Source for 3C collet closer?

======== Get a #3MT to #4MT reducer, cut the back half off, and use the

3MT/3C collet closer. Be sure and get the "import" grade 4->3 reducer that is not hardened unless you have an abrasive cut-off saw. Oddly enough the soft sleeves with hardened tang are frequently more expensive than the hard sleeves.

See

Unka' George [George McDuffee] ============ Merchants have no country. The mere spot they stand on does not constitute so strong an attachment as that from which they draw their gains.

Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), U.S. president. Letter, 17 March 1814.

=========== You may wish to consider a somewhat less expensive alternative.

It is possible to bolt a vertical or horizontal/vertical collet vise to your lathe faceplate, and use the far less expensive 5C collets which also come in square and hex as well as round.

The drawback is that you can't use rod stock through the spindle.

see

?ProductID=900-0012 It is also possible to bolt a plate or block to the faceplate which can clamp a rod. This is not as quick to operate, but will allow through the spindle feed. Very cheap and can be fabricated in any size you need. The clamping action can be a set [grub] screw which may mar the stock, or you can slot the block and use a pinch screw.

If you do run stock through the spindle, be sure that it does not extend past the end of the spindle more than one or two inches [thin rods will bend with any extension], or that you provide some sort of tube or pipe guide for the longer lengths. Many injuries to people and significant damage to machines have occurred when a long lengths of stock was fed through the spindle and started to "whip." Unka' George [George McDuffee] ============ Merchants have no country. The mere spot they stand on does not constitute so strong an attachment as that from which they draw their gains.

Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), U.S. president. Letter, 17 March 1814.

The cheapest way might be chucking a hexagonal 5C collet block in the 3 jaw, but this would require removing the block in order to load / remove a part. Bison does have a 5C collet chuck ($300, IIRC) but that means mounting it to a back plate.

The MT4 and 3C combination would fit the collet inside the taper, reducing the chance it would be off-center.

Yup.

Hmm, I hadn't considered using the 3MT to 4MT reducer as seperate adapter for the spindle. I used to use an adapter when I used 5C collets in a bigger late. That plus the live collet changer (Royal) made things work.

You can order anything like this from Hardinge, but then it would likely cost more than your lathe did .. :-)

GWE

Or you can order a hardened sleeve for 15 bucks from MSC and just cut off the small end with an abrasive cutoff wheel if Lathemaster doesn't have what you want. See this link:

the sleeve description. If you want you can use the green Loctite to glue the MT3 and MT4 sleeves together. If you go that route you can just treat the sleeves as if it was a solid MT4 OD 3C ID sleeve. ERS