Had to pick between new collets or a cheap spindle rebuild kit

Last week my spindle started screaming on a job in Cleveland, sounded like a dying cat. I had maybe $180 left in the tool budget and had to decide between buying a full set of ER32 collets I'd been needing or a rebuild kit with new bearings. I went cheap on the rebuild kit and it was a disaster, bearings seized after 6 hours of cutting and I lost a whole production day. Should've just replaced the collets and kept the old spindle going a bit longer. Anyone else made the cheap vs necessary call and regretted it bad?

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the_jordan17d ago

Learned that lesson the hard way myself last year, same exact setup. Bearings are the last thing you want to cheap out on because when they go, they take other stuff with them. Always keep the machine running over chasing a tool upgrade, even if the collets are worn.