limitations of 1/4" collett

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raccoontom
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limitations of 1/4" collett

Post by raccoontom »

I would like to use a 1/2" upcut end mill to clear out a large pocket but I have a 1/4" collet on my water cooled spindle. Do I have to find a 1/2" em with a 1/4" shank or is there another way I can use the 1/2" shank em I have?

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martin54
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Re: limitations of 1/4" collett

Post by martin54 »

Not really enough detail to answer, do you have a router or a spindle/vfd set up?
If its a router then there may be other size collets available & if its a spindle/vfd set up then there will be a lot of other size collets available. with the spindle it will most likely be either er11, er16 or er20 collet chuck, I have a water cooled spindle with er20 collet chuck & have a full range of collets for metric sizes up to 12mm plus imperial collets at the sizes I have bits for, means I have little issue buying bits that fit in the spindle :lol: :lol: :lol:

Just noticed you said water cooled spindle, in that case you need to find out what size collet holder it has as they have different max size for collets they will hold :lol: :lol: :lol:

You would need an er20 collet chuck to hold a 1/2" shank bit, all you would need to do is buy an er20 1/2" collet, if you have a smaller collet chuck like an er16 then it won't be big enough to hold a 1/2" shank :lol: :lol:

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Leo
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Re: limitations of 1/4" collett

Post by Leo »

If I looked long enough and hard enough I could likely find an adapter to go FROM 1/4 TO 1/2.

It would be very expensive

It is very unlikely that the length of the setup would fit in your machine

HOWEVER - you have TONS of options

Tools Today has a really nice variety of choices.

https://www.toolstoday.com/search?q=1%2 ... page_num=2

In addition to Tools Today there are MANY other companies that offer what you want.

Just need to do a little internet shopping.
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Re: limitations of 1/4" collett

Post by sharkcutup »

When I purchased (March 2016) my Shark HD3 Pro Extended bed CNC with a water-cooled Spindle it was advertised with FREE Bosch Router so I am able to swap out the water-cooled spindle with the Bosch Router for using my 1/2" router bits. But I have never been in a situation where I have needed to do that. The Bosch Router does come in handy for a table router or hand held applications (if needed).

There are other spindles which can handle the 1/2" shank bits but in my research they tend to be in the 220 volt range which meant for me a re-wiring situation in which I was not prepared to venture into. So if the need so desperately comes into play I will just swap out the spindle I have for the NOISY Bosch Router which can handle my 1/2" router bits.

Just my thoughts/opinions!!!

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Re: limitations of 1/4" collett

Post by martin54 »

sharkcutup wrote:
Fri Aug 27, 2021 5:52 pm
When I purchased (March 2016) my Shark HD3 Pro Extended bed CNC with a water-cooled Spindle it was advertised with FREE Bosch Router so I am able to swap out the water-cooled spindle with the Bosch Router for using my 1/2" router bits. But I have never been in a situation where I have needed to do that. The Bosch Router does come in handy for a table router or hand held applications (if needed).

There are other spindles which can handle the 1/2" shank bits but in my research they tend to be in the 220 volt range which meant for me a re-wiring situation in which I was not prepared to venture into. So if the need so desperately comes into play I will just swap out the spindle I have for the NOISY Bosch Router which can handle my 1/2" router bits.

Just my thoughts/opinions!!!

Sharkcutup
so what spindle do you have? I am pretty sure a lot of the VFD's are dual voltage so either 110 or 220v if not there seem to be plenty of 110v 2.2kw water cooled spindles available depending on where you want to buy from of course. If your spindle doesn't take a 1/2" collet then it must be either an er16 or er11 collet chuck it is fitted with. You would need an er20 or bigger collet chuck for 1/2" collet which you can buy either individually or in a set :lol: :lol: :lol:

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Re: limitations of 1/4" collett

Post by SteveNelson46 »

I have the 1hp HSD 110v spindle on my Camaster. It has an ER20 collet and I've never been sorry I bought it with the machine.
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Re: limitations of 1/4" collett

Post by GEdward »

I did a little research and the water cooled spindle option for his machine is a 120V 2HP (1500W) ER11 unit. That means he is limited to a 1/4 or 7mm collet. I can't find any source for a 1/4 shank 1/2 inch end mill. However, there are some options for surfacing bits with 1/4 shanks that may accomplish what he needs to do.
https://www.amazon.com/Cleaning-Carbide ... achineShop.
I would caution against trying to use the larger sizes however.

