Tried a used 1/2 inch collet off eBay - big mistake on a Friday run

Picked up a cheap collet for my Haas mini mill last week. First pass on a 6061 bracket showed .005 runout on the indicator. Anyone else get burned by worn tooling from resale sites?

3 comments

3 Comments

brian_hart9d ago

Five thousandths from a used collet? That's wild.

brooke4489d ago

Back in my gunsmithing course at Trinidad State, I would've sworn that anything over a thou or two was user error on the setup. But my own Haas mini-mill taught me different when I ran a batch of 304 stainless with a used 3/8 end mill that had a tiny chip in one flute. The runout jumped to almost four thou on the indicator, and I could see the finish go to crap before I even measured the parts. Your mileage may vary, but that experience made me a believer that used tooling can absolutely throw things off way more than people usually expect.

perry.jesse9d ago

Four thou from a chipped flute? Yeah, I've had that exact same thing bite me too.