Glacern Cat 40 tool holders?

[RandK]

I've got Techniks and Maritool ER collet chucks in my VF2 and they are both good. Prices on Techniks seems pretty inconsistent, and they generally always have a package pricing deal going but the distributors (western tool for me) can beat that. Buying a bunch of holders/collets/studs at once might get you better pricing. Maritool has a package deal too and prices seem to work to within a handful of bucks difference max between the two. I've been buying all Maritool lately, they are good folks to do business with and no distributor in the middle.

[LeeWay]

I will pick up a few of the Dorians from Amazon to start with and check them out. Amazon has a great return policy. If they are at least the quality of the lathe tool holders, then I will be satisfied. I will also fill out a few set screw holders from Maritool.
Then a couple collet holders from Techniks. That should give me a good selection to start with and help decide where to buy others from.
I will be getting the Haimer and the Edge tool setter from Amazon too.
Now I have seen it recommended before, but where do I get quality studs from?

Also who has good quality collets and collet sets?

[JFettig]

Dorian isn't really known for their CAT40 tooling - my opinion is to stick to known stuff.

Syntillo 9918 is great for GP usage - I only change mine once per year at most.

Techniks collets work great for me, All Industrial gave me good deals on the sets I bought.

[LeeWay]

Yeah. I will just get one each of the Dorians to check out. A set screw holder and an ER16 collet holder. Techniks has a nice bundle starter set that I thing I will jump on. 2 ER 16's, 4 er 32's, 6 end mill holders. And one collet set for $978.00. They have a 43 piece set for $1140, but it has several chucks in it. I won't be using any chucks in the mini mill.

Cat 40 FITS HAAS Techniks 12pc PLUS COLLET SET 6 CHUCKS + Collets

I will check out All industrial too.

[JenTX]

Collets: Opinions on Sowa/GS vs Techniks? Both seem to get good reviews and the Sowa/GS isn't much higher in price.

[Ydna]

Techniks seem to be good. I was weary about them at first but found their quality control to be good, and the various items are easy to find from many different re-sellers (their from Taiwan but have far-reaching distributors). The thing about Techniks is they have a HUGE variety for every size and tons of extension lengths and options and choices. I want to dislike them but can't argue with it. Although admittedly I don't have many of their products so someone else may have more experience with it.

Good choice on the Orange. The ease of disassembly makes them super easy to care for over the years. I wish I had bought them over Kurt from the start.

For what it's worth, I have a couple Glacern toolholders and find them to be average. They're not garbage, but the nuts wore out first and were replaced with other ones to get them back up and running. I have a couple glacern collet holders with semi-damaged threads which we try to use for tools that don't need to be broken down very often. I say they're not garbage because we have lots of other random holders that died quicker, so I suppose it can be worse.
The grapevine says Glacern and Shars are made in the same factory, based on the shape of the forgings and "primer" paint colors. It's mostly conjecture but nobody seems to offer anything to the contrary.

Mari are definitely made in the US. People thought they were imported due to the cheap prices but it's just the benefit of cutting out the retail middleman since all Mari holders are sold direct. Sol from Orange produced a real nice video showcasing the entire process...

[LeeWay]

I did receive an ER32 tool holder from Amazon made by Dorian.
The tool holder and the box is marked Dorian USA.
It looks great finish wise. Once I get the Mini mill initialized in a couple weeks, we will check it and see how good it is on runout. Quality seems on par with the Dorian stuff I have for the lathe. Good quality. Decent prices.

[LeeWay]

Wound up ordering some of each from 3 different sources. Several Dorian's, several Maritools and several Techniks.

That will give me pretty good side by side comparisons.

Ordered the Orange vise as well.
2 to 3 weeks back ordered.
So, since my two other vises in the Pulsar are close to the salvage yard condition, I ordered a GMT to replace them. The same version from Shars is $800.00 so $899.00 for the GMT. At least those screws are covered on these models.
I will use it in the MM until the Orange arrives.

[Matt@RFR]

Ordered the Orange vise as well.
2 to 3 weeks back ordered.

Check in with them once a week, or that will turn in to a 6 week wait. They are serving the squeaky wheels currently.

