Collet blocks

[DalboyParticipant @dalboy]

[DalboyParticipant @dalboy]

Where can I buy descent set of Stevenson collet block other than Arceurotrade.

I have seen them on E bay but the quality does not look that good

Please note this is not anything personal against the company just it does not allow for my payment method

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Derek,

I doubt you will find a Stevenson collet block anywhere other than Arceurotrade, unless you buy secondhand.

MichaelG.

[VicParticipant @vic]

They have some on Amazon, perhaps they are better than the other ones you’ve seen?

[DalboyParticipant @dalboy]

Thank you both for the reply's Vic, Amazon has the same problem for me. I seem to managed through life without credit cards which on occassions can be a bind but that is only very rarely.

[Pete.Participant @pete-2]

What payment method do you need to use?

[paul raynerParticipant @paulrayner36054]

Hiya Derek

Arc accept debit card payments if thats any good.

or try RDG tools good, luck on there web site though as their search engine is rubbish.

regards

Paul

[I.M. OUTAHEREParticipant @i-m-outahere]

Do you have a relative who has a credit card ? Maybe get them to buy it and reimburse them for the cost ?

I have a few collet blocks all from China and haven’t had a problem with them , more often than not the collet itself is the problem .

I could be wrong but wouldn’t the Arc units made in China anyway ?

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

I think Ausee are the only other outlet as they have links with ARC.

If you don't have a debit card then give them a call on Monday to see if they will take a cheque and send goods once cleared though expect to pay for it but that should still be cheaper than postage from Ausee.

[DalboyParticipant @dalboy]

Again thank you all I will look at some of those that are mentioned.

XD 351 Arc may get theirs from china but I would imagine that quality control is good. I am talking about the entry hole of those on e bay looks rough in most of them. Even though I have relitives with cards I would rather not keep pestering them but that is just a personal thing.

Paul Rayner I know what you mean about some search engines on sites but then I am not any good with any search facility I always end up with something completely different to what I want.

JasonB I will have a look at those and see what they say

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

Derek, I was only giving Ausee as the alternative source which is what you asked for. It would not be practical for you to buy from them and they would need a card anyway.

Ausee's stock will have come from the same source as ARC and been through the same quality control. These are the only genuine Stevenson's blocks as John Stevenson came up with the idea for the ER versions and worked closely with ARC. Any others will be copies and who knows the quality.

Edited By JasonB on 12/05/2019 07:51:39

[Ketan SwaliParticipant @ketanswali79440]

Hi Derek,

I have sent you a PM. Please check your in box.

Thank you.

Ketan at Arc.

[SillyOldDufferModerator @sillyoldduffer]

Searching for 'collet block' on ebay returns many sellers of items remarkably like the original collet blocks as still sold by ArcEuro. They are all in China. May be from the same factory, or copies, perhaps illegal. (John's genius celebrated by imitators!) I think the only way to confirm the quality would be to buy a set.

These days it's possible to save dosh by buying direct from China. The disadvantage is what happens if rubbish turns up! Buying from a British supplier provides consumer protection and – imperfect world though it is – part of the service provided by Arc Euro is filtering out the worst and putting mistakes right.

Can't help with the payment problem. Many firms are reluctant to take cheques: they are untrustworthy and hideously expensive to process compared with an electronic transaction. I would much prefer not to have credit cards and internet banking because the electronic system is run by a bunch of slack Alices and poorly regulated. But it's so easy to use and so hard not to get sucked in. So far I've not had a problem…

Dave

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Note: My underlining, and Jason's emboldening, of Stevenson is significant.

MichaelG.

[I.M. OUTAHEREParticipant @i-m-outahere]

If Ausee has a link to ARC as they say they do then Ketan needs to take a look at some of the stuff they sell ! I got a set of Stevensons blocks from them that were ground with one face at a different height to the other block.,mine are metric and I don’t think the original Stevensons blocks were metric .

Ian.

[DalboyParticipant @dalboy]

Posted by Michael Gilligan on 12/05/2019 10:12:30:

Note: My underlining, and Jason's emboldening, of Stevenson is significant.

MichaelG.

I put Stevenson assuming that was the name of the item rather than a manufacturer I am not bothered by who's name brand but would like something of good quality.

I am still learning and this post has given some pointers to my question. The next part will be to decide which collet size to go for in the blocks but looking at the sizes I may go for the c5 as it gives a wider range in respects of size.

I appriciate that the size to buy is dictated by what I wish to build/make and what size of cross section of the rod is to be used as the C5 has round, square and hexagon collets.

[Ketan SwaliParticipant @ketanswali79440]

Posted by XD 351 on 12/05/2019 10:33:33:

If Ausee has a link to ARC as they say they do then Ketan needs to take a look at some of the stuff they sell ! I got a set of Stevensons blocks from them that were ground with one face at a different height to the other block.,mine are metric and I don’t think the original Stevensons blocks were metric .

Ian.

