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ER 16 Collet Size Problems

I picked up a Taig 2019 mini mill recently, and have been using it to do some CNC engravng while I learned how to use my software and get a feel for my machine. Mostly I used some 1/8" shaft stuff to do some engraving. Today I decided it was time to make some tight fitting solid t-bolt nuts and rails to fit in the table. Something a little better than the flat plates that came with the mill. Also helicoiled to a common size so I could pick up a variety of different length screws to use with clamping fixtures.

Thinking everything would be honky dory I sliced some 3/8" aluminum plate on the table saw to 5/8" wide strips So I could mill it down to 1/2" to fit the table grooves. Then I got it clamped up on the mill table with a couple welding clamps. I used the shaft of an 1/8 mill point to get the bar straight roughly to the table travel, and proceeded to swap collets to use a

1/4" flat end mill to rough material off of one side only to find out that my 1/4" shaft mill point would not fit in the 1/4" collet with the collet snapped into the nut. Then I tried with the 3/8" collet with a 3/8" shaft end mill and got the same results. The ER16 is what is supposed to be used in this mill, and the collets where clearly labeled for the size I was trying to install and use.

Am I missing something? If I took the collet out of the mill head nut I could force the shaft in, but then it would not snap into the nut at all. I measuered the shafts of the various mill points I was trying with a caliper, and the 3/8 measures .375 and the 1/4 measures .250 so I know its not that, but hey I had to check and make sure right.

Bob La Londe

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Reply to
Bob La Londe
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You have metric collets.

JC

Reply to
John R. Carroll

Mislabeled?

The 3/8 actualy says 3 8 on the face of the collet as well as ER16 3/8 on the plastic case. Same with the 1/4. The only other one I have mill points to fit is 1/8 and they work just fine. All of them came as part of a set of collets.

Bob La Londe

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Reply to
Bob La Londe

Probably not. I've seen, and have, 10mm collets labeled "3/8", but they aren't actually. you probably have a 6 and 10 mm collet. measure the ID and see.

JC

Reply to
John R. Carroll

A .375" cutter not going into a 10mm (.393") would seem odd, makes me wonder if the collet isn't seated in the nut properly. I have a set of ER16 upto 10mm and each has a range of 1mm ie 9-10, 8-9 etc. I don't know what an inch ER16 collet series would have as a range. When I use them I pick the collet based on the open size and the cutters always fit fine when the collet is inserted into the nut.

Reply to
David Billington

I don't know how they mark these things but I think John's comment on metric is almost certainly right. If you compare ER, R8 and 5C collets, ER's are the most say we say flexible.

Wes

Reply to
Wes

Well, I have pretty much concluded I have gotten metrics mislabeled as inch sizes or junk collets. I ordered a set of collets directly from Taig along with a new closer nut just in case. If as I am sure it well shows that I got junk or mislabeled collets then I'll come back here and name the seller of the ones that do not work.

Reply to
Bob La Londe

I just got a new Taig ER16 nut from Super Tech and a set of Taig Collets. The collets from Taig work in the old nut and the new nut, but the generic collets also work just fine in the new nut. That tells me that there is a difference between the old closer nut and the new closer nut as well as a difference between the collets themself.

While the collets I had may not have been perfect, I have to also conclude that either there was a problem with the original closer nut, or there is a great deal of variance in their finished closer nuts.

Now I have two nuts and two sets of collets.

This is why I bought a new closer nut as well as Taig collets. Now I know.

Bob La Londe

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Reply to
Bob La Londe

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