Collet closer

[threesixesinarow]

This might be useful even though it’s not for collets - I looked at mechanical stuff before settling on electric methods for mine, this is a clutch from a nice countershaft drive designed for a watchmakers lathe.



The instructions on the page for that Sherline closer I linked before include schematics, too.

[DIYer]

Thanks threesixesinarow! We've added your Collet Closer to our Lathe Accessories category,
as well as to your builder page: threesixesinarow's Homemade Tools. Your receipt:

Collet Closer by threesixesinarow

tags: lathe, collet

[marksbug]

hey tripple 6 the 5c collet blocks unse either then nut or the collet closer lever, not both at the same tyme. yes they would be great if they had a nut like the er or a nut like the rubberflexey ones, Ive used all three and the std lathe closer.as well as the 5c hex&square collet blocks&nut on the back or lever . buying a collet closer isant a issue for me as far as $ go's, the wife lets me buy whatever toys I want....but my lathe 9x20 enco has the small bore like 15/16, ( yes I know I need bigger lathe...but it is a bigger lathe!!! the 7x14 is right beside of it!! So ill have to make some parts to fit a exzisting unit to my lathe. ButI dont mind using a small collet block if it will do what I need,, Ill probably just end up getting a er 40 block & collets,why not I already have er11,16&32 sets..... or just get a 5c collet chuck...witch is probably the best thing to do for me.I cant run any thing big through the spindle any way....I kinda went brain dead when I get the er 32 and not the er 40 set.....the er32 stops just shy of where I need.....I do have some nice steel front hubs off my brothers 2012 dodge truck I may remachine to fit some collets into..... I ALSO HAVE WAY TO MANY THINGS BOUNCING AROUND IN MY HEAD... I love making my tooling&jigs but sometimes my brain gets in the way. KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK GUYS!!!! ( just what I need more great stuff in my over flowing head) Ive been buying reamers and diamond hones lately and my head hurts from that..crossing this hone stone to that stone..and charts that seem to defy reason....and look rong...

[threesixesinarow]

This is the 5c collet block lever closer I didn’t think would be useful for my purposes - I guess the collet screws into a short drawtube but I don’t know what to call the different parts.



What you described seems more versatile, but 5c and the parts that go with it is too big to use on my machines. Most of what I would hold in collets is smaller than 7/16” anyways, which combined with a 3mt spindle makes 3c a better choice.

The Sherline 3c lever closer wasn’t available when I started making mine. It looks like there are a few used ones for different lathes on Ebay right now for reasonable prices - I don’t remember if I didn’t consider adapting those because it seemed too difficult, or if there were fewer or prices were higher. At any rate, my home made one won’t do anything those can’t do, and won’t last as long.


Here’s a better drawing I found of the South Bend closer.

[marksbug]

thats 2 blocks, 2 closer nuts to tighten the collet closed, and the 1 leaver closer, witch is manily used for milling machine & grinder opps. the nuts usualy have a few hole's in them to tighten with a peg/shaft like whats used when removing screw on lathe chucks.. I supose if you had long jaw chuck you could use the lever type but probably not a good idea. I need .830~875 currently so the small collets wont do for me. I get new ideas every day. my brother has er40 collets&blocks and 5c blocks I may try his to see if I like it before I decise on weather to buy a $40.00 set or make something. or buy a $85. set of er 40's.with r8 chuck. I wish somebody made a hex r8 block....I may just have to make a round r8 chuck for my lathe.

[old_toolmaker]

threesixesinarow<

I looked at the Shereline collet closer and it appears to be nice and compact. It is a little hard to envision how it functions though.
Even though I owned the Logan collet closer for many years I never took it apart to see how it functioned. I guess I will have to study the drawings a little more and maybe the light bulb will come on for me.

[marksbug]

same with me,if it was worken good why reapir it...so I never got inside of one either.and that was 21 years ago... about all I remember was it was all flopy...looked like it was made out of some bearing races.I dont know if it was bought or made. in my head Im seeing something like a syncroizer for a manual trans for a car.to hole it open or closed..but probably not.as I have so much stuff rolling around in there ( my head)things seem to get morphed before they get out.

[Toolmaker51]

same with me,if it was worken good why reapir it...so I never got inside of one either.and that was 21 years ago... about all I remember was it was all flopy...looked like it was made out of some bearing races.I dont know if it was bought or made. in my head Im seeing something like a syncroizer for a manual trans for a car.to hole it open or closed..but probably not.as I have so much stuff rolling around in there ( my head)things seem to get morphed before they get out.

Both you and old_toolmaker are close to the function. The gear 'syncronizer' is a cog, the teeth engage a lever to hold rotation of drawtube screwed into collet body, how you set the amount of pull [diameter] and attendant tension. The lever, essentially duplicates the throwout lever and bearing on a conventional manual transmission, with collet sort of acting as GM style diaphragm pressure plate.

marksbug, I emailed you through HMT.net offering a drawing. Goes for you too, old_toolmaker. You might be older than me..."51" hasn't anything to do with my age! Hereabouts most call me TM51...

[threesixesinarow]

Going by the drawings and the steps they suggest and what parts could be bought in I would make a ball one now. The yellow South Bend drawing I posted yesterday makes the mechanism pretty clear, here’s a photo, also from practicalmachinist.com, https://www.practicalmachinist.com/v...9/#post1859229

I’m curious if there are problems with them, though, I wonder why they aren’t more common compared to the finger ones.

[old_toolmaker]

threesixesinarow,

I am getting the picture now! The the single finger on my Logan collet closer was manually engage to hold collet position from rotating. The yoke was engaged and went slightly over center to lock. It was a very positive system.
I still need to study the ball system further to determine its pluses and minuses.