Hi Ian,

Derek was referring to Stevensons collet bock/s, where as I believe that you are referring to Stevenson's Metric Blocks– 10-20-40 etc. The Stevenson's Metric Blocks are sold as work holding, predominantly used as a kind of low cost jig as JS intended for its use to be. Many of the imperial ones which were in the market place at the time of JS's metric creation failed to bolt together, and what was available was in imperial only. So, JS created METRIC ones, which really did bolt together using metric threads, geared mainly for metric users. It is true that some of the faces have minor differences in height. They are not sold as matched pair, as their main purpose is for use as just stated. However, I can see and understand your point of view, which had also been discussed with John when he was alive. At the time he was not overly concerned by this observation, suggesting that if this was an issue for the user, they could always modify as per their need. As he is not around to go into detail, this is a summary of his comments. However, to reduce the chances of this kind of comments arising, I had put a request in place in the factory that once these type of blocks are ground, the packer should try to pick two blocks in sequence, still packing them individually. Still, they will not be guaranteed to be a matched pair… again because of the main purpose of use being as a low cost jig.

This explanation may or may not meet a persons requirement. At preset, to the best of my knowledge, AUSEE buys all the STEVENSONS range from ARC.

Ketan at ARC.

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Posted by Derek Lane 2 on 12/05/2019 10:59:27:

Posted by Michael Gilligan on 12/05/2019 10:12:30:

Note: My underlining, and Jason's emboldening, of Stevenson is significant.

MichaelG.

I put Stevenson assuming that was the name of the item rather than a manufacturer I am not bothered by who's name brand but would like something of good quality.

.

My comment wasn't intended as a 'dig' Derek … and I apologise unreservedly if it came across thay way

As Jason has mentioned; John Stevenson was the devisor of this ER based version of something that is more commonly available for various 'draw-in' collets.

I don't know any commercial/intellectual-property details; but my assumption would be that JR and KS had some arrangement.

MichaelG.

.

[Ketan SwaliParticipant @ketanswali79440]

Posted by SillyOldDuffer on 12/05/2019 09:55:55:

Can't help with the payment problem. Many firms are reluctant to take cheques: they are untrustworthy and hideously expensive to process compared with an electronic transaction. I would much prefer not to have credit cards and internet banking because the electronic system is run by a bunch of slack Alices and poorly regulated. But it's so easy to use and so hard not to get sucked in. So far I've not had a problem…

Dave

Some 18 years ago, before 'e-commerce' , the active terminology was 'mail order'. A buyer would fill out an order form and send it to us with a chque. This is how most of our business was conducted. Over the years, with the growth of web sales, by 2016, very few customer were sending us cheques, say two to three cheques being received per month, most prefering to pay by debit/credit card through our website. At the same time, banks in our area closed, resulting in our driving further out to bank cheques. So we finally stopped accepting cheques by the end of 2016.

On the subject of e-payments, I discovered a new concept on my recent visit to China. Most of us are familier with WhatsApp and Apple Pay. the Chiese equivalent of WhatsApp is WeChat – more or less 'a good copy' of WhatsApp, but used by most Chinese. Whilst we all discuss e-pay security, the average person on the street in China used 'WeChat pay' to make payments for practically everything from taxi, grocery, local shops, hotel booking, paying on market stalls, parking, web purchase whatever you can think of, using QR codes. I was gobsmacked. they consider it to be a better and more accountable method of paying then using debit/credit cards, as they dont trust their banks to process the transaction in a timely manner. How secure the process is, is open to question, but if there are millions/maybe billions of users for the service, they probably have to get it right. Very little cash being handled.!

Ketan at ARC.

[DalboyParticipant @dalboy]

Michael it did not come across as a dig I was just clarifying what I thought. I have been around many forums hopefully to know the difference.

I still have so much to learn on this side of things even though I was a plant mechanic many years being taught how to scrape bearing and even making a straight edge on a surface plate to be used and still have it. Which I am sure is not shown today

[Robert Atkinson 2Participant @robertatkinson2]

One option to get around keeping a credit card account is to use one of the pre-paid cards that are available from places like supermarkets, normally on display with gift cards. You do a pay a premium and may be left with a unusable balance that can expire but you don't give out your bank details. Most you can loose to fraud is the balance on the card. Also useful for recurring subscriptions that are hard to cancel like gym membership.

Robert G8RPI.

[I.M. OUTAHEREParticipant @i-m-outahere]

Hi Ketan,

Yes i know Derek was asking about the collet blocks, i was unaware that the Stevensons blocks were specified as being un matched , i was thinking they would be as per a 123 block set is a matched set.

If Ausee is a seller that sells items from ARC it is only to my advantage ! I am now immensely less irritated now I know they were never meant to be a matched set.

6ian,

Edited By XD 351 on 12/05/2019 12:42:33

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Posted by Derek Lane 2 on 12/05/2019 12:11:32:

Michael it did not come across as a dig I was just clarifying what I thought.

.

Just for reference … here's the 'Before Stevenson' version in watchmaker size:

… and similar blocks are available for larger size collets.

MichaelG.

[Nick HulmeParticipant @nickhulme30114]

Posted by Michael Gilligan on 12/05/2019 12:54:01:

Just for reference … here's the 'Before Stevenson' version in watchmaker size:

John's idea was to use ER collets for their clamping range and front clamping nut, he also made the block smaller across the flats than the shoulder behind the threads to enable easy, repeatable location against vice jaws for horizontal use.
Can't see any of that in the photos

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

You missed the rear closing nut being used in Michael's images in the same way as JS's uses the nut at the front. You can do the same with 5C blocks if you make a larger replacement nut or turn a thick "washer to go between block and 5C cam closer.

"BB" in the first photo is even better as the stop and lock nut are adjustable. and independent of the closer.

 

Edited By JasonB on 12/05/2019 17:09:15

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