Had to pick between a 3-jaw chuck and a collet system for my CNC lathe

I run a small shop out of my garage in Denver and mostly do custom parts for local guys. Last month I got a batch of 50 stainless steel fittings that needed super tight tolerances. My old 3-jaw chuck was walking all over the place on the runout, like .005 inches off. So I finally swapped to a collet system from a used gear dealer I know. First part I ran came out at .0005 runout which felt like magic. But then I had to change over for a different diameter part and it took me 20 minutes just to swap collets. The 3-jaw would have been a 30 second swap but with worse accuracy. I guess it's a trade off I never thought about before. Anyone else deal with this back and forth?

2 comments

2 Comments

jessicac2825d agoMost Upvoted

felt like magic" is exactly how I felt when I switched to a collet system on my manual lathe last year. I was burning through time on repeat jobs with a 3-jaw that just wouldn't hold tight tolerances, but now I barely have to touch anything after the first part. The 20 minute swap is annoying but the consistency makes up for it, right?

kelly.nora25d ago

Doesn't it feel like the whole world is moving toward systems where you set things up once and then step back? I've noticed it in cooking too, like using a good knife or a decent pan makes every meal easier after you learn it. That initial setup pain is just the cost of making everything after it run smooth.