Klamp DKF65A6

A collet chuck is incredibly easy to use - simply insert the appropriate sized collet, insert your material, and clamp on it. Concentricity is almost guaranteed. The downside is that the clamping range of each collet is limited - plus or minus 0.5mm for our collets. For example, a collet marked 12mm will hold stock sized between 11.5 and 12.5 mm.

When selecting stock take into consideration that the majority of bar material produced in and imported into the UK will be imperial sized. This is why we have a 13mm collet - to hold half inch (12.7 mm) bar stock.

Our model of collet chuck (Klamp DKF65A6) has a maximum clamping capacity of 65mm, which is also the maximum spindle bore capacity of the ST-15Y lathe. If you need to clamp on material that is larger than 65mm in diameter you will need to mount the 3-jaw chuck. The chuck is a "dead length" design, meaning that the amount of material sticking out of the face won't change between when you clamp and unclamp.

Changing collets

Inserting and removing collets is done with a special quick-change gun. The gun is inserted into the holes on the face of the collet and the trigger is pulled to compress the collet. The chuck is unclamped with the foot pedal and the collet can be removed and placed in its protective storage housing. Once you have removed the collet, make sure you clean it and the taper of the collet chuck very well.

Collets are an expensive piece of precision equipment, costing £170+VAT each. Take special care to not scratch any of the taper surfaces or inside the bore. Don't force an over-size piece of material into a collet, and ensure the collet has sufficient grip to hold on to your work at high RPMs. Please don't drop the collets, and clean them well before and after use.

Stocked collets

Collets we keep on hand (mm):

6, 7, 12, 13, 24, 25, 26, 38, 56, 65

If you need a particular size collet to complete a project please ask a member of Maker Space staff - we can look into getting hold of the correct size for you.