Collet fixture Beaal tool company, plus alternatives, technical long winded.

First thanks to everyone who struggles through my awful typing and manages
to understand the message. It takes some dedication to decode my posts.

I always delete everything up to my message to save scroll time for you.
This is clipped and an answer to Chris and others who may want just one
specific answer about the Beall Collet System. I also polished the spelling
a little.

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> I use ER collets, Beall tool company sells a nice fixture that

mounts on a 1 1/2 x8 spindle nose and holds ER 32 Collets
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""Any idea where these can be purchased? I have for several months
been planning to order a sample ER collet and machine such
a holder for my 9" south bend from scratch, but if it can be bought I would
be interested.??"" Chris

The Beall Tool Company 1-800-331-4718 There is no Part # it is described as
"The Beall Collet Chuck and Collet System"
www.bealltool.com


It comes standard for a wood lathe with 1"X 8 threads. But I spoke to the
owner 8 months ago and he was considering having a special run made or is
having them made with 1 1/2 X 8 threads. They also sell adaptors. Don't get
the adaptors if you are going bigger, it is okay to get the threaded insert
for sherline, emco three or something but if you are going bigger the
adaptor only makes the collet holder hang way out past the point where you
can get any accuracy and there is no concentricity. I hope I have convinced
him there are enough of us who will buy them that it is worth having a run
made in our size. Call him and back me up. They did have the adaptors made.
If enough orders came in for standard 1 1/2" x 8 I am sure he would have
them made for this group at a good price.These are nice heavy collet holders
with a spanner wrench and Dolly Pin hole. Polished, well machined. A bargain
at $79.00

IF you buy a stock one without the 1 1/2" X 8 adaptor it is not ample
diameter to thread to your lathe. Here is the trick to get it concentric.
YOU CAN'T JUST CHUCK UP THE BODY AND INTERNALLY THREAD IT!! The O.D. is only
1.588"

First bore a nice press fit outer sleeve and after pressing onto the Collet
Holder weld it on the end towards the collet nut. Make a pretty bead. Say
add a 3/8" diasmeter sleeve to the outside 1 1/2" in length. After it is
pressed together and welded or pinned chuck it up and face the open end so
it is nice. If you are fancy fabricator you could mill a v groove on that
open end also and weld that and face it off. If all that is too much you can
just drill and pin it ahead of where you are going to thread it. I know this
is getting long but it is a nice job when you are done and worth the ten
minutes to read this.

NOW to get the collet concentric.
Get a 3/4" or 1" collet, whatever the biggest collet you can get in ER 32.
Turn or buy a piece of Drill rod get it true. Chuck it up with 1 1/4"
sticking out the four jaw with 0 (ZERO!) run out. Clamp it well in that four
jaw. Use your dial indicator and make sure it is dead nuts true.(if someone
needs an Starret Last Word Dial indicator full set somehow I ended up with
three?? I would sell one. Don't anyone write and want it for $5.00 either
:^) )

Now reverse the collet holder, clamp the collet down on the 1" 1 1/4" stub
you trued in the four jaw.The collet nut is facing the four jaw. Almost
touching it. Be sure it is nice and tight but not so tight you disturbed the
set up in the four jaw. Bore the threaded end out to diameter so you can
re-thread it to your spindle size. Finish by cutting your register (measure
all that before you set it up or measure your back plate or three jaw chuck)

When you get done this way the internal concentricity of the collet holder
will be true to the lathe spindle. Because you have used the collet to truth
everything to the spindle. If you do what the guy I paid to do mine did and
just chuck up the body you have know idea what the inside relationship is in
concentricity to the outside. This is aggravated alot because it is a taper
.0001" is a lot of run out when it has to translate back to round over 1". I
have one junk one I paid a guy to do. He just chucked up the body and
threaded it nicely. It is basically scrap until I plug the hole, re bore it
and thread it myself as described above. Luckily I have some other machines
that have smaller threads so I can salvage it. I hope this is useful to
someone cuz it wore me out typing it. And I didn't make many spelling
errors. If you start grading on grammar please unsubscribe me.

If you are still awake there are two more alternatives one a little more
expensive. The last one the least $$.

Get a #3MT ER collet holder that uses a draw bar from J&L part number
ERI-90052H for ER25 or ERI-90003K for ER32, or McMaster Carr, any of the
catalogs. Chop off the #3MT part, chuck it in the lathe turn it down
slightly to press fit into a sleeve and then do all the stuff above. If you
go this route you can get the Collet holder for $84.00. Beall is $79.00. If
your lathe spindle only goes up to 5/8" you can get by with the less
expensive ER 25 collets.. ( BOEING SURPLUS AGAIN, they have ER32 collets for
a buck a piece, not always but worth the stop if you are close, and Boeings
are name brand. Sometimes you get lucky and can find an entire bin of every
size,where I got mine)

Now why go to all this trouble? So you can run long bar stock through the
spindle.

The cheapest seat in the house
If you are going to fabricate one and want the least expensive of all
routes, get a EMCO MAIER Collet holder from Blue Ridge. Part #200.050 The
solid one for the compact 5 Mill not the lathe one which is thin and hollow.
They are only $58.00 and are ER25. Import brand is best bargain on
collets,MSC, J&L or ENCO or anybody about $12.00 a pop. The EMCO MAIER
collet holder is just a ER25. and lends itself well to machining. It comes
standard at M14x1 threads, so you can bore it out to sherline 3/4 16 no
sweat or press it into a sleeve as above and do all that.
There you go I am typed out. JOhnno