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Stuck collets

krhoover

Aluminum
Joined
Apr 30, 2020
Location
Venango county NW Pa
I have an old m-head that had a stuck 1/2 inch collet in it with a chuck. The chuck and collet had been in it for several months as I couldn’t get it out. Today I needed to do some milling. After beating on the rod that tightens the collets in, and I mean beating on it it let loose. I was hitting it so hard I thought something else was going to give. How can I keep this from happening agian. Should the collets be removed after each use? Or is there like neverseeze type compound etc.
Thanks
 
M head drawbars are designed as pushers, and if the collet is the correct type, should push out easilly. 1) be sure the head is designed for the collet you are using (crossing 7 B&S parts with 2 MT type will be bad) and be sure you have the correct drawbar that locks onto the spindle so it pushes.
 
Make sure the spindle bore where the collet seats is clean and rust free. It's possible the collet key partially sheared and was jammed into the collet keyway, making removal difficult. Inspecting both should confirm. I would not leave a collet under tension for an extended time. Never-seize, never.
 
M head drawbars are designed as pushers, and if the collet is the correct type, should push out easilly. 1) be sure the head is designed for the collet you are using (crossing 7 B&S parts with 2 MT type will be bad) and be sure you have the correct drawbar that locks onto the spindle so it pushes.
Hmm, the drawbar has nut on it that says "on" I believe, I'll post a picture later. Is that what you referring to as a pusher?
 
It used to be common practice to remove tapers from production machines before holiday or other extended periods of non-use. It's not necessary with modern short tapers, but IMO it's still good to do. Long tapers are self seating often not requiring any other retention method, but on top of that the stress in the fit can relax over time in such a way that further locks it in. Not a huge risk on all tapers, as the longer shallower tapers are most susceptible.

When I was younger and being taught how to run our VMC's in the shop, the old timer showing me the ropes said to always take your tool out of the spindle and leave it on the table at the end of the day. Nobody does it anymore, but the practice made sense as a way to mitigate tapers potentially locking, or the off chance the pull stud pops off at 2:30 Sunday morning. I don't leave tools in spindles unless I "need" to, like taking all day to dial something in so you can run it tomorrow, otherwise taking the tool out is just like any other house-keeping task at the end of the day.

If stuck tools happen often, I'd turn a brass rod down as close tot he ID of you spindle as possible and use that to wail on. That way you don't risk damaging threads. Otherwise just loosening the drawbar but leaving it threaded into the collet while you wack it is fine.
 
Should the collets and spindle be bone dry, or should they have a light lube of some sort on them?
IMO at least a light film of oil. It shouldn't slip if the surfaces are damage free and properly set, no mater how much oil is there. The geometry of the taper is more what locks it, rather than the surface texture of the materials.
 
M head spindles don't have any key.

The nut that says "on" implies the coarse square threads on the top of the drawbar have left hand threads. The actual drawbar is captive under that nut. When the drawbar itself is unscrewed it bumps against the underside of that nut (which with lefthand threads does not back out) and thus you can create downward force to push out the self-locking collet. Hold the big square nut with one wrench and turn the drawbar nut CCW - as viewed from above. Unless somebody's changed the drawbar. The original one should be captive under that nut.
 
Does the m head have the set screw in the spindle to keep the collet from spinning? If it's out of adjustment the collet could have ridden over it...seen that happen.
 
Got around to taking pics this morning of the drawbar. I’m not sure I understand the pusher concept of the drawbar as I can’t see how it would work with what I have. It must have been changed or missing something.
Thanks
 

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If you were able to pull the drawbar out (middle photo) without removing the lower, left-hand thread nut shown below the drawbar top in the first photo (says "off") then somebody's changed the drawbar. It should be captive under the lower nut, and able to apply downforce to the collet. You may me able to add a collar to the drawbar you have to recover that function.
 








 
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