5C collet chuck

[rkcarguy]

I'm looking for a simple 5C collet chuck/holder that I could bolt onto a faceplate and turn a step in the faceplate so it would center on the step. Does anyone make anything like this or am I stuck making my own?

[choprboy]

I think you want to search for a "plain back 5c chuck". A bunch of different manufacturers make the; Bison, TMX, etc., also the cheaper China versions. There is also a cheap round cylinder 5c chuck (I have one) that can be held in a standard 3/4 jaw chuck.

Examples:
https://www.kbctools.com/itemdetail/3-862-0501P
https://www.kbctools.com/itemdetail/7-862-0501
https://allindustrial.com/all-industria ... ck-wrench/
https://www.amazon.com/AccusizeTools-Co ... 00U320MZ8/

[rkcarguy]

Great thank you! I wasn't searching for the right thing and kept having cam lock versions come up. "Plain back" was the key.
I'm wanting to turn wheelsets by putting a live center in one end and the other end in a 5C collet with a drive dog bolt in the wheel so it won't spin in the collet, probably have to plunge an end mill to make a pocket for the drive dog bolt.

[Inspector]

Grizzly has some 5C collet chucks from a few makers including Bison.

Pete

[Bill Shields]

ever think about putting a 5MT to 3 MT adapter in the the spindle, then a soft center in that.

if necessary, you can then cut the length of the center so that it sticks out of your chuck face plate far enought so that you can engage your axle center

[8thscale]

Little Machine Shop offers great service. Owner member of local machining group. Usually has an Open House in October.
D1-4? backplate purchased from Enco (who is no more). Very simple setup!
Started w round collet set (came w/ lathe), then two hex and recently small square set.

https://littlemachineshop.com/products/ ... uctID=3047

[Magicniner]

Go ER40 instead, it's far less limiting and contrary to the opinion of those who haven't used one you can turn square, hex, octagonal and tapered stock in ER40 collets

[whateg0]

I use ER collets everywhere. There are a couple of downsides. First, you can't use a stop in them. The collet itself gets pushed into the holder, so the work would have to slide in the collet until it stopped moving. Second, the collets are awful to keep swarf out of, depending on the work being done. Again, I use them everywhere, but there are times when I do wish I had 5C instead for some work.

[pete]

Going by the OP and your mention of centering the back plate to a step turned on the faceplate it's not a method I'd chose. Better imo to turn that back plate to whatever spindle nose mounting system your lathe already has. I'd also check various forums and posts for previous threads about adding a "set true" feature to scroll chucks or even those 5C collet chucks. Having the ability to fine tune out whatever runout that every collet chuck and collet is going to have is a big plus. The only reason to use collets over a 4 jaw or 3 jaw scroll chuck is there accuracy and maybe a bit less part marking from a jawed chuck. But I'm not sure what you'd gain if all your doing is turning those axle mounted wheel sets with a collet chuck. For turning between centers I use an already machined scrap steel 60 degree center about 2" in diameter with a step on it's parallel section. That step prevents the center from moving back under cutting and tailstock pressure and it butts up against the faces of the chuck jaws. I then lightly re-turn the 60 degree center point each time it's chucked. That way the point is as accurately concentric to the spindle as the bearings will allow. One of the chuck jaws provides the drive to the lathe dog. It's probably more concentric than any collet system. If you foresee far more use for a collet chuck than what you mentioned then that's of course different. But I'd still use a direct back plate to spindle mount set up.

[whateg0]

An awful lot of people use collets for the reasons you seem to dismiss. Part marking is a big one, and collets generally have far less runout than a standard 3 jaw. Even a set tru type has to be dialed in so a collet is faster to set up. I'm still using a holder in the 4-jaw but one day I'I'll be adding a 5c cooler chuck to the arsenal. Otoh, I've been saying that for several years

[pete]

A good chance of a maybe on that collet run out being better than a lot of chucks. It seems to depend on a certain amount of luck verses the money spent. While I can't recall any YT videos showing run out tests on the off shore 5C collets, there are multiple videos showing ER collet run outs well in excess of what even my drill chucks can average. My only issue with any of those off shore collet chucks and sets of any type is there's never any guarantees listed for what you can expect for maximum allowable tir. I've got a couple of scroll chucks made by Emco that are pretty consistent to .001"-.0015". But those numbers aren't that unusual even for some off shore chucks today with a bit of luck. One big reason I decided on an ER 40 collet set for my mill was the ability to get dual usage out of them on the lathe as well. A ER 32 set on the mill would have been ample with any R8 spindle. If I could afford it I'd already have a full set of decent 5C's because of all the work stop types and multiple part holding options available for them over the ER's. Even some of the tool grinders are set up to use them. I'm not dismissing collets at all, just the opposite. I've even got a factory Emco produced ESX 25 collet chuck on the small lathe and have used it quite a bit. But for what the OP said he wanted the first use to be there's easier and much cheaper methods with as good or better results. For anyone into locomotive building they would probably be doing a fair amount of small multiple part runs, so I'd guess that's also part of why he's wanting collets. I'd agree, for one offs the set tru idea would be as slow as a 4 jaw, but for multiple parts it's well worth the time spent to add it if the rear step in the collet chuck has the room to fit it in.