I Bought the Cheapest 5C Collet Chuck on eBay: Is It Any Good?

I bought the cheapest 5C collet chuck on eBay! Is it bad? Is it good? Let's get it mounted and find out!

Tools and items shown in this video:
*This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated

[PaulMorley]

James, I really like the process you've gone through to determine how the chuck was originally machined. Great stuff...

[GreatOldOne]

I have the same chuck. I machined my backplate from scratch though, and also got a fantastic fit on my register... only to find that I had run out in the chuck. Then I watched Stefan’s Gotteswinter’s video of him having the same chuck and issues, and did the same as he - made the register slightly undersized, and then knocked it in true before snuggling up the bolts. It’s now dead nuts on as they say.

[richardcurtis]

Stefan Gotteswinter cautions that such devices should be viewed as kits and not finished machine tools. By all means get that apart and clean the insides well.

[sblack]

You didn’t put an indicator on the internal 5C taper on the chuck. How do you know if the runout is in the chuck or the collet? Isn’t that kind of important?

[leetrengove]

If you leave about 2 thow clearance between the backplate and the chuck, you can nip up the retaining screws, tap the chuck to run dead true then fully tighten.. 👍
Zero runout..

[phdesignsone]

Bought the same 'brand' a couple of months ago myself. D-4 mount, about the same price. Mine works smoothly and runs well. Thanks for the video on yours. I like that indicator for the tool post!

[tomburson]

I did same thing, ran the same but had to make my own back plate. It’s amazing!

[RobB_VKES]

I recommend you countersink or counterbore the 3 threaded back plate holes. Over time the threads can be stretched which will compromise the alignment. This is common practice when machining cylinder heads for example. Run a DTI inside the collet chuck taper. It is likely the runout is in the cheapo collet.

[denniswilliams]

Find an impact driver!
The collet holder needs to come apart for cleaning and greaseing.

[philoso]

When you have a chance retest with the indicator touching the 5C taper cavity just to rule out contribution by the collet.

[DavidDugas-xp]

I wont ever need a chuck like that, but the fixturing and setup was great! Very educational.

[leeackerson]

Wow, much better than anyone could have possibly expected, good work. Based on your video, I bought a D1-5 version this last week, thanks much.

[izzynutz]

Years and years and years ago I was taking machine shop night classes and I wanted to build one of these similar to this for my model 1922 Logan lathe and I got mine within about 2/10 so your not doing too bad where you're at with a half a tenth.. nice work and an enjoyable video..

[makerdave]

Great addition to the shop and even better at that price. I appreciate the large calculator... just like mine.

[downearthcustom]

A good way to heat the bolts up is a soldering iron I’ve done it a few times with not being able to use a torch

[perrooceaniko]

i am a novice .. just learning .. and you are a MAGICIAN !!! wonderful video sir !!!!

[Siskiyous]

I bought a cheap ER 40 collet holder for my Sheldon, I used a Litle Machine Shop 1923 backing plate. It runs as true as the spindle to my ability to measure it.

[roadshowautosports]

Just a little note from an apprentice, I tend to buy most of what I can afford, what’s not much, from online sites and try vintage over imports. If you get something that’s not in the best shape, price has been fair for a way better quality worth of putting some effort in to make it great again! Bought some imports from Mr. Besos and were fairly decent by what you pay for. I work in a way smaller lathe than yours and even my QC post was an aluminum cheap one that I worked on the center post to make it very usable.
Reading the reviews helps a lot on what to expect and judge your chances of success!
Great video and good luck you all!

[SpruceSculptures]

Well your plug for this got me to try it. Very pleased with results. Yes literally the least expensive 5C chuck on Ebay with adapter. Plate not that far off, total runout at chuck .0005 and with .5" stock drill rod, 0007

[mkeyser]

Yea I just finished re-machining my backplate for my C5 spindle nose on my Atlas. Best I could get was 1 thou. I do have cheapo import collets, and to get any better, I would probably have to grind the collet seat, but I can live with the 1 thou runout.
I took some time to get my machine re-leveled before doing any work, and tightened up the bearings just in case, but those were only minor improvements.
I guess the only other suggestion to all of us newbies would be if you want your part to run true, start with an oversized part that you can machine all your features on and the part will end up running true.

It's a real bear turning down the backplates though, they are fussy things. I was doing a lot of metal removal so I had to rough it in and walk away for an hour to let it cool down and shrink, then come back to it and touch the register to fit.

Great job man!