Had a collet chuck let go at 12k rpm this morning

Scraped the part, blew out the tool holder, and scared the hell out of me. Think the drawbar wasn't tight enough but I've been running this setup for months with no issues. Anybody else had a collet slip on them out of nowhere? What did you find was the cause?

2 comments

2 Comments

sanchez.ivan14d agoMost Upvoted

Used to think collet chucks were basically idiot-proof until I had one spit a tool at 8k and realized how fast things can go sideways. Now I check drawbar torque way more often than I ever thought I would.

sullivan.quinn13d ago

Man yeah I read somewhere that on some machines the drawbar can loosen up from the heat and vibration alone. A guy I know had a tool come loose on a lathe and it shot across the shop, punched a hole in the wall. Now he checks his collet nuts every time he changes a tool. People don't realize how much those little details matter until they get reminded the hard way.