Collets, 5C Fixtures, V-Blocks, & Angled Fixtures
Last updated on Sunday, February 10, 2013 08:00:28 AM Eastern US Time Zone

5C Collets, Spin Index, 5C Fixtures, 5C Collet Depth Stops,
5C Lathe Chucks, V-Blocks, Tilt Tables, Angle Plates, Screw Jacks, Dowel Pins

R-8, 5C, ER-40 & ER-16 (⅜" sizes shown) collets. R-8 & 5C collects are indexed to prevent turning.
ER-type collets have wide gripping ranges & self-extract.

5C Collets


70 piece 5C collet set 3/64" (0.046875") through 1⅛" (1.125") in 1/64th inch (0.015625") increments.
A 5C collet has a relatively small gripping range. Best accuracy is +0 to -0.002"
Above +0.005" may damage the work, below 0.010" may damage the collet.
1/32" (0.03125") increments are too large of steps. Most 5C collets are open all the way through.

Labels help locate the different collet sizes.


An emergency 5C collet that can be machined for a specific use.  A set of square, 5C collets.

Spin Index

Phase2+ spin index that uses 5C collets. Hardened & precision ground spindle. Spindle accuracy 0.0004" TIR.
Cylindrical center base (per inch) .0012" concentricity. Spindle centerline parallelism to base 0.0008". Precision
ground 36 position index plate. Direct indexing in ten, 1 degree steps; graduated scale in 5 degree increments.
Excellent price to performance ratio. 5C Spin Index manual.

Used a ball-nosed end mill so the bottom of the slot would have a radius.

Milled base (top surface) for flatness & clearance for mounting bolt nuts with coupled washers.

Spin index mounted onto Taig mill which has 1 inch on-center T-slots. Bolts are 2 inches (slots) apart.


The spin index fits the larger RF-25, much better (below). Milled ⅜" bolt-down slots.
This is a good place to use the ¾" shank, ER-16 extensions.

Index & a diamond wheel being used to sharpen a HSS slit saw.

Used the spin index to cut a series of odd angles to reproduce a broken plastic speaker wire retainer clip.

Finished the pivots with a small square diamond file.

5C Fixtures

Four-sided & six-sided hardened, precision ground 5C collet fixtures with clamping nuts. Tighten & loosen
using an adjustable pin spanner wrench. Lever moves a cam for fast clamping. These are very useful fixtures.

Milling slots in a ⅜" to 5/32" brass reducing sleeve.

Other types of spanners.

Horizontal & vertical angle 5C collet quick-release fixture. Type 225-202C manual.

5C Collet Depth Stops

Collet length extension. Adjustable depth stop for a 5C collet screws into back inside threads.

Universal 5C collet stop with ¼" & ½" diameter spring ejectors & solid stop assemblies (USA).

The body did not fit inside all of the 5C collets so it was precision ground using the tool post grinder.

The body end bolt screws in, to expand by cam action, two flat springs that lock the ejector into the collet.

A wooden holder for the different 5C stops.

5C Lathe Chucks

3-jaw, 4" chuck with an integral 5C collet back.

4-jaw, 3" chuck with a 5C collet back.

Spin index with 4-jaw chuck.

V-Blocks 

V-blocks hold round parts very accurately, repeatably, & securely. A V-block spec.

Micro V-block set for holding very small parts. Along the top are bridges, then a (white) desiccant container,
two differently sized hardened & ground wee blocks with their clamps, plus an assortment of prisms sizes.

The wee V-block itself is held in a larger V-block. Blocks shown with (left) & without (right) an upper prism.

Note the bridge to the right, under the main locking bolt, that allows holding extra-long parts.

Mini V-blocks (China): Dimensions: 1⅜" or 35mm (L) x 1⅜" or 35mm (W) x 1-3/16" or 30mm (H).
Capacities: max 19/32" (0.59375" or 15mm); min ⅛" (0.125" or 3.2mm). The reversible clamps are within
the blocks' dimensions so they are compact & can be clamped deeper into a vise than standard designs.

Added 5mm washers. For scale, a ¼" dowel is shown clamped into the vee groove.

Intermediate-sized V-block set (India). All surfaces precision ground within 0.0005".
1" capacity: 1½" (L) x 1¼" (W) x 1¼" (H). 1½" capacity: 2" (L) x 1½" (W) x 1½" (H).

1" & ½" dowel rods shown clamped in V-blocks.

Large V-blocks; 3"x3"x4" (7.6x7.6x10.2 cm) hold 2¼" (5.7 cm) diameter round parts (India).
This style allows easier (deeper) clamping in other fixtures like a vise.