Ed

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Re: limitations of 1/4" collett

Post by adze_cnc »

You might just find that there is no time difference between using a 1/4" cutter at higher speed and deeper cut and a 1/2" cutter (1/4" shank) at a slower speed and shallower cut.

If you're still intent on using a larger cutter how about 3/8" cutter with 1/4" shank?

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Re: limitations of 1/4" collett

Post by scottp55 »

Off topic, but +1 for Steve Nelson's comment.
Same spindle for 7 yrs and only ever bogged down trying to drill with the collet nut,
and a 5" cut in teak at 3IPS(both cases the decimal point was a piece of dust on the screen) :oops:
Lots of people lately won't go a 1hp spindle???
LOTS of torque, and a shaft driven fan means, if spindle is going..fan is going...mind at ease:)
Fully aware that less rpms means less air, but I'm aware of it and cut accordingly on those 2 bits.
Can't imagine people having any problems unless on a Desktop size machine.
ER 20 is Nice for me.
Sorry for the sidetrack.
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Re: limitations of 1/4" collett

Post by Daniel S »

Just to add my two cents. I have Shark pro HD3 with the water cooled spindle and it is 1/4 bits max size collect ER11. I was also having issues with having to take shallow cuts and slow speeds to accomplish clearing paths with out a lot of clean up. I purchased a CAMaster Stinger with 1K spindle air cooled (ER20 collect) while Shark HD3 is water cooled.. The air cooled spindle from CAMaster looks to be close to the same size as my Shark HD3 but their is a big difference in operation f you ask me. It is very quite and lots of torque, I have not ever lost steps from slowing down with full bit size cuts and depths. Only by mistake did I do that. If you buy a spindle, research all you can to make sure you can change collets 1/2 to 1/8 bits. I have had help and advise from Steve Nelsonl on the operation on my CAMaster and the operation of the spindle. I read and listen to the masters on this forum and their advise is very sound. I am amateur but having fun learning from the guys on this forum.

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Re: limitations of 1/4" collett

Post by Leo »

scottp55 wrote:
Sat Aug 28, 2021 6:41 pm
bogged down trying to drill with the collet nut scott
Scott - I have a 4hp water cooled spindle. Drilling with a collet nut is still NOT a well thought out plan. I know this very well.

So, Don't try drilling with a collet nut unless you have a 50 hp spindle
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Re: limitations of 1/4" collett

Post by scottp55 »

Yep..those tricky little decimal points!
Who knew burning Teak smells like burnt chocolate! :) :)
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Re: limitations of 1/4" collett

Post by martin54 »

Leo wrote:
Sun Aug 29, 2021 2:40 pm
scottp55 wrote:
Sat Aug 28, 2021 6:41 pm
bogged down trying to drill with the collet nut scott
Scott - I have a 4hp water cooled spindle. Drilling with a collet nut is still NOT a well thought out plan. I know this very well.

So, Don't try drilling with a collet nut unless you have a 50 hp spindle
Does this apply to all collet nuts or are some better for drilling than others ?? :lol: :lol: :lol:

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Re: limitations of 1/4" collett

Post by rtibbs »

martin54 wrote:
Sun Aug 29, 2021 3:10 pm
Leo wrote:
Sun Aug 29, 2021 2:40 pm
scottp55 wrote:
Sat Aug 28, 2021 6:41 pm
bogged down trying to drill with the collet nut scott
Scott - I have a 4hp water cooled spindle. Drilling with a collet nut is still NOT a well thought out plan. I know this very well.

So, Don't try drilling with a collet nut unless you have a 50 hp spindle
Does this apply to all collet nuts or are some better for drilling than others ?? :lol: :lol: :lol:
Only works with collet nuts that have a helical grind on them :mrgreen: I also know from experience :oops:

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