Collet Bearing Nuts - Good/bad/tips?

[rhfurniture]

Has anyone with a spindle tried bearing collet locknuts on their ER25 spindle? I have recently gone over to using a torque wrench and am somewhat amazed at how rarely cutters fell out when I was just using the 2 short spanners (I probably never used much over 25ftlb). I wondered if bearing nuts would help - given their reported improvements, would a lower torque setting be valid?

Allbest,

R.

[adrianm]

Are you having issues with bits falling out when they collet is done up?

That's more likely to be a sign of the collet being worn out or choked with dust I would think.

I've never had a bit fall out but I alternate three collets making sure that they are cleaned thoroughly between each use and I change them once a year.

[ssflyer]

I'm with Adrian on this - I've never even had a bit slip, that I'm aware of, let alone fall out. I clean my collets after each run, and also alternate them. One thing I'm sure you are aware of, but is good for newcomers to remember, is to snap the nut onto the collet correctly, or it will never tighten properly.

What spindle do you have, and which nut? The mini ER25 nuts are only supposed to be torqued to ~25ft/lbs., while the standards go up to ~70-80, if I remember correctly. You will also damage your collets by over-tightening them.

Bearing nuts will improve static stiffness and greatly improve damping, which can suppress chatter, but I simply don't think they would make that much difference in wood or soft materials.

If you decide to give them a try, be sure to let us know the outcome!

[rhfurniture]

Hi,
No I change collets quite often - and my usage at my own shop is very low - I would say at least every 2 months of low production level usage. The collets are the large ones, not the mini castles. We tried torque wrenching when 170mm long x 16mm dia upcut spiral cutters started escaping at our project workshop. In my workshop I now have the torque wrench set to around 40 ft lbs (I use the torque to set it, but can just use the smaller spanner to undo), and it works well - at the project we run at around 65, or a little more for the big cutters.
We plan to try the bearing nuts and see how it goes.

R.

[rhfurniture]

Ps: at the project the operator is almost obsessive about cleanliness...

[donclifton]

Do you have the collet snapped into the nut.
Don

[sailfl]

Not only is it important to clean the collet and nut but the inside of the spindle where they fit. I also spray my collet and nut with T-9.