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?
--
Regards,
Benoit Evans
In article <[email protected]>, K.-Benoit
Evans <[email protected]> wrote:
> 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?
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.
--
http://sawdustmaking.com
On Mon, 23 Feb 2004 22:03:43 -0500, "K.-Benoit Evans"
<[email protected]> wrote:
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.
>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?
Craftsman router with ARHA?
- -
LRod
Master Woodbutcher and seasoned termite
Shamelessly whoring my website since 1999
http://www.woodbutcher.net
On Tue, 24 Feb 2004 20:45:05 GMT, "Tom Kohlman"
<[email protected]> wrote:
>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.
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....
On Mon, 23 Feb 2004 22:03:43 -0500, "K.-Benoit Evans" <[email protected]> wrote:
>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?
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...
"Mortimer Schnerd, RN" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> Kevin B wrote:
> > 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...
>
>
> 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.
OK, I'm stumped. Just what did the Craftsman dovetail jig have to do
with the bit moving in your router?
Dave Hall
"David Hall" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> "Mortimer Schnerd, RN" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>...
> > Kevin B wrote:
> > > 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...
> >
> >
> > 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.
>
> OK, I'm stumped. Just what did the Craftsman dovetail jig have to do
> with the bit moving in your router?
>
> Dave Hall
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.
"K.-Benoit Evans" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> 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?
>
> --
> Regards,
>
> Benoit Evans
Wont work. The Jet jig uses too small of a guide bushing for 1/2" shank
bits. Well. on the standard template anyway.
Jim
"Mortimer Schnerd, RN" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Kevin B wrote:
> > 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...
>
>
> 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.
>
>
>
> --
> Mortimer Schnerd, RN
>
> [email protected]
> http://www.mortimerschnerd.com
>
>
my thoughts exactly......mjh
"Luigi Zanasi" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> On Tue, 24 Feb 2004 04:31:03 +0000, LRod
> <[email protected]> exclaimed in response to Benoît's
> subject header:
>
> >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.
>
> 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
James D. Kountz wrote:
> Wont work. The Jet jig uses too small of a guide bushing for 1/2" shank
> bits. Well. on the standard template anyway.
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.
--
Mortimer Schnerd, RN
[email protected]
http://www.mortimerschnerd.com
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.
"K.-Benoit Evans" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> 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?
>
> --
> Regards,
>
> Benoit Evans
David Hall wrote:
>
> OK, I'm stumped. Just what did the Craftsman dovetail jig have to do
> with the bit moving in your router?
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
[email protected]
http://www.mortimerschnerd.com
On Tue, 24 Feb 2004 04:31:03 +0000, LRod
<[email protected]> exclaimed in response to Benoît's
subject header:
>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.
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
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?
"K.-Benoit Evans" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> 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?
>
> --
> Regards,
>
> Benoit Evans
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:
> 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?
>
>
> "K.-Benoit Evans" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>
>>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?
>>
>>--
>>Regards,
>>
>>Benoit Evans
>
>
>
On Mon, 23 Feb 2004 22:03:43 -0500, "K.-Benoit Evans"
<[email protected]> scribbled:
<snip of ARHA experience>
>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?
1. If it's a Sears Craftsman router, use Steve Wallace's method:
http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&selm=358577DF.53486851%40your.clothes.home.com
2. 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
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.
"Frank Campbell" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:240220041018100591%[email protected]...
> In article <[email protected]>, K.-Benoit
> Evans <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> > 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?
> 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.
>
> --
> http://sawdustmaking.com
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.
"Bob Flint" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> On Mon, 23 Feb 2004 22:03:43 -0500, "K.-Benoit Evans"
<[email protected]> wrote:
>
> >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?
>
> 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...
>
Kevin B wrote:
> 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...
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.
--
Mortimer Schnerd, RN
[email protected]
http://www.mortimerschnerd.com