[LeeWay]

Thanks, Matt.
I actually ordered the 4.5 x 16 inch model and was estimated that lead time. I received an email from the guy that wrote the initial quote and he mentioned if I wanted the 17.5" version, they could get it shipped next week. Same price.I changed the order.
I wanted the 16" length when I was planning to put two double vises on it. Before I received the quote. That quickly changed to just one vise.
It's going on the table lengthwise, so the extra clamping area will help for some cases. 4.5" width instead of 6" because the part that we need the most of are 5" long and get machined on both ends.

Now next question. These have Carvesmart jaws. I see that I can get a set of 10 aluminum reversible jaws from Tormach for a fair price.
I will need some of those to have on hand for special stuff.
I want to use machinable steel jaws for our production parts. I have to machine in a step. .125" deep and .1" wide. I can buy a bar of it from Tormach, but it doesn't quite work out to two sets.
Not really wanting to order them from Orange. Can't really order anything off the website.
What other sources do you guys use for these dovetailed jaws?

[LeeWay]

Maritool carries them too.

[LeeWay]

I ordered two sets of each from Maritool. Fast shipping from those guys.

I just realized I haven't actually ordered any tools yet. Sooo... more shopping.

[Matt@RFR]

Everything you've mentioned so far in this thread, including the full length Carvesmart jaw material, I buy from Western Tool. No clue where you are, but they are west coast and I have a rep that comes by twice a week.

Don't be afraid of making your own carvesmart type jaws too. We make them out of 4140PH and they hold up very well. We skip the dowel pin in the back because everything we do gets automatically probed for position, so it's just another step we don't need.

[LeeWay]

That is what i thought too. That is why I only ordered exact fit ones. Then I can duplicate those easily. If they were more reasonably priced like Monster Jaws, I would not bother making them, however at the price they are, I can afford churn some out.
I buy almost everything online nowadays and pay to have it delivered. Not really worth my time to go shopping for stuff usually especially if I cannot locate what I need. I have not dealt with any tool reps so far. I live right between Mobile and Pensacola. Gotta be some tool guys around.

[LeeWay]

The Haimer showed up today. Wow! This is going to be very uncomfortable using this tool for awhile.
Such a nice big heavy tool with a tiny tip. I only ordered one spare tip. I am certain that is not enough.

[LeeWay]

Well, I have most of the tooling now and I gotta say just from appearances, that all three Cat 40 tool holder makers I ordered from sent good quality products. all exhibit signs of proper balancing. Coatings look to be done perfectly. All very well packaged.
I have not measured the runout on any of them yet. If they are as advertised, then they should all be very good.

Now Amazon shipping of the Dorian holders was kind of crazy. They broke each one down into it's own separate order almost. Even the identical item in some cases.
Made it more more difficult to keep track of.

The Techniks came from Amazon too.

Maritool had the best shipping I think. All shipped together quickly and well packed and documented.

Very satisfied so far with everything I have received.

[JenTX]

I went with MariTool on the holders. They ship fast, made in USA on everything, and look very well made. Please follow up with a review of the different holders you got. Very curious to hear how the Dorians perform. On the collets I went with the Techniks. I have a few MariTool, Lyndex and Royals laying around so I might check runout between them if I get a chance just to see if there is any measurable difference especially given the comment to avoid the MariTool collets made earlier in this thread.

Haimers are awesome. Not sure how I lived without one.

[LeeWay]

I do use several Dorian collets in my TTS on the Novakon , The Tormach lathe and CRP router table. They are labeled Dorian USA and I have found them to be very good collets. So I bought a few of those for tis buk tool order to fill in some gaps. I have a few cheap sets around to fill in the gaps for emergency use. I usually order from McMaster Carr the same day for good replacements of that size delivered the next day. They stock Lyndex. Those are made in Japan and are good quality as well. I think I have maybe two Royals that came with some Ebay stuff. They seem okay. I think I will be using regular collets for our smaller taps. 1/4" and under and collet taps for 5/16 and 3/8".
I bought those from some place in Florida, but can no longer remember the name.
I did order the pull studs from Maritool.
They look great too.

[mtlhe]

Orange and Maritool!!!