A few years ago, I built Norm's router table. (first version).
Having only the money SWMBO would let me invest, I installed a Harbor
Freight 3hp router. The router was supposed to be temporary, but the blasted
thing has worked great.
I am something of a sentimentalist, if a tool works well, I feel it
earns a place in my shop and I will try to repair rather than replace it.
Well, the collet in this router has decided to stop releasing the
router bits. I've resorted to tapping the bits with a block of wood in order
to get them free. What a pain.
My question. Do any of you know of a replacement collet I could buy
that might fit this router? I could try to find a replacement at HF, but I
thought someone might know of a better replacement part.

"ron" wrote in message
My question. Do any of you know of a replacement collet I could buy
that might fit this router? I could try to find a replacement at HF, but
I thought someone might know of a better replacement part.

Looks like the HF is not working so well so it may be time to upgrade and
see what you've been missing. You get a collet for free when you buy a
router from DeWalt, Porter Cable, Milwaukee, etc.

"ron" wrote in
:

*snip*

My question. Do any of you know of a replacement collet I could
buy
that might fit this router? I could try to find a replacement at HF,
but I thought someone might know of a better replacement part.


Did you try cleaning it? Warm water and soap may just go a long way in
your case. (It's practically free to try, so why not?)

Puckdropper
--
Wise is the man who attempts to answer his question before asking it.

To email me directly, send a message to puckdropper (at) fastmail.fm

Try their customer service for parts and buy a couple of collets from them
if they are available

"ron" wrote in message
...
A few years ago, I built Norm's router table. (first version).
Having only the money SWMBO would let me invest, I installed a Harbor
Freight 3hp router. The router was supposed to be temporary, but the
blasted thing has worked great.
I am something of a sentimentalist, if a tool works well, I feel it
earns a place in my shop and I will try to repair rather than replace it.
Well, the collet in this router has decided to stop releasing the
router bits. I've resorted to tapping the bits with a block of wood in
order to get them free. What a pain.
My question. Do any of you know of a replacement collet I could buy
that might fit this router? I could try to find a replacement at HF, but
I thought someone might know of a better replacement part.

On Oct 19, 6:12 pm, "ron" wrote:
A few years ago, I built Norm's router table. (first version).
Having only the money SWMBO would let me invest, I installed a Harbor
Freight 3hp router. The router was supposed to be temporary, but the blasted
thing has worked great.
I am something of a sentimentalist, if a tool works well, I feel it
earns a place in my shop and I will try to repair rather than replace it.
Well, the collet in this router has decided to stop releasing the
router bits. I've resorted to tapping the bits with a block of wood in order
to get them free. What a pain.
My question. Do any of you know of a replacement collet I could buy
that might fit this router? I could try to find a replacement at HF, but I
thought someone might know of a better replacement part.




you just might have a shot at finding the part you need.

HF buys their machines from the lowest chinese bidder.

the chinese manufacturers often buy obsoleted engineering from higher
end manufacturers. then they adjust the designs for cheaper
manufacture by substituting plastic for metal, switching to a lower
end bearing, that sort of thing. however, the geometry of things like
collets may survive the cheapening process unchanged. the quality of
the steel in that collet may not.

this could mean that your HF router might accept a collet from a
makita, or a hitachi, or other such machine from a line that was in
production a few years ago. you probably won't find the part from HF,
or even from makita et al, but a shop that does service and repair of
those machines is likely to recognize it and be able to supply you
with one. don't be surprised if that collet costs a significant
portion of the original cost of your router.

good luck.