On Sat, 28 Oct 2006 07:12:05 -0700, gesres wrote:


Anyway, collet appears firmly wedged in the shaft and I can't remove
it. May have to buy some 1/2" bits. ;-)

1) Wiggle it. If need be, insert the plain end of a drill bit into the
opening and wiggle it. Once it gets out, inspect it for smoothness and
LIGHTLY touch up any external divots you might find ... possibly machining
burrs at the slits ... with a bit of crocus cloth. Check the ID of the
shaft for corresponding nicks and address them too, LIGHTLY so as not to
destroy the over all circularity.

2) the pliers and cloth trick mentioned earlier would be my next step.
Just be careful not to squeeze the collet sides more than a VERY small
amount. If it cracks or distorts, it's unsafe junk. Pitch it and buy a new
one.

3) bend a piece of coat hanger wire with a t-handle at one end and
a short hook at the other. Insert the hook through the collet opening and
yank.

My guess is that your router has already been in the hands of an end-user.
I very much doubt that Bosch would ship it in this condition.
Likely somebody (you?) has pressed the collet into the shaft and THEN tried
to screw the nut on. That's how it got wedged in there to start with. The
nut with the collet already inserted would be the proper way to do things.