Collet Opinions

[Rickus]

First thanks to Gail giving me guidence on spark plugs and coils. My wallet is a lot lighter after ordering a book for coils!
Now on to collets. I want to begin collecting some collets to use in my radial engine build among other projects and want to know what would be the best for a HF 920 lathe. I see 5c and ER32 everywhere with a huge price difference. Plans are to fabricate a collet chuck (not using SS) either way I go. Allowing the stock to pass through the spindle isn't mandatory and isn't an issue. So if you have any opinions or advice and why you like yours, please let me know. I have read and re-read quite a bit on this topic and see everyone has their preference. Also if you can direct me to a site/post showing collet closer/chucks, I would owe you big. Thanks........
Rick

PS If anyone has built an Agless radial, I could use some advice for tooling.
PSS Gail is my Daughter-in-Laws name. She isn't into machining, rather is like my son and loves reptiles.(29 snakes and counting)

 

[kvom]

The lathe collet systems I have used are 5C, ER, and Rubberflex.

5C collets have a very limited clamping range (+/- .002), so they are most useful for standard size material. Sizes range from 1/64 to 1-1/8. You can also buy square and hex collets where needed. They need a spindle nose plus a closer. The closer can be built into the spindle nose or be a through the spindle draw bar. An advantage to 5C collets is that they can be used to hold material for milling via square and hex collet blocks.

ER collets have a larger clamping range (typically 1-2 mm) and are closed via a threaded collar and a wrench.

Rubberflex collets have a larger still clamping range, with sizes up to 1-1/2", and the chuck mounts to the spindle. Locking and unlocking is via a large handwheel that is part of the chuck.