Servicing Burnerd Collets

I'd think it neither necessary or desirable and quite probable that if you get the jaws back in the wrong order they'll never grip true again. Give them a brush out with an old toothbrush or blow them out with an airline, check for any dings where they've been dropped and remove those with a fine oilstone and they should be good to go. Check each one with a test bar for runout and only think about further remedial work if they don't grip true.

I think my set count as about my only ever tool gloat. In the early 90s when engineering businesses in the UK were struggling (when do they ever not?) I found a machinery dealer in the Midlands with a couple of s/h sets, I drove up there, picked the best collets of each size out of both sets to make a perfect set and got the lot with the correct chuck for my Student for £100 plus vat. They all grip to within a couple of tenths, most actually have no visible runout at all on a DTI and it was probably the best investment I ever made for my lathe.

The only thing I find is the foam in the box they came in tends to sort of 'melt' and stick to the collets and I have to brush and scrape it off each time I use one. Also my crappy damp workshop has created some superficial rust on the chuck much as it has on every other bloody tool I own but there's not much I can do about it. If I had one workshop related wish it would be for a rust free environment but I think that'll mean a new workshop.

In article , Dave Baker writes

Dave,

Looks like you get today's bragging prize (unless someone comes up with a humdinger).

Couple of thoughts. The "melting" is common for expanded polystyrene in contact with plasticised PVC or any other plastic containing plasticisers. The latter are very high boiling point organic liquids intended to make the base polymer more flexible, less brittle. Unfortunately it just loves to leach out and dissolve expanded polystyrene, and make a horrible goo. Very common to find it on mains leads left in manufacturers packaging. Only remedy is to prevent contact, either by a barrier (polythene should work fine) or replace the polystyrene with something non-soluble (wood is best).

As for a rust free environment, I installed these:

, one of each size, in my garage, with a cheap thermostat from Screwfix. Do a good job of keeping the temperature reasonable and damp away.

David

Dave,

You've kind of confirmed what I suspected, that disassembly probably isn't a good idea.

I got 5 litres of WD40 and a cheap plastic tank and have the 12 collets soaking right now. I reckon a 3-4 days immersed in WD should sort them out.

I keep my garage - sorry, my palatial workshop - rust-free thanks to an old dehumidifier I found in my Grandad's things after he passed away. I leave it running all winter, emptying it every 2 days or so, and it seems to do the trick.

Paul

I run an Ebac dehumidifier I bought from Argos about 14 years ago to keep the rear section of my workshop dry, the bit that has the machine tools and bits I don't want rusting, works well and is set to drain into an outside drain so doesn't need tending other than cleaning the dust filter. The main garage area does get some water under the door but doesn't seem to cause much problem these days. When I first bought the house one side of the garage had the damp proof course exposed so that water ran down the wall and the wrong side of the course so the garage was very wet on that side when it rained until I lead flashed over the problem , been much better since.

How much electricity does it use?

IIRC it's the basic model so about 230W max, when running. It turns itself on as required according to the humidity setting and humidity so it works more in the autumn and winter and less in the spring and summer when it's drier. I couldn't say what the running cost is but it keeps my expensive tools rust free.

I have used the smallest B&Q model for the past 5 years and it has kept my tools more or less rust-free. I don't recall now the power consumption, (and it is so inaccessible that I don't intend to look,) but I did calculate when I first got it that running costs were far lower than electric heating.

Cliff Coggin.