I bought some ER32 colletts and they seem to be pretty accurate. Like you said the increased holding diameter range is a good thing. Thanks for the video Dave.

Good video. I appreciate your effort to word your descriptions accurately because a lot of machinists (even professionals) don't explain things very well.

Gday Davey great topic, I need to get collet blocks some day, throughly enjoyed watching, cheers Matty

Thanks Dave

Hi Dave, Good review, well explained Take care Paul,,

I have a MT3 quill in both my mill and my lathe tailstock I also bought a ER32 collet set to use there when I need to. I also purchased a 5C collet set, I almost exclusively the 5C collets in the lathe spindle when I’m not using the 3 or 4 jaw chuck, and my 4 and 6 sided indexing blocks.

Thanks for the thoughtful 5C vs. ER32 comparison. Have heard that the Lyndex and Maritool ER32 collets are really accurate, and make good quality closers.

What a lot of people don’t realize is that both Hardinge, who invented the 5-C, and Bridgeport, who invented the R-8, intended them for either tooling (R-8) or precision machined first operation parts to be finished on their second operation lathes. So the collets are designed for accurately sized and actually round stock (not mill stock which is neither correctly sized, or round). Double angle collets that tighten from the front are designed to compress a bit and can be used for stock that’s not exactly round or exactly sized. They can be used for tooling as well, which is what I use them for, on my mill, though I use them for stock on my lathe. If you use ER collets, I highly recommend Techniks collets. They’re not very expensive, and they’re 0.0002”.

G'day Dave, Kevin here from Australia. Thankyou for the video very interesting. ✌ peace.

Thanks for the interesting review of the accurarity of collets. Long time ago, when I started my home workshop, an engineer told me about collets: Draw-in collets like 5C, 16C, watchmaker's collets etc. are primarly designed for material holding . 5C collets are available in round, square and hexagonal, and on request in any shape, e.g. oval. The 5C collet can be opened while the lathe is running and the bar fed forward. Cons is that when the collet closes, the bar is drawn back a bit. Hardinge makes Dead-Length collets where the bar does not retract. Double taper collets, as ER, are designed primarily for tool holding. Well known high end collets are made by Schaublin (Swiss) and Hardinge (US). Sorry for my English, its not my native language.

Do yourself a favour and get a 5C to ER32 adaptor, it will allow you to use your ER32 collets on any machine in the workshop with the added advantage of a through hole.

Dave...tks for the video, but you lost me? You said you would put the original ER32 nut on and show that it is not concentric, yet the test shows it is good? Which nut did you use? When I checked my square block with a gage pin, sides 1 & 2 were the same reading, 3 & 4 were not concentric to 1 & 2.

Hey, Dave. Timing is great...I first went all out on high precision ER32 collet set...now wondering why I didn't go 5C...gonna wait till I have a larger lathe! I had it explained that clamping/tightening force for ER32 was *much* higher than for 5C. Now, when and which 5C lathe chuck are you going to go for? Bison 4" is a little pricey...

Cheers Dave, Never really given 5c collets ago :) Always wondered why there is so many 5c collets in a set. ATB Adam

Nice vid explaining the differences. AS soon as I get a proper working lathe I will jump into the ER32 deep end to start rebuilding my 1938 Seth Thomas Mantle clock. These tiny shaft bushings must be precisely made or I might as well pay someone else the 500 to do it for me. I cannot imagine a 3 jaw chuck working out too well for this job..

I didn’t catch it because I was working while watching. You did snap the er collet into the nut first, right?

Thanks for this interesting video. Regarding the use of collets I maybe misinterpreted Your video. The collect must be placed into the locking nut and then that package can be applied into the collect block, collet chuck etc. Doing it any other way measurements will really be "all over the place.'' Recently looking at a guy disassembling a Chinese 25 Amp SSR it was shown that the Triac inside had a max of 12 Amps... My conclusion is that Chinese Amps are 0.5 of an Imperial, or Metric Amp so their figures will be more impressive..... Maybe the same applies to Chinese tolerances?.... 1 Chinese 0.001" corresponds to and Imperial 0.002, or more... Just picked up another interesting tool from a recent Tubalcain video, the Rose Index. Here's a link to the inventor: kzfaq.info/love/6p5jwZsy-J0KJ86b8qwH9g

Dave, the good manufactured ER32 collets, will give you a little more additional and they "yes" will grip the complete length. The company where I work, demanded accuracy. And bought the Hardinge products. Like you said, draw of the straw. You can get lucky via the imported stuff. Other times, you loose.

Newbie question here. Aside from the accuracy of the blocks, what are the pros & cons of either type? Are both types able to have pass through or is that specific to the manufacturer. A commenter mentioned getting an 5C to ER32 adaptor. Can you expand on this. I want to get a set of blocks and trying to decide which would be best to start with. Bridgeport mill and a LeBlond Regal lathe (13x30). The spindle on the lathe is LO. The tailstock is MT3. Currently, I am using R8 collets for my mill. Lots to learn. Just a hobbyist. Thanks

Hi Joe another great informative video! I’m in Britain 🇬🇧 and have a small Smart + Brown model A lathe approx age probably 1950s made in London. It has a set of externally threaded collets ( with no internal threads ) These look very similar to the 5C collets in the video and are tightened by means of an internally threaded hollow drawbar the female taper is integral to the head stock spindle. I’d like to identify the type of collets these are so additional sizes can be purchased The thread measures .880” O.D. the nearest thread iv been able to find is 7/8-24 The 24tpi is perfect but the 7/8” is a little loose in the draw bar ( I have a 7/8-24 tap ) Have you seen a collet like this before and can you or anyone else tell me the name for this kind of collet ? Any help is greatly appreciated 👍🏻

I made the mistake of buying a cheap set of ER40 collet blocks, hex and square. Brutally bad quality, wound up splurging on a better quality set. What I would really like to get or make is an ER40 chuck for my lathe, but all in due time. Your block there looks pretty good by the numbers though!

Dave does it once again this is paul cote from maine new name other one was hacked

Thanks Dave