9x20 Lathe Collet & Jawed Spindle Chucks

Collet & Jawed Spindle Chucks
Last updated on Wednesday, December 21, 2011 03:28:23 AM Eastern US Time Zone

5C Collet Chuck

Tramming (centering) a 5C collet chuck that has 4-way built-in setscrew adjustability in its adapter plate.
This is an important feature as this lathe has a threaded spindle nose which introduces setup variability.
A Swiss-made, jeweled, Brown & Sharpe dial test indicator (0.0005" resolution) is being used to tram.
See instructions on how to set tip geometry & see illustration. Introduction to lathe chucks.

A 5C collet set has a larger range of sizes when compared to ER-40 or MT-3 collet sets but seventy 5C collets are
needed to make up a complete set of 3/64" through 1⅛" sizes by 1/64". A 5C collet has a relatively small range
for gripping a part. Best accuracy is +0 to -0.002". For a part above +0.005" you may damage the work, a part
below 0.010" you may damage the collet. 1/32" (0.03125") increments are too large of steps & you will not get
continuous coverage. Most 5C collets are open all the way through & thus allow holding long stock up to the
maximum of the lathe spindle hole, e.g., 25/32" (0.78125") for the 9x20. By comparison, an ER-40 chuck limits
the depth at which a part can be seated into its collet to a few inches. Collets, in general, do not mark the metal
stock like jawed chucks & the total indicated runout (TIR) is low if it is a quality tool.

Keys & Bars

Every chuck comes with a key.

Fabricated steel Tommy bars to tighten & loosen spindle chucks. Bottom two are supplied with the Jet lathe.

To tighten or loosen a 5C collet requires about 40 turns of the T-wrench. Mounted a hex to ⅜" (hardened)
adapter bit into the 5C square fixture & diamond ground the sides/corners down a little until it fit.
Using the cordless screwdriver now allows much faster operation. Start by installing the collet by
hand to avoid cross-threading. Final tightening & initial loosening should be done with the T-wrench.

Chucks with 5C Mounts

4-inch, 3-jaw 5C chuck supplied with both inside & outside hardened jaw sets & a T-wrench.

MT-3 Spindle Collets & Adapters
A collet is safer to use than a chuck & typically has a lower total indicated readout (TIR). The ER-40 double-angle
collet is an industry standard affording high precision & ready availability. An MT-3 collet holder is available.
Each ER-40 collet has a wide (0.04") clamping range so a 23 collet set provides continuous size coverage from
0.12" (nominal 1/8") through 1.02" (nominal 1") or 3.05mm ~ 25.9mm. The 15 sizes that come in the set (fitted
case included) are shown in the table in bold numbers; the other eight collets (all n/32nds sizes) were purchased
separately. Specifications: wide holding range, accuracy 0.0001", self-releasing design, high precision collet
chuck with different shanks available (MT-3, MT-4, MT-5, R-8) & a spanner wrench. The MT-3 collet chuck I
received had a ˝-12 TPI tapped hole for the drawbar (not a common thread). I made a drawbar from rod threaded
˝-12 TPI on one end & ˝-13 TPI on the other end. There are milled flats for a wrench.Snap the collet into
the nut's eccentric ring before screwing it onto the spindle. This ring is the collet extraction mechanism.
Do not tighten the nut onto an empty collet as damage could easily result.

ER-40 collet set (above). Collet chuck shown with a MT-3 shank. The plugs are used to fill the collet when
holding very short parts; allows good clamping without distorting/damaging the collet or part. Each plug is
stamped with the collet's nominal size. There are other types of ER-40 collet chucks, e.g., R-8 shank.

Collet table showing continuous size coverage.
White sizes were the original set & green sizes were added.

ER-40 COLLET SIZES
COLLET SIZE	DECIMAL EQUIVALENT	WORKING RANGE
⅛”	0.12500	0.12 ~ 0.16"
3/16”	0.18750	0.16 ~ 0.20"
7/32”	0.21875	0.20 ~ 0.236"
Ľ”	0.25000	0.236 ~ 0.275"
5/16”	0.31250	0.275 ~ 0.316"
11/32”	0.34375	0.316 ~ 0.354"
⅜”	0.37500	0.354 ~ 0.393"
13/32”	0.40625	0.393 ~ 0.433"
7/16”	0.43750	0.433 ~ 0.472"
˝”	0.50000	0.472 ~ 0.511"
17/32”	0.53125	0.511 ~ 0.551"
9/16”	0.56250	0.551 ~ 0.590"
⅝”	0.62500	0.590 ~ 0.629"
21/32”	0.65625	0.629 ~ 0.669"
11/16”	0.68750	0.669 ~ 0.708"
ľ”	0.75000	0.708 ~ 0.748"
25/32”	0.78125	0.748 ~ 0.787"
13/16”	0.81250	0.787 ~ 0.826"
27/32”	0.84375	0.826 ~ 0.866"
⅞”	0.87500	0.866 ~ 0.905"
15/16”	0.93750	0.905 ~ 0.944"
31/32”	0.96875	0.944 ~ 0.984"
1"	1.00000	0.984 ~ 1.020"

MT-3 collet set from Phase2+. Drawbar made from ⅜-16 threaded stock. Steel end plug machined
to fit the spindle hole. Flare nut with a washer used. Collet sizes range from ⅛" to ľ" by 1/16ths (no
continuous size coverage). To remove a part, make the nut flush to the end, hold the part & collet
while gently knocking out the bar using a large, hard plastic-faced mallet or brass hammer.

