What Collet Chuck have I got?

**Robin Hewitt** · 18-11-2008

Originally Posted by Kip

There seems to be a glut of smilies here

:p;)

I've got my smilies back

Had a rummage through my user CP and found it was switched to 'basic editor' upgraded it and there they are :D

Looking at a mill on ebay today, idly threw in a £500 bid and matched first place.

Then the bidder I was tied with withdrew his bid :confused:

Then he bid £490 :confused:

Hello, thought I, he's playing mind games. So I upped my bid to £750 so now he hasn't got a clue where I am

It's going to go for a lot more than that so this is all rather academic. I doubt I will get my new mill until this recession really starts to bite :D

**Jeremy** · 18-11-2008

Glad you sorted the smilies out, and that it turned out to be something straightforward, if a little obscure!

I got home from work at lunchtime today to find a package from Arc Euro containing my new ER16 collet chuck, collets, etc had arrived. Pretty good service, as I only ordered them yesterday lunchtime. Less than 24 hours from placing the order to arriving on my doorstep seems remarkable.

I'm currently perusing the RC motor web sites looking for a suitable motor. I think I've found one that will be OK and should give me a spindle speed of up to around 30,000 rpm using the spare 12V, 30A, power supply I have. These things are amazing value, I can get a brushless three phase motor rated at around 450 watts or so, complete with a suitably over-rated speed controller, for around £30, including postage.

The current plan is to directly drive the spindle from the motor shaft, using a suitable coupling.

Next hunt is for decent deep groove bearings that will spin at 30,000rpm - methinks I might well be into ceramic ball technology at these speeds.............

Jeremy

**Robin Hewitt** · 19-11-2008

Originally Posted by Jeremy

The current plan is to directly drive the spindle from the motor shaft, using a suitable coupling.

Hi Jeremy

What is a suitable coupling for 500 revs/second? :confused:

Balance probably isn't a prime consideration, but no bending parts obviously.

I'd probably go for a rod though one shaft engaging a pair of driving dogs on the other, then spend half an hour adjusting it 'till it ran quiet :D

best

Robin

**irving2008** · 18-11-2008

Originally Posted by Robin Hewitt

I've got my smilies back

Had a rummage through my user CP and found it was switched to 'basic editor' upgraded it and there they are :D

Looking at a mill on ebay today, idly threw in a £500 bid and matched first place.

Then the bidder I was tied with withdrew his bid :confused:

Then he bid £490 :confused:

Hello, thought I, he's playing mind games. So I upped my bid to £750 so now he hasn't got a clue where I am

It's going to go for a lot more than that so this is all rather academic. I doubt I will get my new mill until this recession really starts to bite :D

Unless he reads this! ... so you are bidder 3 then... I agree, it should go for far more, but fleabay is a strange place... nice big table, and DRO but the control unit showing its age... is that c1980s?

There's a nice Bridgeport with DRO just up the road from me going for £265... if only I had the room...

**Robin Hewitt** · 18-11-2008

Originally Posted by irving2008

... so you are bidder 3 then...

Ah, you've found me :D

The controller would have to go. I'm still writing RobinCAM but I want it bad. The arc stepping routine just carried across from 'C' to assembler and is doing a healthy 1000 steps per second top whack. Not bad considering it's doing 2 unnecessary 48 bit squares per step on an 8 bit, 6MHz, CPU.

PS: "irving2008 has exceeded their stored private messages quota and cannot accept further messages until they clear some space".

**irving2008** · 19-11-2008

Originally Posted by Robin Hewitt

PS: "irving2008 has exceeded their stored private messages quota and cannot accept further messages until they clear some space".

sorted that

**irving2008** · 23-11-2008

Originally Posted by Robin Hewitt

I've got my smilies back

Had a rummage through my user CP and found it was switched to 'basic editor' upgraded it and there they are :D

Looking at a mill on ebay today, idly threw in a £500 bid and matched first place.

Then the bidder I was tied with withdrew his bid :confused:

Then he bid £490 :confused:

Hello, thought I, he's playing mind games. So I upped my bid to £750 so now he hasn't got a clue where I am

It's going to go for a lot more than that so this is all rather academic. I doubt I will get my new mill until this recession really starts to bite :D

bet you were getting worried... but in the end it went for a very reasonable £2,260 (but was £1500 with <1min to go).

Picked up a good set of engineers parallels 10 pairs x1/8" for £15 on eBay, a bargain I think.

Have decided to buy MT3 collets and a few other bits... (6" vice, some endmills, etc.), priced up from RDG they come to just over £250... any suggestions where else to check pricing?

**Robin Hewitt** · 23-11-2008

I was only slightly dubious because I web searched it and found two interesting thoughts. Some bod in Yankland saying an early 80's refurbed MH-600P was worth about $1500 so my bid was about right. Someone else saying his had crashed and the only thing coming on was the hydraulic motor.

Hydraulic motor :confused:

Also I'm changing units up on the industrial estate. My landlord has plans to turn my shop in to a building site over December and there was another one going that was warmer, drier, better lit and slightly cheaper to boot. I do like my creature comforts but probably best not to buy large milling machines until I've settled in.

I bought my set of ER32 collets and a #40 chuck for under a hundred on fleabay then sold the chuck so I got my collets for just over £70 which was good back then.