Organize and Protect Collets with R8 Collet Trays

Well the first quarter of 2018 is in the books. How are those New Year resolutions going? Did you resolve to get organized, but it didn't happen? It's not too late. There's still plenty of time to get your R8 collets together and get them straight. Just go ahead and get them in an R8 collet tray.

R8 Collets

Bridgeport developed the R8 taper for their milling machines. A drawbar extends through the spindle to the top of the machine. This keeps things tight and prevents loosening. You insert tools with an R8 taper directly into the machine’s spindle. The collets (tool holders) go directly into the spindle. Tighten the drawbar into the top of the collet. You're set. The R8 system uses collets  ¹⁄₈″ to  ³⁄₄″ diameter. You know this; it’s not new. But, there is a new way to keep those R8 collets organized and protected. Use collet trays.

Protecting Your Collets

Collets you use regularly stay in good shape and rust-free. Collets that aren’t used as often get rusty. As a preventative, control humidity to control rust. It's the best rust preventative. Therefore, use fans to circulate the air in the shop. Fans reduce humidity and keep moisture down. Run shop fans constantly and keep moving air. In addition to affecting temperature, heating and air conditioning affect affects humidity as well. Avoid wild temperature swings too. Because metal sweats in drastic temperature changes. So, if the shop closes for a long week-end for Memorial Day or the week of 4^th of July, keep the fans on and the AC running. Otherwise, when you re-open the shop and turn the AC on, the metal will sweat. A light coating of oil protects collets that aren’t used regularly. Avoid using heavy-duty oil. It's too much work to clean it off. Breakthrough CLP protects more than just gun metal. Just saying! Store collets in a collet tray. The Tool Company's R8 collet tray is made of high-impact plastic. It doesn't rust and won't rust your expensive tooling.

R8 Collet Trays Love Your Collets

So, use collet trays or racks and protect your collets while keeping them organized. The 52 holes in the R8-52 tray has enough room for one full set of collets and room for emergency extras as well. Steel stamped collet trays can damage expensive tooling; high-impact plastic does not. Store your collets in a tray that is American-built and American-strong. Store your collets in a Tool Company R8 collet tray. Buy your collet tray today from The Tool Company. Don’t trust your collets to cheap, foreign made trays from inferior materials. Get a Tool Company tray and get an American made product, backed by a five-year warranty. Your collets deserve the best.