After routing, the 1/2 inch bit was frozen pretty good in the collet.
Actually had to use pliers to twist it loose. The collet had not
bottomed out, nor was excessively tight. Upon inspection, neither the
collet nor the bit were warped or damaged in any way to cause a freeze
(at least by eyeball exam).

Should one put a bit of white grease or machine oil on the bit during
insertion? I hesitate, since drips might stain the wood. I'm not even
sure this would help the situation.

Thanks for any info,
Chuck

Be sure to grease it up really good! It wont stick in the collet all then.
But you might have to pay the hospital bill.
"Charles Miller" wrote in message
t...
After routing, the 1/2 inch bit was frozen pretty good in the collet.
Actually had to use pliers to twist it loose. The collet had not
bottomed out, nor was excessively tight. Upon inspection, neither the
collet nor the bit were warped or damaged in any way to cause a freeze
(at least by eyeball exam).

Should one put a bit of white grease or machine oil on the bit during
insertion? I hesitate, since drips might stain the wood. I'm not even
sure this would help the situation.

Thanks for any info,
Chuck

It happens... Try, after making sure that the collet is loosened, tapping
the side of the collet with the collet wrench several times.. Most often
the vibrations loosen the bit.


"Charles Miller" wrote in message
t...
After routing, the 1/2 inch bit was frozen pretty good in the collet.
Actually had to use pliers to twist it loose. The collet had not
bottomed out, nor was excessively tight. Upon inspection, neither the
collet nor the bit were warped or damaged in any way to cause a freeze
(at least by eyeball exam).

Should one put a bit of white grease or machine oil on the bit during
insertion? I hesitate, since drips might stain the wood. I'm not even
sure this would help the situation.

Thanks for any info,
Chuck

Gee, ask a simple question and you will surely get a simple answer!

DO NOT use grease, oil or _any_ lube on the collet/bit. You _want_ the
collet to grip the bit firmly. Any lube may prevent the bit from being held
tight.

What router and bit? Are there any burrs or gauling on the bit shaft at
all? The only bits I ever had that gave me any problems, were cheap HSS
(High Speed Steel) ones and I quickly learned that good carbide bits do a
better job and leave little or no burning to be cleaned up later.

I don't know what else to suggest, but don't use lube.

DexAZ


"MSgeek" wrote in message
...
Be sure to grease it up really good! It wont stick in the collet all then.
But you might have to pay the hospital bill.
"Charles Miller" wrote in message
t...
After routing, the 1/2 inch bit was frozen pretty good in the collet.
Actually had to use pliers to twist it loose. The collet had not
bottomed out, nor was excessively tight. Upon inspection, neither the
collet nor the bit were warped or damaged in any way to cause a freeze
(at least by eyeball exam).

Should one put a bit of white grease or machine oil on the bit during
insertion? I hesitate, since drips might stain the wood. I'm not even
sure this would help the situation.

Thanks for any info,
Chuck

After routing, the 1/2 inch bit was frozen pretty good in the collet.
Actually had to use pliers to twist it loose. The collet had not
bottomed out, nor was excessively tight. Upon inspection, neither the
collet nor the bit were warped or damaged in any way to cause a freeze
(at least by eyeball exam).

Should one put a bit of white grease or machine oil on the bit during
insertion? I hesitate, since drips might stain the wood. I'm not even
sure this would help the situation.

Thanks for any info,
Chuck


I put a very small amount of light grease or oil on the tapers in the spindle
and nut, but not in the bore of the collet. You don't want any there. A bit
of lubrication in the tapers will help the collet release, though.

Also, be sure that the tapers and outside of the collet are smooth and free
from burrs. Clean them up with a bit of fine emery paper if you need to.

John Martin

On Wed, 01 Oct 2003 03:29:31 +0000, Charles Miller wrote:

After routing, the 1/2 inch bit was frozen pretty good in the collet.
Actually had to use pliers to twist it loose. The collet had not
bottomed out, nor was excessively tight. Upon inspection, neither the
collet nor the bit were warped or damaged in any way to cause a freeze
(at least by eyeball exam).

Should one put a bit of white grease or machine oil on the bit during
insertion? I hesitate, since drips might stain the wood. I'm not even
sure this would help the situation.

This iss good news - you could have a Searz routah with the ARHA feature.

I have the aforementioned Searz and an old Rockwell (saving for the PC
693VSLP). The Rockwell grabs 'em nicely and I use the collet wrench to
kinda "pry" 'em out with just a little flick between the collet and collet
side of the cutter.

-Doug

In article ,
Charles Miller wrote:

After routing, the 1/2 inch bit was frozen pretty good in the collet.
Actually had to use pliers to twist it loose. The collet had not
bottomed out, nor was excessively tight. Upon inspection, neither the
collet nor the bit were warped or damaged in any way to cause a freeze
(at least by eyeball exam).

Should one put a bit of white grease or machine oil on the bit during
insertion? I hesitate, since drips might stain the wood. I'm not even
sure this would help the situation.

NO, the router bit shank and collet should be absolutely clean and dry.
What brand of router is it? I've had Black & Deckers be really sticky
sometimes, and a Makita that just couldn't let go without large effort.
There may be just some slight corrosion/dirt on the shank or in the
collet. Blow it out and maybe take some steel wool to the shank to
clean it off. Any scars or even errant tooling marks can act like
pretty big teeth at the pressures in the collet.
Dean Bridges

Chuck,

I had this problem too - on my GOF 1300 ACE.
See google thread...

http://makeashorterlink.com/?U2A652016

In my case I was not unscrewing the collett far enough.

The info on the following URL I found very helpful....

http://www.wealdentool.com/

See "Hints and Tips" - Page 1 Router Collets

Roy

In article ,
Charles Miller wrote:
After routing, the 1/2 inch bit was frozen pretty good in the collet.
Actually had to use pliers to twist it loose. The collet had not
bottomed out, nor was excessively tight. Upon inspection, neither the
collet nor the bit were warped or damaged in any way to cause a freeze
(at least by eyeball exam).

Should one put a bit of white grease or machine oil on the bit during
insertion? I hesitate, since drips might stain the wood. I'm not even
sure this would help the situation.

Thanks for any info,
Chuck

DO NOT put any lube on the bit or in the collet, but do make sure they
are clean. What kind of router do you have? On may, if you continue to
turn the collet nut in the "loosening" direction, it will force the
collet fingers apart and "self-eject" the bit. If not, try rapping the
bit with a block of wood.


--

Larry Wasserman Baltimore, Maryland

Don't lubricate. First, check the shaft is clean and straight - warping from
stress will stick it.
Take apart the collet and clean it carefully with a small test-tube brush or
similar tool. Check the fingers of the collet insert - if it has been done
up too tight a few times they may have closed up. Make sure that it's clean
and rust-free.

If all is OK, it could have been that it heated up and the shaft expanded.
Letting it cool for 10 mins will see it slide right out.


"Charles Miller" wrote in message
t...
After routing, the 1/2 inch bit was frozen pretty good in the collet.
Actually had to use pliers to twist it loose. The collet had not
bottomed out, nor was excessively tight. Upon inspection, neither the
collet nor the bit were warped or damaged in any way to cause a freeze
(at least by eyeball exam).

Should one put a bit of white grease or machine oil on the bit during
insertion? I hesitate, since drips might stain the wood. I'm not even
sure this would help the situation.

Thanks for any info,
Chuck