ľ" MT-3 collet mounted into the Jet's spindle.

4-Jaw Chucks

4" (above) & 6" (below), 4-jaw chucks on a standard 1˝-8 Jet mount (manual).

6-inch, 4-jaw instruction manual.

Center (tram) the work piece using a dial indicator gage.

1 - After rough aligning to the chuck rings, put a dial indicator on the work-piece.
Then, rotate the spindle through one complete revolution noting the highest & lowest indicator readings.

2 - Continue rotating the spindle & stop exactly midway between the high/low readings, then zero the indicator.

3 - Rotate the spindle to bring jaw #1 on plunger & iteratively adjust jaws #1 & #3 to re-zero the indicator.

4 - Finally, rotate the spindle 90° & adjust jaws #2 & #4 to re-zero the indicator once, again.

A six inch, 4-jaw chuck from with a 1˝-8 threaded adapter plate. Screws right onto spindle of the Jet BD-920N.
Weighs about 26.4 lbs. (12 kgs. Clamps part more tightly than a 3-jaw & allows perfect centering. It can easily
hold a 4" x 4" (square) part. A far more accurate & easier to use modern design when compared to the Jet-
supplied 7 inch, 4-jaw chuck. Note, even the empty chuck is quite heavy. Its momentum makes for extra nice
cuts. This chuck is at the upper limit of the machine in terms of both weight & size. Verify everything clears
(e.g., the carriage) before starting. Make sure to slip the belt idler, especially when starting fast &/or heavy
loads, otherwise you can break the V-belt. Reduce belt idler tension by installing an S-link. This large chuck
can also be mounted onto a 6" rotary table.

A Bison 5", 3-jaw chuck (Poland); smooth & accurate. The jaws are reversible. The counter bore of the
threaded back plate was undersized & had to be bored to fit the spindle shoulder. The chuck weighs
about 10 lbs. Faced the adapter plate to achieve best total indicated runout (TIR). Verify your lathe is in
alignment before facing a chuck adapter plate or a faceplate.

To measure total indicated readout where TIR = (Maximum reading - Minimum reading), clamp a dowel pin in
the chuck (or collet) & put a dial gage on it. Slowly rotate the spindle & note max & min values. Dividing the
TIR in half yields the ± tolerance. For example, a part having a 0.004" TIR has ±0.002" tolerance. The magnetic
base shown (Noga) is very easy & quick to use. Loosening a large knob makes all the joints movable.
Just position indicator & tighten; the whole arm's position is then fixed. It can hold instruments with either a
⅜" stem or a dovetail. It has a fine adjustment feature, too.

MT-3 End Mill Holders

These MT-3 end mill holders from Phase2+ each have a setscrew that engage the end mill flat.
These holders are for both ⅜" & ˝" shank end mills. For use with the Jet BD-920N lathe spindle.

MT-3 to MT-2 taper adapter sleeve.

MT-3 to ľ-16 TPI taper, allows using Taig or Sherline chucks & other accessories on the Jet BD-920N or
other MT-3 machines. Allows accurate fabrication of large-shank end mill holders for use on the Taig mill &
lathe. I've made end mill holders by both reaming & boring. Boring is very accurate (0.0005" TIR) but a
slower process. It is better to mount the arbor by its threads before boring than to grip it on the outside.

Taig collet on the Jet 9x20. Taig collets are size limited & made of soft steel but can be easily customized
e.g., threaded for 10-32 to turn down screws. The 5C collet chuck, ER-16, or ER-40 are better alternatives.

A Sherline 3.1 inch, 3-jaw chuck & a Taig 3Ľ inch, 4-jaw chuck using a MT3 to ľ-16 adapter.

A finished end mill holder for the original-design Taig lathe/mill. Blank arbors (steel) #1132, from Taig. ⅜"
shank end mill shown. Milled flats for a ⅞" wrench & uses a Ľ-20 setscrew. This type of arbor is not needed
(nor mountable) if you use the (superior) upgraded Taig mill ER-16 spindle but is still usable for the lathe.

CAUTION: Large end mills easily exceed a Taig mill's capacity thereby requiring small cuts.

For extra small parts, combine the MT3 & stubby holder to allow use of the ER-16 collet set on the Jet lathe.
There is a left-hand setscrew in the shank that controls an end mill's depth in the collet.