Each block weighs over 8 lbs. (3.6 kgs).  V-block specification sheet.

Three different V-blocks compared for size & style.

Dimensionally matched V-blocks incorporating a stepped design (import).

Clamps have screw holes at 45° & 90° to hold either square or round parts. Stepped groove construction has
high or low clamp mounting for small or large pieces. Clamps do not project over the width of the block, permitting
 it to be used on the base, ends or sides. The steps allow parts to be clamped/unclamped while held in a fixture.

Examples of high & low stepped clamping positions.

 The blocks are gripped in the mill vise jaws with their clamps set in the low-step position holding a ¾" rod.

A square part held with two clamps in the low-stepped position, using the 45° setscrews.


Steel tool drawers can store a lot of heavy tooling in a compact space.

This open-weave drawer liner has (Microban) antimicrobial properties that prevent bacterial growth.
The non-slip black cushion protects the instruments & keeps them from moving (banging) around, too.


Variable-angle V-block. There is an etched degrees scale with a minutes precision vernier (nonius) scale.

Prismatic V-jaw for 6" (15.3 cm) Parlec vise. 1.9" (4.8 cm) height. Hardened to RC58-62 & precision ground.

The back has two keyhole slots that allow it to be bolted in place of the OEM vise jaw, if needed.
A hex wrench accesses the bolts through the front holes.

Seven vees are in the face.

Two, one-inch (25.4  mm) dowels are shown, clamped.

Making a 30mm broach cutter bushing.

Example setup using multiple V-blocks. A ¼" end mill is being used to cut a recess thus
allowing use of the longer Chapman gun screwdriver bits which have a small, round nub.

Another V-block part holding example; a fly cutting operation.

Fixed angle set: 1º, 2º, 3º, 4º, 5º, 10º, 15º & 30º. Hardened & precision ground; very accurate.

Hardened, ¼" thick, precision-ground angle setup plates; 1º, 2º, 3º, 4º, 5º, 10º, 15º, 20º, 25º, & 30º.

Hardened, ¼" thick, precision-ground 30-60-90º & 45-45-90º angle setup plates.
Can be used with a jig to set up the lathe's compound angle.

Tilt Tables

16.5 lbs.(7.5 kgs) 5" x 7" x 3½" (12.7 x 17.8 x 8.9cm) tilt table (China).

Range of gear adjustment is +45° to -15° unless the crank is removed & then adjusted by other means.

Worm gear adjusted with a hand crank. Table locks under both ends. Crank interferes with adjustment range.

⅜" square drive rides in sealed bearings. Large amount of gear backlash.

A 30° tilt.

12.6 lbs.(5.7 kgs) 5" x 7" x 3¾" (12.7 x 17.8 x 9.5cm) tilt table (India). Table locks under both ends.
This model has no worm gear for free adjustment of the full range; no interfering crank. Adjustment range is ±45°.


Three T-slots & a surface accuracy of ± 0.001" is sufficient for most milling operations.

An adapter plate made from MIC6 was fabricated to mount the 4" rotary table centered on the tilt table.

The plate material is MIC6 aluminum.

Three 10-32 cap head bolts hold the rotary table. The close-tolerance holes (#9) are ⅜" counter bored.

Angle Plates

Hardened to RC58-62, one-piece, precision ground flat, square & parallel to 0.0002".
 3" x 3" x 4" x 1" angle plate with 13, ¼-20 threaded holes & two clearance holes.

4" x 4" x 4½" x 1" angle plate with V-groove.
Hardened to RC58-62, one-piece, precision ground flat, square & parallel to 0.0002".

Supplied with a U-clamp & a toe clamp for use with the ¼" step.

1" & 2" angle irons.

Precision-ground (slotted & solid) gray iron angle plates are superior to milled types.
Left-Right / Top-Bottom: 3" x 3½" x 4", 4" x 4" x 4", 2" x 2½" x 3", 2½" x 3" x 3½".

Screw Jacks

Screw jack set. Two jack sets can be handy to add support to mill table setups. Range with spacers is 2¼" to 6¼".

Dowel Pins

An assortment of differently sized dowel pins are handy: 3/16", ¼", ⅜", 7/16", ½", ⅝", ¾", 1" sizes.

5C Collets, Spin Index, 5C Fixtures, 5C Collet Depth Stops,
5C Lathe Chucks, V-Blocks, Tilt Tables, Angle Plates, Screw Jacks, Dowel Pins

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