Let's ban 1/4-inch router bit shafts

[K.-Benoit Evans]

I usually use 1/2-inch shaft router bits. But I had to pick up a

1/4-inch straight bit and the only one I found locally had a 1/4-inch shaft.

I was using it in a router table to rout a 1/4 x 1/4 slot in 4 pieces of

48-inch longbirch. I was doing the job in two passes. On the 4th piece, about half-way through the second pass, the bit began riding up out of the collet. Of course, I couldn't see that. When I noticed unusual resistance I stopped the router and found my slot had deepened to about a half inch.

Since this happened to me once before some time ago, I am always were careful to REALLY tighten the collet and I try to keep the collet clean and dry.

Is there any way to avoid this problem?

[Tom Kohlman]

In router table so pressure down, tending to put the bit into the collet as opposed to letting it creep out...hmmm...goes against physics and never seen it happen...time for a new collet maybe?

[Kevin B]

Same thing happend to me on Sunday. Brand new bit, and I had never used my

1/4 inch collet before. I tightened the collet down pretty good before hand. The router is only 6 months old. It was a spiral upcut bit. Hmm...

Kevin B.

[LRod]

Absolutely not! Although I use ½" most of the time in my bigger routers, my P-C 310 laminate trimmer only accepts ¼" and I couldn't live without it.

Craftsman router with ARHA?

- - LRod

Master Woodbutcher and seasoned termite

Shamelessly whoring my website since 1999

[Luigi Zanasi]

On Mon, 23 Feb 2004 22:03:43 -0500, "K.-Benoit Evans" scribbled:

1. If it's a Sears Craftsman router, use Steve Wallace's method: If it's a decent quality router, get a new collet.

It happened to me recently as I was making some cove moulding (molding, Keith) out of purpleheart on the router table. It was, FWIW, an old Sears router bit on my PC 390 (or is it 690? Too lazy to look it up now). I was taking small passes, given the hardness of the wood and the brand of bit. The router starts taking too much off, I readjust the height, never thinking that my PC could suffer from ARHA. Ran the wood though again, and this time it took way too much. DUH! I finally realised that it was ARHA. So I went to the local Home Hardware where they had the right 1/2" shaft Freud bit, shelled out mucho loonies for the bit and completed the job. The first piece was ruined. I looked inside the collet, and there were some ridges. So I went to Oscar's Electric, where they just happened to have a collet for about 50 Loonies ($49.99 in Yankee Pesos).

BTW, I almost totally agree with you on the 1/4" bits. Maybe *really* small 1/4" bits might be allowed.

Luigi Replace "nonet" with "yukonomics" for real email address

[Bay Area Dave]

it happened to me the other day, with a dovetail bit. Cleaned the collet and shaft of the bit and tightened it down really good the next time; had no more problem finishing the job.

dave

Tom Kohlman wrote:

[Luigi Zanasi]

On Tue, 24 Feb 2004 04:31:03 +0000, LRod exclaimed in response to Benoît's subject header:

On second thought and after considerable consideration, I have to admit that you're right. (See my other post)

Luigi Replace "nonet" with "yukonomics" for real email address

[Mike Hide]

my thoughts exactly......mjh

[Mortimer Schnerd, RN]

Sunday? Saturday I was chewing up a freebie Crapsman dovetail jig with a dovetail bit that drifted out of the collet the same way. I guess I got what I paid for, but I was pissed.

Anyway, I picked up an aluminum Jet jig yesterday to replace the cheap POS Crapsman. I'll just be using 1/2" bits on this one.

[Rick Gibson]

I've had this happen to me but since I started cleaning the collet AND the shaft of the router bit with alcohol to remove any slight traces of oil no more problems. Was using a cheap bit and figure there may have been a trace of oil left on the shaft to keep it shiny until after it was bought.

[David Hall]

OK, I'm stumped. Just what did the Craftsman dovetail jig have to do with the bit moving in your router?

Dave Hall

[Mike Hide]

[James D. Kountz]

Wont work. The Jet jig uses too small of a guide bushing for 1/2" shank bits. Well. on the standard template anyway.

Jim

[Frank Campbell]

A colleage at work mentioned that if he uses 1/4-inch bits with a reducer in his 1/2-inch router he has to tighten the collet, then wait for a few seconds until it reseats, then retighten. I beleive he has a Freud router but didn't ask what reducer he is using.

[Mortimer Schnerd, RN]

The bit slipped down a little and proceded to eat the jig. Since I'd never used one before and had no instructions, I didn't figure out what had happened until it was a little too late. I'm learning woodworking the hard way.

Anyway, nobody died so I guess it was still a good day.

[Mortimer Schnerd, RN]

Well, damn. In any case, if I have to use a 1/4" bit I'll use my PC router rather than the old Craftsman. I would hope the quality of the collet is better.

[Tom Kohlman]

Unless you really need 1/4 for some special purpose, then it would be a shame to stick to them. 1/2 shank absorbs so much more heat and I think we all know what excess heat does to router bits (watch them turn blue and then listen to the thing hitting the bottom of the trash bin after a few feet of work). I managed to find a 1/4 bit with a 1/2 inch shank so now I only use the 1/4 with the 3/16 or 1/8 bits.

Hope that PC will soon be changing their laminate trimmer to handle 1/2. Can't be a big deal.

[Bridger]

it'll never happen. heck, it's not even a good idea. with a trimmer you want everything to be as compact as possible. the extra diameter on the motor, especially with the bigger bearings required would be a bad thing. trimmers are routinely used with tiny bits. the amount of necking down to go from a 1/2" shank to say a 1/8" cutter diameter in an inch or less of length is getting into the range where notch sensitivity becomes an issue. the bits would have a bad tendency to bust off at the neck. besides, way too many fools will try to run some big 'ol hog of a 1/2" shank bit in it and lose fingers when things go south at 30,000 rpm on a motor that weighs about what the cutter does.

nope, 1/2" shank laminate trimmers are an idea whose time hopefully will never come....

[Bob Flint]

I have a very old Craftsman router, and it works perfectly... never problems with the collet, but the on/off switch has given me trouble... however...

I bought a Craftsman router table on sale - complete with router - and man that was a mistake!! What a cheapo piece of crap!!! When I tighten the collet the bit MOVES IN AN ANGULAR FASHION out of perpendicular!! And the height adjustment is a cheap plastic threaded ring!! Man o man, time to buy another router!!

Thanks for the tip about the loose collet - I'll be sure to watch out for that...

[Tom Kohlman]

Kind of a shame what happened to the Craftsman line...they really had the world by the nads...I had a HD radial saw from about 25 years ago and loved it. I have an old 1 hp router that still works after 20 years. Then a few years later I got a bigger router for Christmas. That lasted for less that

1 service hour before the cheap motor shroud slipped down and chewed all the blades off the internal fan. That same year I got a Craftsman circular saw. Used very seldom and a few months ago that died also...motor runs but the blade won't turn...maybe I can excuse them on that one where the internal gears just rotted away.

So for the past 10 years I pass the Sears store on the way to the other stores that sell PC/Delta/DeWalt...pay more but I guess there's a reason for that.

problems with the collet, but the on/off switch has

that was a mistake!! What a cheapo piece of

of perpendicular!! And the height adjustment