What Material for 5C collet Rack

[Clive FosterParticipant @clivefoster55965]

So I'm about to expand my 5C collet collection to full x 1/64 th and x 0.5 mm ranges and need collet racks. Rack I have is 80 hole in some sort of plastic. Another would be fine but can't seem to find one.

All the commercial ones seem to be metal top. I don't like the idea of metal to metal contact so looking for suggestions as to suitable material for DIY.

Some sort of solid sheet plastic looks good but what can be got economically in an appropriate thickness and where from.

Clive.

[Clive FosterParticipant @clivefoster55965]

[Mike E.Participant @mikee-85511]

Get some plastic cutting boards, check out the Pound shops, Sainsbury, or similar shops.

[Mark RandParticipant @markrand96270]

I'm going to use 10mm aluminium sheet for the collet shelves in my Hardinge lathe cabinet because that's what I've got. But you could look for HDPE sheet on EBay, it seems to be available in sensible sizes at sensible prices.

[MikeParticipant @mike89748]

I am sure contributors who know much more about plastics than me will advise, but some plastics are acidic enough to cause rust over a long period. For instance, the plastic used for shotgun cartridge cases can cause the chambers of guns which don't have chromed bores to go rusty unless they are regularly cleaned.

[Clive FosterParticipant @clivefoster55965]

No Pound Shop or full fat Sainsbury within 20 miles or so so hunting for cutting boards in person isn't practical. E-Bay shows 5 mm thick 35 x 23 cm plain white ones for around £2.50 a pop. Are these the same sort of thing? I know many of the inexpensive variety are flexible.

Current 80 hole rack is around 44 x 35 cm so two cutting boards per rack should work. A dedicated cabinet with two slide out shelf pattern drawers looks good way to go.

HPDE was on my list as a likely candidate but economy option would be to patchwork together from several pieces. Need to be pretty confident in material and thickness for that much effort.

Mike has highlighted my other big worry. Clearly plastic can be just fine as my current rack has lasted over 20 years with no ill effects on collets. Be nice to know if there are any to be avoided.

Thanks

Clive.

[Brian Sweeting 2Participant @briansweeting2]

I have a range of ER25 collets which I store in an ice-cube tray.

I then screwed it to the wall with a wedge to kick the bottom out.

Similar from web trader http://www.amazon.co.uk/Kitchen-Craft-Colourworks-Cube-Tray/dp/B004ZKUHEK

Edited By Brian Ess on 20/08/2017 16:12:37

[John HaineParticipant @johnhaine32865]

6mm MDF. "Varnish" it with dilute PVA glue, allow to dry thoroughly.

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

Or 6mm melamine faced MDF so no need to varnish

[Clive FosterParticipant @clivefoster55965]

Looks good Jason.

Clearly you have no problem with MDF dust.

I'd always believed that it's nearly impossible to eradicate all traces of semi-loose dust from the inside of holes in MDF. If this were so then with something like collet rack there would always be some risk picking up tiny traces when taking out and putting back. But Johns varnish with dilute PVA sounds an effective solution unless a real mess is made of the hole when cutting.

I guess those round cutters kitchen fitters use for hinge recesses et al do neater job than ordinary hole saws

Time to investigate the stash from the last kitchen re-fit methinks!

Clive

[duncan webster 1Participant @duncanwebster1]

Posted by Mike E. on 20/08/2017 13:37:46:

Get some plastic cutting boards, check out the Pound shops, Sainsbury, or similar shops.

+1, I get mine from IKEA, last ones were £1 a pop. They are UHMWP I think, so good for electrical insualtion as well.

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

Probably no harder to remove MDF dust than a bit of cast iron dust from the collet. Those holes were drilled with a cheap Fostner bit as I did not have a TCT hinge type cutter of the right size.

I work with MDF a lot for work and can work that all day without issues but an hour machining CI can give me black bogies yet I'm sure those on here who bemoan MDF don't say we should not be using cast iron.

If you do opt to PVA it then use a waterproof one otherwise it may come back to life when you put that collet back into its hole while wet with soluable oil.

Edited By JasonB on 20/08/2017 18:42:51

[norman valentineParticipant @normanvalentine78682]

"an hour machining CI can give me black bogies"

Yes Jason, and ten minutes using an angle grinder!

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Posted by norman valentine on 20/08/2017 20:24:55:

"an hour machining CI can give me black bogies"

Yes Jason, and ten minutes using an angle grinder!

Just thought, I never get rusty bogies. Does that mean snot is a rust inhibitor?

