"DonkeyHody" wrote in message
m...
The aluminium router base was warm to the touch, but aluminium is a
very good conductor and will draw heat from the collet anyway. The
bit was warm of course, but cooler than the collet nut. The nut
wasn't sizzling, but was too hot to hold onto. The bit was brand new,
and the pilot bearing on the bit has not siezed. From the very light
feed pressure required and the quality of the cut, I know the bit is
plenty sharp. I suspect the shaft bearing next to the collet is
failing, but I wanted to see if this kind of heat build up is normal
before I get too excited.

DonkeyHody

It's not normal to get that hot, the bearing is probably poor.....quite a
common problem these days even with PC & it only gets worse if you continue
to use your router without maintenance at this point, you could try a
bearing lubricant spray if you want to find out for sure, remove your collet
& turn the router upside down, proper bearing lubricant can penetrate most
bearing seals & reactivate any original lubricant, spray lightly around the
shaft past the treads & let gravity do its thing while rotating the shaft by
hand, you may feel any resistance reduce as you do this, do not use too much
lubricant as it may go past the bearing housing & on to the armature body.
If you notice that the router runs cooler & quieter at the shaft area after
this then this is your short term fix....when you get a chance replace the
bearing ASAP unless the problem does not re-occur at all. After purchasing a
can of bearing lubricant (which can last for years) you can always give a
light spray before or after a period of extended use.(allow any excess to
evaporate prior to turning on if you have applied to heavily (it is highly
combustible).
As an extra precaution make sure your router bit has not been allowed to
bottom in the collet as this will allow the heat to easily transfer up the
shaft to the bearing, even 1/16-1/8" is enough to cut down on the heat
transfer considerably plus your collet will hold the bit more effectively
with out having to overtighten due to binding, almost every router we have
in for service has the router bit rammed up to far & the nut way
overtightened.


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© Jon Down ®
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