3SS collets

[bora492]

I bought a little tool sharpener at an estate sale. It cleaned up pretty well, but someone else had already snagged the collets. So, I've got a neat little machine and only one collet (1/8").

The collets are marked Hardinge 3SS. They are obsolete, but Hardinge will sell them for, wait for it, $215 each!!!

Does anyone have any "spare" 3SS collets kicking around? If not, I now have an entire machine dedicated to keeping my 1/8" drill sharp.

 

[A_Pmech]

Do you have a lathe and milling machine?

Single-angle collets like that are easy to make.

Alternatively, you could re-make the spindle into a more common collet size like the Black Diamond collets.

 

[bora492]

Thanks for the suggestion. Yes, I have a lathe and mill, and was hoping to sharpen my 2, 3, and 4-flute endmills.

I just checked Ebay, and you're right about Black Diamond. There are whole sets for pretty cheap. However, I would need someone to regrind the spindle to accept Black Diamond collets, but the challenge would be rigging up a way to tighten the collet. Or, maybe I would be better off to replace the spindle altogether with a 5C collet holder.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Dave