R8 Collet Set or R8-ER32 Collet Set | Canadian Hobby Metal ...

R8 Collet Set or R8-ER32 Collet Set

Using R8 collets aims to eliminate the need for a drill chuck on my mill.
While convenient for some, I personally find frequent collet changes cumbersome. Consider a typical drilling sequence that includes edge finding, spot drilling, regular drilling, and maybe some counterboring or tapping. Each of these steps could necessitate a different tool shank diameter, requiring multiple collect changes. It's worth noting that chucks were originally designed to address this issue. Another minor drawback of using R8 collets for drilling is that they sit high up in the quill, which might obscure your view of the drilling area, particularly with short drills.

Would an R8 collet sized to a 32nd hold a tool that is 1/64" larger?
You should never exceed your collet's nominal capacity or grip something significantly undersized, as this can distort the collet.

One benefit of ER collets is their capacity to grip various endmills, be they imperial or metric. North American endmill prices are generally higher compared to Asian offerings. There are also legitimate endmill holders that match your shank dimensions and usually feature a set screw for additional security. Slippage is rarely an issue up to a 1/2" diameter unless you're conducting heavy-duty tasks.

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Confusion with R8 Spindle and Collets

My X2 mill is currently disassembled for cleaning off the red packing grease. Upon measuring the T-slot opening on the table, I found it to be approximately 11mm wide.

Both the HF and LMS clamping kits use 3/8" studs. HF claims its 58 Piece Combination Step Block and Clamp Set - 3/8"-16 NC Studs, 1/2" Clamps is suitable for 1/2" table slots, which equates to about 12.7mm. LMS specifies their Clamping Kit, 7/16" T-Slot is for 12mm slots but mentions it's designed for 7/16" T-slots, which is just over 11mm.

Given these measurements, it seems both kits could work for the X2 table, though the HF T nuts or clamps might need slight milling to fit properly. Unfortunately, my LMS clamping kit is currently misplaced among my other tooling and accessories, so I can't verify it right now.

Slightly off-topic, but perhaps other X2 owners could provide input. My X2 remains disassembled, but based on the measurements of the T-slot, and the specifications of the clamping kits, both HF and LMS options appear viable if the slight size discrepancy is addressed.

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