Tool Handle Insert

[Robert Arnold]

I am looking for a 5/16” tool handle insert for a set of Kelton hollowing tools. Anyone know who makes this size? Any assistance is appreciated.

 

[Alan Heffernan]

Do you mean insert to make your own handle? We had a gent in our club who made them for the club members in various sizes but he moved to the other side a couple of years ago. I have not seen any for that size.

I made a flat bar handle for that size Kelton's for a captured bar system I built. Have you thought about making a handle out of aluminum round stock? Takes a small tap and drill for the set screws.

 

[Bill Alston]

I also have a metal lathe so I make my own. I’ve not tried it but you could possibly make one using a wood lathe with some care? Alternatively you could use an ER collet chuck. I made these a while back. The chucks have 16mm dia shafts.

 

[robo hippy]

I am trying to remember, which gets more difficult all the time..... I think Kelton had adapters so you could use all their hollowing tools in the same handle.

robo hippy

 

[Sam Fleisher]

I also have a metal lathe so I make my own. I’ve not tried it but you could possibly make one using a wood lathe with some care? Alternatively you could use an ER collet chuck. I made these a while back. The chucks have 16mm dia shafts.

View attachment 59596

I wondered about that type of collet awhile back.

Do you happen to have a parts list available so I would know what works and what to order?

 

[Bill Alston]

I wondered about that type of collet awhile back.

Do you happen to have a parts list available so I would know what works and what to order?

Hi Sam. ER collet chucks are available in a variety of sizes depending on the intended use, ER8 to ER50.
For my collet handles I generally use ER20 and these take a collet up to 13mm. The important part to know is that if you want the shaft of the tool to extend into the handle the through bore is obviously limited by the shaft size . C16 shafts have a bore of 10mm. I have opened these up to 13mm but the steel is quite tough so it’s not an easy job. I’ll attach a picture of the code. I’ve bought mine on eBay for about £7 before but prices have gone up recently. Collets can be bought in sets but I’ve bought all mine singly as needed for about £2 each. I prefer M nuts as they’re smaller but I have the A type as well. They’re not interchangeable as the threads are different! You don’t need a spanner to tighten them, hand tight has held all my tools just fine. You can of course buy special spanner’s for the M type if you feel you need one. Hope this helps. Any more questions, just ask.

 

[Bill Alston]

A Quick Look on eBay:

(C16)ER20M-100L Collet Chrome-Molybdenum Alloy Steel Straight Shank Milling | eBay

Suitable for ER20M chuck, which is convenient to install. Applicable Chuck Model: ER20M. Optional Style: C16, C20, C25. Item Type: Collet Chuck Holder. Feature: 1. Suitable for deep hole processing, which can solve the need for extended depth processing.

www.ebay.com

I forgot to say. Collets for these chucks are available in Metric and Imperial and have a size range of 1mm. This means for example that a 10mm collet will grip anything from 9-10mm. It’s best thought to get the closest size for the intended tool.

 

[Sam Fleisher]

Hi Sam. ER collet chucks are available in a variety of sizes depending on the intended use, ER8 to ER50.
For my collet handles I generally use ER20 and these take a collet up to 13mm. The important part to know is that if you want the shaft of the tool to extend into the handle the through bore is obviously limited by the shaft size . C16 shafts have a bore of 10mm. I have opened these up to 13mm but the steel is quite tough so it’s not an easy job. I’ll attach a picture of the code. I’ve bought mine on eBay for about £7 before but prices have gone up recently. Collets can be bought in sets but I’ve bought all mine singly as needed for about £2 each. I prefer M nuts as they’re smaller but I have the A type as well. They’re not interchangeable as the threads are different! You don’t need a spanner to tighten them, hand tight has held all my tools just fine. You can of course buy special spanner’s for the M type if you feel you need one. Hope this helps. Any more questions, just ask.

View attachment 59634

Great info!

Thanks!
So it's optional to open up the shaft right?

 

[Bill Alston]

You’ll have to use your own judgment but I’ve opened them up a bit larger and not had any problems. Safety first though. If you want to use larger tools you could go up to a C20. I don’t know what the bore size is though.

 

[Robert Arnold]

Do you mean insert to make your own handle? We had a gent in our club who made them for the club members in various sizes but he moved to the other side a couple of years ago. I have not seen any for that size.

I made a flat bar handle for that size Kelton's for a captured bar system I built. Have you thought about making a handle out of aluminum round stock? Takes a small tap and drill for the set screws.

I have handles that take 5/8” and 1/2” inserts I just have not been able to find any inserts that will hold a 5/16” tool shaft.

 

[Hugh]

Kelton made a collet chuck handle at one time. I have not looked to see if they still do.
Nice handles though. Use mine all the time.

 

[JeffSmith]

Robust has collet sets for handles both ER32 and ER 20 size. Make a handle (or buy one of theirs) and order a collet any apsides you need…

 

[Bill Alston]

I have handles that take 5/8” and 1/2” inserts I just have not been able to find any inserts that will hold a 5/16” tool shaft.

I wonder if you could get a 5/8” to 5/16” sleeve?

 

[Robert Arnold]

Thanks for the responses. I broke down and bought the Robust collet tool handle.