully because the current item may not work as Hardtail had intended. Also, a great idea by Frans S was contributed in that OP.

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Thanks Paul Jones! We've added your Collet Rack to our Racks category,
as well as to your builder page: Paul Jones'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-5"> <img src="/uploads/221967/homemade-collet-rack-5.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-5">Collet Rack</a> <span> by <a href="http://www.homemadetools.net/builder/Paul+Jones">Paul Jones</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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Saltfever,

Thank you for the caution. I remember the discussion thread about the pepper rack hole diameters. I suspect the hole diameters have changed. I bought my stainless steel pepper rack about one week after Hardtail’s post but never built the ER32 rack until this week. The new rack dimensions from Home Depot probably have changed since 2016. The best approach is to bring an ER32 collet into the big box store and double check if the current pepper roaster hole dimensions will fit ER32 collet.

I like building my tool racks out of wood whenever possible (my preference is oak, mahogany, teak, or cherry) because the wood seems to protect the precision surfaces better than metal. Here are some old examples I published at HMT ( http://www.homemadetools.net/forum/w...4984#post19349 ). In the case of collet racks it is not necessary to create a special tapered hole. Just use two or three step hole diameters using Forstner bits to accommodate the collet tapers. Drill the largest top diameter first and then use the larger Forstner bit pilot hole to locate the next smaller diameter and work on down.

Thank you for the feedback.
Regards,
Paul

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Originally Posted by Paul Jones

. . . I bought my stainless steel pepper rack about one week after Hardtail’s post but never built the ER32 rack until this week. The new rack dimensions from Home Depot probably have changed since 2016.

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I suspected that was the case, and thus the reason for my advisory to others. Yes, the dimensions have changed and will not work as intended in the OP.
THANKS for the link to your wooden holders. Very nice.

Does anyone have the current dimensions? My thought is that the trays could do duty for a number of things by the use of bushings. You would only need to have holes large enough for say ER’s of various sizes, R8, Morse Taper and other what have yous. That could turn storage solutions into making simple bushings of various sizes. Instead of fabricating a bunch of panels.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Saltfever

I suspected that was the case, and thus the reason for my advisory to others. Yes, the dimensions have changed and will not work as intended in the OP.
THANKS for the link to your wooden holders. Very nice.

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In January '18 the holes were 1.019” +/- .003” measured with a dial caliper. However, I would not trust that to be the current dimension more than 1 year later. It appears the manufacturer does not care too much about precise pepper diameters! :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Saltfever

In January '18 the holes were 1.019” +/- .003” measured with a dial caliper. However, I would not trust that to be the current dimension more than 1 year later. It appears the manufacturer does not care too much about precise pepper diameters! :)

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Thanks for the info. I will have to run down to the local hardware store to see if they have anything similar. If the spacing is good that would make for a real nice R8 collet holder.

Please post the current dimensions you find. As you mentioned, it is a great idea for a number of things.

Just a follow up guys. So far I've checked Walley World and Home Depot and have not found these pepper roasting pans (actually anything pepper roasting related). Kinda disappointed because the shelves have obviously been recently stocked for the spring grilling season.

So got on the net and looked up pepper roasters on Amazon. Not exactly a fan of doing business with them so still looking locally. However there seem to be many options but unfortunately the important data (the hole size) is left out on many of the listings. Home Depot also has a couple of listings but apparently the item that started this thread is gone, sadly they don't spec hole diameter on any of the products.

I may try some other stores around town as I hate to order something via the mail and then have to return it.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by wizard69

Thanks for the info. I will have to run down to the local hardware store to see if they have anything similar. If the spacing is good that would make for a real nice R8 collet holder.

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This quote is from the original thread posted here.

". . . nobody in the store knew what I was talking about, even with a picture. I ordered on-line and while it was free shipping to the store it was sent to my house. I checked all other links provided but unfortunately, there are no hole dimensions on any of them. Be careful, just as pepper diameters will vary . . . assume the Chinese hole puncher will also."

Two years ago none of the racks were available in the store just as today. However, this 36 hole rack is still available at HD on-line today, still without dimensions! I thought you were considering the smaller 1.019" diameter holes for other tooling. Maybe the hole dims have changed again back up to the original size! The only way to find out is to order one on-line and return it if the dims are unsuitable. If you read the original thread you might get a better picture.

If you have a few ton hydraulic press or even a larger manual arbor press it would be possible to first machine and then harden some form of a rounded-corner forming tool to sightly open-up the roaster holes in the pepper roasting rack. It wouldn't take very much manual vertical pressure to make the slight hole change and the new rounded corners would be a better fit.

A great idea, Paul. Frans S made the same suggestion here (post #14) and included a drawing of the dimple die that could make the part you suggest.