Working on a project where I will use the CNC mill as a CNC Lathe. Purchased a pair of TG100 Collet holders with 3/8 collets because of the long length of the collet getting a nice purchase on the 3/8 diameter of the shaft to keep things nice and rigid.

The nuts are a little different and I needed a way to tighten and loosen the nuts. One nut will work with a pin type spanner type wrench but the other one needs a regular wrench or socket.

A quick trip to my favorite surplus tool store resulted in a 2 ¼ wrench. I’ll give you 3 guesses as to why I didn’t make this purchase!

…Too big….too heavy….and too expensive!

A little more searching around the store and I found a 2 ¼” ¾” drive socket with a ½” adapter. This was a workable solution and only cost $15.00 so I picked it up as a backup if nothing else!

I had also designed a wrench to be 3d printed in SLS  but it was still in the oven  being cooked. Once I got this baby out, it became clear this was going to be the best solution as its light weight, ergonomically friendly (especially for the 120lb guy who will be running the job!) and for plastic it is pretty manly and I expect that it will hold up just fine!

Printed out a couple extras, should be a lifetime supply plus one for the resume box!

The part has a pretty decent wall thickness all around the hex pocket. I think it will handle the torque load just fine but time will tell. The holes were there mainly for aesthetic reasons, but helped with keeping the weight down and as a method of keeping the part cooler during the build process resulting in a part with less warpage.

Here you can see the wrench sittign on the collet nut with the part protruding through the opening n the wrench.

This is the other style nut. You can see it fits the wrench just fine but sits on the flange which doesn’t have the flats. There is still ½” of hex engagement with the wrench so it should be plenty to take some abuse and not fail.