[acerocket]

I am thinking about purchasing a Haas SL-10 and have a question concerning the tool holders for the standard BOT turret. I would like to have a few tools that are drill bits so I can predrill my stock so a boring bar can be used. What would be the best way to go about this? Can I use a shank style collet chuck mounted in a boring bar holder? How about a drill bit directly in the boring bar holder? If these are not safe ideas, what would be the best way to go about holding a large enough drill bit?

Any other help regarding the SL-10 would be greatly appreciated.

[Geof]

What size drills are you planning on using? We use the shank type collet holders ER25 and ER16 for small drills. We also use straight boring holders with a bushing for larger drills up to 1" with 1/2" shanks. I have also made custom gang type tool holders for spot drill, drill and tap to reduce the number of tool changes when tapping small threads in small diameter round bar. I have also made custom holders that use 5C collets and R8 collets for drills and taps.

[acerocket]

I think the largest drill would probably be about 1" so I could use a 3/4" boring bar. If it is possible to use a sleeve/bushing in the boring bar holder than I think that is the route I will take. I even found some Morse taper bushings to fit the boring bar holder so I don't have to get rid of all my MT drill bits I had from my manual lathe. Thanks for the input, it helps make deciding what maching I want to buy a little easier.