[Gray62Participant @gray62]

I made my racks from 6mm MDF, sealed with PVA and then painted with some leftover car aerosol from my old MG. Never have any problem with dust from the holes.

[HughEParticipant @hughe]

Be careful a lot of plastics such as nylon 6.6 absorb moisture which is then released when the air dries out. I an drawer this then condenses on any colder metal object. Learnt from bitter experience.

Hugh

[John Stevenson 1Participant @johnstevenson1]

Clive,
I follow certain posters on this board and take them seriously, you are one of them.
But MDF dust from a preformed hole like Jason has shown?
I never took you down as OCD to any extent.
Jason outperforms most on here in terms of skill and output but doesn’t seem to suffer the dust problem.
Would it be a problem to seal the hole with a wipe round the inside with a smear of petroleum jelly?

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Posted by John Stevenson on 21/08/2017 09:54:16:

Would it be a problem to seal the hole with a wipe round the inside with a smear of petroleum jelly?

That might work on nostrils too…

[Mike E.Participant @mikee-85511]

Another solution might be to get a cut off from a piece of PVC facia board or window sill, etc., from a local supplier.

If no supplier is nearby, you might be able to find what you need at the recycling centre in your area, or at a building site skip.

[Clive FosterParticipant @clivefoster55965]

John

Wow. Thanks for the compliment.

Dust issue came from tea break comments when I was still working for RARDE / DERA / DRA / QinetiQ during chats about equipping a new optics lab (not mine). Bloke in charge of the work suggested storing pin mounted carriers upright in an MDF plate full of holes. Same sort of thing as we are talking about albeit smaller holes. A respected co-worker, whose opinion was generally at least good on most subjects advised against it, as he knew of someone at another establishment who had had dust problems with this approach. Not great but enough to be a right hassle in the context of an optical lab. These were ascribed to small particles being rubbed off the holes when things were removed and put back. MDF changed for delrin and problem gone. Bloke having the lab done at our place used delrin. Equivalents in my lab were made by the establishment woodwork shop before my time. Some sort of close grained hardwood, lovingly polished, stained and multiply varnished. Total overkill on the taxpayers money! Hopefully an apprentice product.

Obviously third or fourth hand info so limited reliability and no way for me knowing if its a real problem or just bad technique in that particular case. Generally MDF and I don't get on that well and I've always found it needful to put a bit of extra effort into ensuring things are dust free before painting.

Dust in the collet thread affecting engagement and similar recurring minor issues are the sort of irritation that really pushes my buttons. Big stuff cope just fine. Small stuff danger UXB!

OCD?

Um, lets see, he's getting full sets of imperial x 1/64 th and metric x 0.5 mm 5C collets together. Put that down as a tick in the maybe box then. Oh, and stick another one in the yes box under overkill to whilst the clipboard is out.

Clive.

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

Clive, can I ask what you do about fine cast iron dust or any small particles of swarf carried by cutting fluid?

[John McNamaraParticipant @johnmcnamara74883]

Hui Clive

I would use MDF or better still a good chunk of dressed timber.

An array of drilled holes is easy to do, the only difficulty is that the top edge of the hole is likely to be chipped by the act of drilling or inserting tools in the holes.

If you have a wood router the trick is to use a 2.5 – 3mm radius cutter to round all the holes and the corners of the block. This will remove any chipped edges and stop the edges chipping when inserting and removing tools. These days small sets of cutters are very inexpensive.

5 minutes with the router and you have a nice looking and functional block. a couple of coats of polyurethane varnish will finish it off.

See two images below

Regards
John

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

I generally use plywood or any handy piece of timber i can lay my hands on -usually pine .

People have been using wood for tool holders for centuries without too much problem and i have never had a problem with it .

Ian.

[MWParticipant @mw27036]

I agree with XD; you could go all fancy and make something you want to be proud of but to be honest, I've made collet racks and tool holders just out of scrap soft wood and steel angle brackets, I'd rather use what's to hand than spend money on new materials. 

i'm not trying to win a prize for it, I just want a place to put my things.

In terms of tools to use, large drills or wood bits for small inserts and hole saws for large / or morse taper inserts. Just deburr it all by hand with a sharp blade.

(In my case I prefer kennedy red plastic handled blades from Cromwell, but it really doesn't matter.)

Michael W

Edited By Michael-w on 21/08/2017 20:52:16

[Nigel McBurney 1Participant @nigelmcburney1]

Use some aluminium channel,the ali does not damage the collets and or contain any nasties which could corrode the collets, Bore the holes in the wide part of the channel,and sit it on the two shorter legs,have stored double angle collets for years without any damage or corrosion.

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