Can someone tell me something about this collet system?

[Joel Rodgers]

Today on eBay, I was reeled in by an offer too good to pass up. It was a 32mm diameter chuck with 6 collets sizes: 18mm, 17mm, 16mm, 7mm, 13mm, and 14mm. All for $9.99 + $15 shipping! I also picked up a few extra 32mm collets sizes for $2.99 +$4.50 each: 3/4", 20mm, 10mm, 1/4". They didn't have a 1/2" or a 12mm size, but I can't complain.

I know next to nothing about what I just purchased. I couldn't find much information on it or the even name of the collet system. Nothing showed up when I googled MLC32 aside from the listing page and irrelevant results. I already have an ER20 collet chuck I occasionally use on my lathe and it appears a bit too large for it, but I am considering using it for holding stock on my rotary table and perhaps using it as a collet chuck on my future bigger lathe.

Does anyone know anything about it? What is the clamping range for each individual collet? For instance, can a 13mm collet hold a 12.5mm? Does it have any advantages over an ER system? Is the chuck compatible with any other collet systems out there? Thanks.

P.S. It looks like the individual collets are fairly inexpensive on Ali Express. If you're interested in grabbing the chuck, I would keep a watch on them. It's likely they'll stock some more of them.






NEW LATHE COLLET CHUCK STRAIGHT COLLET MLC32 +6PCS COLLETS FIXTURES CNC USA

 

[L Vanice]

You got a milling chuck, not a lathe chuck. The split bushings are only suited to holding precision ground tool shanks that are within .001" or so of the bushing bore. Think end mills and reamers. Note that the back end of the bushing is not slit, so it cannot compress, much like 5C collets. Hardinge makes 5C collets with order holes in .001" increments because the collets are not meant to hold work that is over or under the order hole diameter.

My inch sets of 3C and 5C collets are in 1/64" increments and the metric sets are in .5 mm increments. I still had to buy some decimal sizes like .300" for certain precision jobs. Those 32 mm split bushings seem to be available in sizes to fit standard end mill shanks, certainly not in .001" increments.

ER collets are slit from both the front and the back, which is why they have a full mm (.040") of compression range.

Larry

 

[dcsipo]

This looks like the Chinese answer to 5C collets. As Larry said, slit collects only compress a thousand or so. I could only find Chinese manufacturers. I would verify run-out claims on each collet before trusting them.

 

[guythatbrews]

Google lyndex-nikken milling chucks. This looks very similar. We used em for 1" and 1.25" shank cutters in cat 40 holders. They hold like hell, but as said only on on-size tools.

 

[Milland]

What they said, but what the hell - that price is good for one collet, let alone the chuck and flange and the rest of the stuff.

It's either fell-off-the-back-of-the-truck.com stock, made of reprocessed tin cans, or insanely underpriced...

 

[Joel Rodgers]

LOL! The price is so low you have to wonder. I've encountered insane deals on eBay that turned out to be hacked or fake accounts. In this particular case, everything else they have listed is reasonably priced although not as ridiculously cheap. It may be a loss leader because I purchased a bunch of collets.

 

[L Vanice]

What they said, but what the hell - that price is good for one collet, let alone the chuck and flange and the rest of the stuff.

It's either fell-off-the-back-of-the-truck.com stock, made of reprocessed tin cans, or insanely underpriced...

The same seller has the same chuck and 6 bushings with a 40 taper shank for $69.99. I have to wonder if the other listing simply had a typo in the $9.99 price. Anyway, whichever price one may pay, I have to wonder how useful this chuck would be to most people.

NEW NK40 SC32 POWER MILLING COLLET TOOL HOLDER 6PC POWER COLLET CHUCK USA SELL | eBay

SHANK TYPE SK40 69871 DRAWBAR THREAD M16 X 2.0 POWER COLLET C32. FREE 6pcs C32 Collet. HOLDER TYPE MILLING HOLDER CLAMPING RANGE 3-32mm CLAMPING SIZE 32MM. BALANCE NO MAX 15000RPM Gage Length L 4.0″ COOLANT YES.

www.ebay.com

And the same seller has a flange mount 42 mm version for $79.99, but no bushings included.

NEW MLC42 LATHE COLLET CHUCK STRAIGHT COLLET 190MM LATHE COLLET CHUCK TOOL USA | eBay

NEW LATHE COLLET CHUCK STRAIGHT COLLET MLC42 FIXTURE COLLET CHUCK. For all MLC 42 Straight collets.

www.ebay.com

That seller also has some 32 mm straight shank ER collet chucks in various collet sizes up to ER32. The 32 mm shank would fit those MLC32 chucks instead of a bushing. I still would not consider one for a lathe.

Larry

 

[Joel Rodgers]

That seller also has some 32 mm straight shank ER collet chucks in various collet sizes up to ER32. The 32 mm shank would fit those MLC32 chucks instead of a bushing. I still would not consider one for a lathe.

Thanks for the duh moment! Why didn't I think of that!? So the bushings or "collets" are not necessary for a 32mm diameter? Will an ER20 20mm short shank work if you use it with the 20mm bushing? That would expand the range of chuckables.

I'm curious why you wouldn't use it on a lathe.

 

[L Vanice]

...I'm curious why you wouldn't use it on a lathe.

Maybe the reason is more to do with available ER chucks than what you mount them on.

ER collets were designed for holding tools like end mills, but they can also hold smooth round bar stock. They can be mounted on a lathe, but ER chucks may not have a bore behind the collet that allows long bars to go through the lathe spindle. I did buy a Chinese 5C collet shank with integral ER chuck just in case I did not have a proper 5C collet for some future need. I found the chuck was not as accurate as advertised, which sort of makes it unqualified for the intended use. So I have never used it. Probably there are better ER chucks somewhere (Switzerland, for instance), but I am not looking to buy one.

Larry