Trashing Router Collets
 

It has to be me. I'm about to replace three collets on Fein, Bosch and
Makita routers. I don't think I am over tightening them, but what else
could it be? I have soaked them in that green stuff, to no avail. Is
there anything I can do to restore them. (Even though I think it
obvious, I should spell out the problem with the collets is that I can't
remove the bits without a drift and hammer, and yes I do try rappin the
nut.) Thanks in advance.

On Fri, 08 Apr 2005 15:54:14 GMT, LDR
wrote:

It has to be me. I'm about to replace three collets on Fein, Bosch and
Makita routers. I don't think I am over tightening them, but what else
could it be? I have soaked them in that green stuff, to no avail. Is
there anything I can do to restore them. (Even though I think it
obvious, I should spell out the problem with the collets is that I can't
remove the bits without a drift and hammer, and yes I do try rappin the
nut.) Thanks in advance.

Not all self ejectors work the same way. The collets on my P-C routers
are absolutely great; I never have a problem getting a bit out by
simply loosening the nut. My Bosch, on the other hand, has to be
loosened, then continue loosening past another "tight" spot before the
bit is freed. My Hitachis are the same way.

The "rappin' the nut" technique is principally a solution for collets
that aren't self ejecting, like on the PC-310.


--
LRod

Master Woodbutcher and seasoned termite

Shamelessly whoring my website since 1999

http://www.woodbutcher.net

Proud participant of rec.woodworking since February, 1997

LDR wrote:
It has to be me. I'm about to replace three collets on Fein, Bosch and
Makita routers. I don't think I am over tightening them, but what else
could it be? I have soaked them in that green stuff, to no avail. Is
there anything I can do to restore them. (Even though I think it
obvious, I should spell out the problem with the collets is that I can't
remove the bits without a drift and hammer, and yes I do try rappin the
nut.) Thanks in advance.
My neighbor had a 1/4" router from some unknown source that was corroded
past taking a bit at all. We removed the collet nut and uses a brass
..22 rifle cleaning brush to clean the collet. Worked fine, and I was
holding very tightly to the brush with vice grips.
Joe

Like the Bosch and Hitachis, my three Makita routers require one to loosen
the collet past a "tight point" and then the bit is freed. Never have had a
problem with either the 1/4" or 1/2" Makita collets and they're used quite
often doing solid surface countertops. On the other hand, I don't go crazy
when tightening the bits. A moderate amount of pressure on the wrenches
ensures that the bits won't come loose.


"LRod" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 08 Apr 2005 15:54:14 GMT, LDR
wrote:

It has to be me. I'm about to replace three collets on Fein, Bosch and
Makita routers. I don't think I am over tightening them, but what else
could it be? I have soaked them in that green stuff, to no avail. Is
there anything I can do to restore them. (Even though I think it
obvious, I should spell out the problem with the collets is that I can't
remove the bits without a drift and hammer, and yes I do try rappin the
nut.) Thanks in advance.

Not all self ejectors work the same way. The collets on my P-C routers
are absolutely great; I never have a problem getting a bit out by
simply loosening the nut. My Bosch, on the other hand, has to be
loosened, then continue loosening past another "tight" spot before the
bit is freed. My Hitachis are the same way.

The "rappin' the nut" technique is principally a solution for collets
that aren't self ejecting, like on the PC-310.


--
LRod

Master Woodbutcher and seasoned termite

Shamelessly whoring my website since 1999

http://www.woodbutcher.net

Proud participant of rec.woodworking since February, 1997

TEF wrote:
Like the Bosch and Hitachis, my three Makita routers require one to
loosen
the collet past a "tight point" and then the bit is freed.

Huh. Same on my Freud router: 1st twist of the collet nut you need the
wrench to unloosen it, then you can spin the nut a couple times just w/
your fingers, THEN you hit the tight spot where you need the wrench
again; once past that, the bit is free.

Never thought this was a "feature."

-Chris

In article t,
LDR wrote:

It has to be me. I'm about to replace three collets on Fein, Bosch and
Makita routers. I don't think I am over tightening them, but what else
could it be? I have soaked them in that green stuff, to no avail. Is
there anything I can do to restore them. (Even though I think it
obvious, I should spell out the problem with the collets is that I can't
remove the bits without a drift and hammer, and yes I do try rappin the
nut.) Thanks in advance.

Multiples of thousands of router bit re and re's... I have yet to damage
a collet.
PC, Htachi, Bosch, Makita, Milwaukee.
I couldn't 'make' that happen if I tried... on any of those routers.
I don't get it.

Unloosening means to make tighter. I thought we were talking about removing
tools.

"TheNewGuy" wrote in message
oups.com...
1st twist of the collet nut you need the
wrench to unloosen it,

CW wrote:
Unloosening means to make tighter.

Yeah-yeah, my bad. "Loosen."

I thought we were talking about removing tools.

I thought we were talking about removing the collet nut; that's part of
a tool, not a tool in-and-of itself ;*)

-Chris (who's quite capable of nit-picking, too)

"TheNewGuy" wrote in message
oups.com...
1st twist of the collet nut you need the
wrench to unloosen it,

The goal was to remove the router bit, a cutting tool.

"TheNewGuy" wrote in message
oups.com...

CW wrote:
Unloosening means to make tighter.

Yeah-yeah, my bad. "Loosen."

I thought we were talking about removing tools.

