Does SKS know if there are alternative collets for the Tom Senior mill that will take Weldon, or plain, shank endmills? The local High School here in Burns Lake, British Columbia is finding it difficult - and expensive - to access the threaded collets which seem to be standard and the threaded endmills to suit.
Thanks for any help or suggestions of alternatives.
Mike in BC
----------------- From a quick web search it appears that Tom Seniors generally had a B&S9 taper, but may have had other options if special ordered or converted. These seem to have a 1/2X13 drawbar thread.
If this is the case for your machine see
I have used both the collets and end mill holders in a MT spindle. The both work well, but the collets are harder to change the tool as these are not "self-releasing." On the other hand the adapter takes up 2 inches or so of head room which can be a problem [and is why I have the collets], but are much quicker to change an end mill or tool with the same size shank.
also
Unka' George [George McDuffee]
------------------------------------------- He that will not apply new remedies, must expect new evils: for Time is the greatest innovator: and if Time, of course, alter things to the worse, and wisdom and counsel shall not alter them to the better, what shall be the end?
Francis Bacon (1561-1626), English philosopher, essayist, statesman. Essays, "Of Innovations" (1597-1625).
Those are the Clarkson endmills and holders. They are not "standard" in the USA, And I think that you can get them more easily in Canada than I could here.
The place where you could expect to find them most easily would be in the UK, where they originated.
But -- especially in a school -- the Clarkson collets and endmills will reduce the number of crashes, as that design absolutely prevents the end mill from walking out of the collet.
I don't know what spindle the Tom Senior has, but it almost certainly has an adaptor to the Clarkson collets and end mills, and you should be able to get other styles to fit it. The most common and likely would be the R8 spindle, but there are lots of others as possibilities.
I happen to have some Clarkson to NTMB-30 spindle adaptors, and the collets -- but not the end mills yet, so I have not yet had a chance to play with them.
Good Luck, DoN.
Someone posted this link here in RCM, I think, when the Clarkson subject came up recently:
What taper is the TS fitted with?. My neighbour has a TS which had a MT3 IIRC in the vertical head quill but we converted that to R8 for cheaper and wider range of tooling and he could borrow the tooling for my BP.
If it's MT2 or MT3 then commonly available adaptors should do the trick like here
Well, finally managed to get the Clarkson chuck off the spindle and it turns out it is MT2. No problems ahead now!
Mike in BC
SNIP
Hey Mike,
My Busy Bee flyer catalogue arrived this morning, and they have MT-3 drawbar collets on special (that's MT THREE). Now I know that they have sold MT2 collets individual and in sets in the past, but I couldn't find it in a quick check at
However,
does stock them, even though they are spelled MOSE collets!! Pretty decent guys to deal with and low prices
Item 35129 MT2 collet 1/8 - 1/2" (by 1/16's) = 7 PC Set at . $53.00 US
They do ship to Canada, although an email is best due to a less than easy to understand verbal language conflict, or order on-line. Really nice guy, but hard to understand. He will be at NAMES in mid- April if that helps.
Take care.
Brian Lawson, Bothwell, Ontario.
ps....I had a Clarkson Auto-Lock on an Atlas mill some years back, and it was tough to get those "threaded-drive-end" end-mills even then. I went to the MT2 collets.
-------- Thanks for the feedback. I always wonder how things turn out.
Unka' George [George McDuffee]
------------------------------------------- He that will not apply new remedies, must expect new evils: for Time is the greatest innovator: and if Time, of course, alter things to the worse, and wisdom and counsel shall not alter them to the better, what shall be the end?
Francis Bacon (1561-1626), English philosopher, essayist, statesman. Essays, "Of Innovations" (1597-1625).
Thanks Brian, got my BB flyer this am too. Miracles do happen!
They've got some MT2 endmill holders (drawbar) for Weldon shank mills, so do ArcEuroTrade (John Stevenson?) in the UK. John's look like somewhat better quality and the price is good too. It's the shipping that's off- putting. Anyway have given the 2 shop teachers a heads-up on all this so now it's up to them.
Mike in BC
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