5C Collet Storage

[Kim]

I recently got a fleet of 5C collets to go with my Grizzly lathe and I wanted to come up with a meaningful way to store them all. Here's my solution.  Warning: This involves making a bunch of that brown swarf!  So if you are someone who has an allergic reaction to seeing brown swarf, stop reading now and go to the next thread!

It's a very simple design; just a few lengths of 2x4's with 1.25" holes drilled 1.25" deep.

After determining a meaningful hole pattern, I spent a couple of quality hours with my drill press and a spade bit:


Each 15" piece of 2x4 will hold 16 collets, and I made 6 of them.  That give me 96 spots to fill.  Here's the whole lot of'em:


And then I spent a good chunk of time populating it!  What's cool is that with the holder being 8 holes tall, each column can hold 1/8" worth of 1/64" increment collets!  I thought that was clever (even if it was an accident ).


Then I moved the collet holders to their final resting place (the only drawer in my tool chest that is deep enough for them to stand upright!).


It took far longer than I'd hoped (I'd pictured a 1 hour job - HAH!) but I'm quite pleased with the results.

Thanks,
Kim

[stevehuckss396]

That is nice and fits in the tool box just fine.

[b.lindsey]

That looks great Kim. You might want to keep a check on the collets over time though to be sure any remaining moisture in the wood doesn't rust or darken them. Even if it happens its a cosmetic issue but with that nice collection of collets I would be wanting to keep them as pristine and shiny as possible. Very nice storage solution and it fits the tool chest perfectly.

Bill

[Kim]

Thanks Steve and Bill,

The fact that it fits in the drawer is something I can take credit for!  I carefully designed it to fit!   And I wanted to have enough room for my current collets plus some extra space for possible expansion; square, hex, a emergency, step, or any other 5C collets I may pick up over time!

Do people have a problem with moisture from wood?  I know good tools are often stored in wood boxes, but maybe that's specially dried wood?  This is just standard 2x4 studs.  Its been in my (fairly dry) garage for 8+ years, but it still may have moisture.  I may see if I can find a few of those small packages of descant to toss in that drawer with the collets to help avoid the moisture problem.

Thanks,
Kim

[b.lindsey]

Kim, if the studs are that old they are probably pretty dry. I think most storage boxes/cabinets are probably either from kiln dried wood and/or finished with an oil or varnish or urethane finish. Not an expert in woodworking though by any means, it was more a suggestion to protect your investment in the collets.

Bill

[Dave Otto]

Looks great Kim,

I think if it were me I would give them a coat of something; I like Formby's Tung Oil, Watco Danish oil and boiled Linseed oil (pick one). For this I would probably choose the Watco Danish oil.

I still need to build a holder for my 64ths' square and hex collets.

Dave

[steamer]

Well THAT gets it done!...

Nice!

Dave

[Don1966]

Wow! That,s a assortment of collets, now I am jealous you have more then I have. Nice setup Kim.

Don

[pgp001]

I made some similar holders for my BCA collets, the newly machined wood tends to leave remanants of sawdust in the collet threads which I didn't want.
Also in use the wood gets covered in dirty fingerprints.

To solve this I coated the outside surfaces with Tung Oil, the only reason I used it was that I already had some.
Then I sprayed a good soaking of WD40 oil into each hole to seal all the dust and help prevent moisture problems.

I have used this method on wood tool blocks many times with great success.

Phil

[Tennessee Whiskey]

Kim, ok you old collet gloat , my God, how many are there? Nice score . From an old boy that still has his grandfather's WPA carpenters box and worked with him out of it. Seal it or oil it. Just the natural acids in the wood, especially soft woods can affect metals. You have done a beautiful job organizing a group of to die for collets, so, take the wood and either spray the Hell out of it with poly or dip it warm light weight machine oil, olive oil, peanut oil(real good) or linseed oil,  for a couple of days, dry it off,  and be rust worry free. Hey, can I borrow a BandAid? Got any Scooby Doo's? You and I watch the same channels . Y'all come see us.

Whiskey

[mklotz]

By all means give it an oil finish.  (My favorite is Watco.)  Remember, most of those n/64 collets  will never be removed from their holes once installed.  (When was the last time you had to hold onto something 19/64" diameter?)

[philjoe5]

Looks good + you left some room for the square and hex holders too!  Good planning

Cheers,
Phil

[Kim]

Thanks for the comments everybody

OK, sounds like a I need to seal the wood here.  I've got some Watco, so I'll probably use that.  I've done my share of working with the brown stuff, so I've got a good selection of that kind of thing laying around.

Sorry, Whisky, no Scooby Doo's   But You're welcome to one of the Pirate/Captain Hook Band-Aids   I've already used one - When I was vacuuming up all my brown swarf the other day, I banged one of my fingers on my bench vice.  Not very hard mind you, but it tore the cuticle on my index finger and BOY does that bleed!  I didn't want to get any blood on my equipment, so I used my first band-aid.  Had to come in and show my wife   I was so proud!   

Thanks,
Kim

[metalmad]

Some very serious Tooling up Kim
Pete

[b.lindsey]

I think that deserves a picture Kim....the Band-Aid I mean    Heck you might start a trend here for all of us going out and buying some kiddie "boo-boo" strips

Bill