I thought we were talking about removing the collet nut; that's part of
a tool, not a tool in-and-of itself ;*)

-Chris (who's quite capable of nit-picking, too)

"TheNewGuy" wrote in message
oups.com...
1st twist of the collet nut you need the
wrench to unloosen it,

In article ,
says...
In article t,
LDR wrote:

It has to be me. I'm about to replace three collets on Fein, Bosch and
Makita routers. I don't think I am over tightening them, but what else
could it be? I have soaked them in that green stuff, to no avail. Is
there anything I can do to restore them. (Even though I think it
obvious, I should spell out the problem with the collets is that I can't
remove the bits without a drift and hammer, and yes I do try rappin the
nut.) Thanks in advance.

Multiples of thousands of router bit re and re's... I have yet to damage
a collet.
PC, Htachi, Bosch, Makita, Milwaukee.
I couldn't 'make' that happen if I tried... on any of those routers.
I don't get it.

I don't get it either. I honestly don't believe I am overtightening the
nut, but to have the problem with three different makes may suggest
otherwise. Even when the nut is completely off, I still need to bully
the bit off. I do appreciate everyone's advice and will try today to
clean it better. I did learn something about the "tight spot" on the
nut, very interesting because I always wondered about it. Best thanks to
everyone who responded.

On Fri, 08 Apr 2005 15:54:14 GMT, LDR
wrote:

It has to be me. I'm about to replace three collets on Fein, Bosch and
Makita routers. I don't think I am over tightening them, but what else
could it be? I have soaked them in that green stuff, to no avail. Is
there anything I can do to restore them. (Even though I think it
obvious, I should spell out the problem with the collets is that I can't
remove the bits without a drift and hammer, and yes I do try rappin the
nut.) Thanks in advance.

Perhaps this is a stupid question, but what exactly is "that green
stuff"? I know there are several rust removers on the market that you
could try, and then soak the freed collets in wd-40 or some 3-in-1
oil. This is assuming, of course, that the problem is some rust on
the inside of the collet.

My other guess would be that you may have cheap router bits, and the
collet is cutting into the shank a little bit and getting lodged
there. I know I've got a set of "tool shop" carbide bits I got with
my first router, and they have that problem all the time. When you
look at the shanks, they have small divits in them where the collet
pinched the steel. I usually just use the wrench that came with the
router to gently lever them out of the collet, and they come out
fairly easily that way- but almost nothing else seems to work.


Aut inveniam viam aut faciam

In article ,
says...
On Fri, 08 Apr 2005 15:54:14 GMT, LDR
wrote:

It has to be me. I'm about to replace three collets on Fein, Bosch and
Makita routers. I don't think I am over tightening them, but what else
could it be? I have soaked them in that green stuff, to no avail. Is
there anything I can do to restore them. (Even though I think it
obvious, I should spell out the problem with the collets is that I can't
remove the bits without a drift and hammer, and yes I do try rappin the
nut.) Thanks in advance.

Perhaps this is a stupid question, but what exactly is "that green
stuff"? I know there are several rust removers on the market that you
could try, and then soak the freed collets in wd-40 or some 3-in-1
oil. This is assuming, of course, that the problem is some rust on
the inside of the collet.

My other guess would be that you may have cheap router bits, and the
collet is cutting into the shank a little bit and getting lodged
there. I know I've got a set of "tool shop" carbide bits I got with
my first router, and they have that problem all the time. When you
look at the shanks, they have small divits in them where the collet
pinched the steel. I usually just use the wrench that came with the
router to gently lever them out of the collet, and they come out
fairly easily that way- but almost nothing else seems to work.

I'm in my bathrobe right now so excuse me if I don't go downstairs to
read the label, but the "green stuff" has been mentioned many times in
other threads as a successful cleaner upper of tablesaw blades. I have
never seen rust and the bits are well known brands. Good questions,
though, and I appreciate your interest.

I think my problems stemmed from over tightening, when I was less
familiar with the routers, and leaving bits inside them. Actually, the
Makita router collet is okay, the Bosch very annoying but not really
bad, the two Fein absolutely worthless.

I'm in my bathrobe right now so excuse me if I don't go downstairs to
read the label, but the "green stuff" has been mentioned many times in
other threads as a successful cleaner upper of tablesaw blades. I have
never seen rust and the bits are well known brands. Good questions,
though, and I appreciate your interest.

No problem.

I think my problems stemmed from over tightening, when I was less
familiar with the routers, and leaving bits inside them. Actually, the
Makita router collet is okay, the Bosch very annoying but not really
bad, the two Fein absolutely worthless.

Leaving the bits in the router does seem to do that, doesn't it.
That's why I was wondering about rust (or perhaps oxidation is a
better term here- it doesn't have to look like rust to bind up a screw
thread)

Anyhow, good luck!


Aut inveniam viam aut faciam

I try to be tidy so with the idea of finishing off this thread, mia
culpa confession time: I broke down yesterday and went to a Fein dealer
to replace the collets and learned actually accidentally that the reason
the collets didn't work is I never inserted them properly. Unlike
American and Japanese and even German (Bosch)collets, they do not come
with the locknut or are held on with a lock ring. I always wondered why
they didn't fit snugly and discovered they in fact do if pressed in.
What can I say, you just don't know until you know, and failing to have
wiser friends showing the way, the wreck is a wonderful proxy mentor.
Thanks everyone for your input.