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ER Hex collets

Yup, that was me. I looked all over for a 3/16 in an ER40 but I never found one.
My 5C 3/16 hex should be here tomorrow.
 
I'm going to use 4-40 studs and nuts for my 10V steam engine. The problem is that regular 4-40 nuts are not to scale for the engine (way to big) so I'm going to try my hand at making the nuts with 3/16 hex stock tapped to 4-40. I know there will be a lot of waste just in parting the nuts to the correct width but I don't think the world will end tomorrow so I've got the time.:)
 
YotaBota said:
I'm going to use 4-40 studs and nuts for my 10V steam engine. The problem is that regular 4-40 nuts are not to scale for the engine (way to big) so I'm going to try my hand at making the nuts with 3/16 hex stock tapped to 4-40. I know there will be a lot of waste just in parting the nuts to the correct width but I don't think the world will end tomorrow so I've got the time.:)
Click to expand...

Got a link to the steam engine kit or are you working from drawings. Sounds tiny? Where are you finding hex stock that small?
 
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I know it's sacrilege, but why not use metric? Metric 2mm fasteners have hex nuts smaller than 3/16" AF and are readily available.
 
Anybody could do it that way, lol. To go with metric I'd need to buy the drills and taps.
The kit with british BA nuts and bolts so I could have just bought the BA tools, but for what may be a one off project buying a new set of tools didn't seem practical.
Tom O said:
That’s a nice little engine how far have you got so far any problems?
Click to expand...
I've just started to clean up the castings and have been watching videos of other peoples builds.
I'll start a thread when I get a few pictures start machining.
 
I haven't ordered from these places but keep the link handy. Many are metric but also some IMP/UK standards.
https://www.modelenginemaker.com/index.php/topic,628.0.html

I thought about buying or making more scale hex head bolts on my radial engine, but I'm not going to get sidetracked until its running. And there are many fastener instances that don't lend themselves to hex and/or would require special wrenches. So the model itself has to somewhat lend itself to that. But when you see nicely made scale-ish models, 'proper' fasteners really set them off. There weren't too many socket head cap screws used back in the day. On the extreme end of this spectrum, I saw one of Cherry Hills's models in a display case & it was jaw dropping.
https://www.craftsmanshipmuseum.com/Hill.htm
https://archives.imeche.org/search/items?q=cherry+hill&collection=7950&action=search
 
I’ve been watching Keith Appleton over in the U.K. he puts out a good 3 or 4 videos a week on working on these various engines and boilers. He’s definitely worth subscribing to.
 
Cherry's work is fantastic, I like the one comment "and she's a girl too".
I've watched a lot of Keith's videos, he is a master and I'll be going back to rewatch the videos on timing.
Here's a pic showing the difference between a standard 4-40 nut (right) and the BA nut (left) that came with the kit. The 3/16 hex stock I have is only about .015 larger than the BA so I don't think any one would notice and I can make matching bolts where needed.
I'm not even sure the standard 4-40 nut will fit in a couple of the tighter spaces.

BTW - A 3/16 5C hex collet from Hardinge was going to be $167cdn so I ordered the $65cdn one from Amazon and it came in today. Some of the reviews said the collet was small and they needed pliers to get the stock in/out. This one seems to be fine, it's snug but can still be adjusted by hand. Now comes the fun part, making a nut.:)
 

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