Custom Toolholder Question

I was doing a bit of inventory on my Cat40 holders yesterday, and I realized that I constantly rub the face of my collet nuts on parts, vise jaws, fixtures.... It is like I have an uncontrollable urge to run the absolute shortest tool possible for every application. Not only that, but this syndrome seems to get worse and worse every year. I am diligent about setting the appropriate tool length in Mastercam, and even have models of all of my toolholders so I can actually see exactly how short of a cutter I can get away with. Then I diligently set my tool lengths off of the face of the chuck... but then, I get a tall piece of stock, or some chips build up, or I decide it is running a bit loud and make it just a bit shorter... and BAM, I'm back to friction stir welding.

Without question, this is my most frequent source of scrap parts. Not only that, but for some unknown reason other shop owners seem to like to hangout in my shop (which is surprising because it's kind of a dump and my personality is off putting at best), and they seem to really enjoy giving me shit about the defaced collet nuts, and scrap parts with the characteristic smiley face groove.

Now the obvious answer is for me to just quit being a dumbass and give myself more than a couple of thou clearance between the top of the part and the toolholder. But, I've been telling myself not to be a dumbass for better part of forty years, and my wife has been doing the same for twenty-five years; and it hasn't worked yet.

So I'm thinking I should find some custom collet nuts that have flutes ground in the face (and maybe up the side as well). Then when I screw the pooch, it won't make that horrible racket that everyone in the shop recognizes. Then again it happens often enough that maybe just having pocket ground in the holder for carbide inserts might be wise... especially when I bump hardened vise jaws, fixtures, and trunnions.

Oh well, back to friction stir welding

I might have ordered a few extra collet nuts from Maritool now and then .

Regards.

Mike

Haha, you're not alone. This is also my favorite way to ruin a part. Always occurs when I'm "just gonna hurry up and knock this part out". Never happens when I use my brain for the 10 seconds it takes to look at the part hieght versus tool stickout. The hurry up part is false economy because I end up spending the entire time babying the program, stopping each tool before it engages the workpeice, blah blah blah.

Sigh ...to be human is to ruin a part by a 0.002" engagement with a damned collet nut.

During annual review time with one of my newer programmers, I told him he'd be a pretty good programmer if the tool, toolholder, and spindle nose all had cutting edges on them.

Vancbiker said:

During annual review time with one of my newer programmers, I told him he'd be a pretty good programmer if the tool, toolholder, and spindle nose all had cutting edges on them.

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So do you think I can get a raise?

Everything's a facemill if you try hard enough!

How do you think stir welding was invented?

Looks like I should read the entire post before posting.

Sounds like you need to start making a setup sheet while programing. Making note of needed tool length, flute length, and stickout. Sorry but, a custom fluted toolholder sounds like a really wacky solution to a simple setup problem.

Bluejeep said:

Sounds like you need to start making a setup sheet while programing. Making note of needed tool length, flute length, and stickout. Sorry but, a custom fluted toolholder sounds like a really wacky solution to a simple setup problem.

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Oh trust me, I do all that stuff... all the same, I still try and cheat those tools down to the minimum length humanly possible. Sometimes I get a little carried away. Rubbing is racing. Oh and by the way, just to clear up any confusion... there may have been a bit of tongue in cheek humor in my original post, sometimes it doesn't come across over the internet

sometimes necessary

Bluejeep said:

View attachment 256826 sometimes necessary

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Oh now you are making fun of me for being old... I guess I deserve that. I realized today, that I need to take off my distance glasses and squint to see the numbers on a drill bit; pretty soon I'll need cheaters to see anything close up. My Momma always told me that punching the clown would make me go blind... I just didn't think it would take this long.

I'll tell you what though; 2400 IPM and 15,000 RPM doesn't leave a lot of room for error. Not even sure why they still have the E-Stop button... by the time it goes sideways it's already too late. Kinda makes me miss the early days (not really).

I was just going to make a similar thread complimenting Frank @ the folks at Maritool for the excellent tools they make. I was busy the other day, kids were bugging me to go outside, I had just snapped a little endmill and was getting things changed over to get the mill back up and running. Didn't pay attention to the 1/8" endmills stickout.

Interestingly enough, an SK10 collet will machine the surface it is rubbing against and remove material as the tool feeds downwards

Almost an 1/8" in fact! Without any welding!

Hmm, so which style nut gives a better surface finish? Regular hex nut? or slim style with castle notches?

I realized that I constantly rub ...my... nuts on parts, vise jaws, fixtures.... It is like I have an uncontrollable urge.. Not only that, but this syndrome seems to get worse and worse every year.

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That is just wrong.

Fal Grunt said:

Interestingly enough, an SK10 collet will machine the surface it is rubbing against and remove material as the tool feeds downwards

Almost an 1/8" in fact! Without any welding!

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I think programmers call that a "feature"!

Mud said:

That is just wrong.

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That is just offensive. I quit rubbing my nuts on parts and fixtures when I switched to high speed dynamic tool paths years ago... those new HSM routines make chips that are like needles. I can't believe you would insult me by insinuating that I use old school mill programs.

usually i do the math and figure vise jaws might be sticking up .010 or .020. if you leave less than .020" than yes you will rub on vise jaws probably the most.