How do I get this router bit out of here?
Tug as might, it won’t come out.
I tried some WD40 recently but it didn’t help at all.
I’ve since read that I’m not supposed to use a lubricant of any kind.
So, what do I do please?
Attachment 517266
Printable View
How do I get this router bit out of here?
Tug as might, it won’t come out.
I tried some WD40 recently but it didn’t help at all.
I’ve since read that I’m not supposed to use a lubricant of any kind.
So, what do I do please?
Attachment 517266
Put it in the freezer for an hour then apply a bit of heat with a heat gun or hair dryer to the collet, then give the bit a wack with a rubber or wooden mallet. Should pop right out.
I'd probably try making some wood wedges to fit in the flutes so I could clamp it up in a vise without damaging it.
And then try prying the collet open with a screwdriver in one of the slots, at the largest dia at the base of the taper. That looks as though it isn't a 'bearing' surface in the spindle or nut, so any burr rolled up wouldn't affect accuracy. Its also easy to clean up with a file or stone.
Curious what router that's from. Odd design, doesn't collapse in a cylindrical manner to grip the whole shank.
Don't worry about the oil. You can clean it with mineral spirits or something when you're done and get rid of the oil.
I'd do what Doug Garson says. Put it in the freezer, then hit the collet with some heat. I usually use a soldering iron, but a heat gun or hair dryer might work too. The idea is to shrink the metal of the bit with cold, and then expand the metal of the collet with heat.
drill a hole in a scrap that will register only on the lip of the collet nose. Pare a couple of slots in the hole if you need clearance for the carbides. Then tap the back of the router shank with a pin punch. No idea what that threaded bolt is doing there.
A hairdryer won't be fast, but any amount of thermal movement should help break the two apart. A heat gun would be better, but I would try the hairdryer if I didn't have a heat gun.
Also, when you do get it out, when reinserting this or other bits into the collet, i think it is suggested they not be inserted full depth . . . . which i am sensing this one was. Good luck. Patrick
I would pry the collet in the slot, up near the bit in the chamfered area.
Not sure, freezer should be around 0 F and hair drier around 125 to 150 F, sounds like enough to me but only trying it will tell for sure. Whether it works or not, it's pretty easy to try with what the OP probably has on hand, involves little effort and it can do no harm, so I think is worth a try.
Find a piece of hardwood about 3 feet long. 6 inches from one end drill a hole that will just let the router bit fit through. Run some duct tape up and over the back end of the collet so it won't fall out. Stand back from a work bench about 4 feet. Grab the end of the board opposite the router/collet problem Raise the board up over your head and then hit the top of the work bench as hard as you can with the other end of the board such that you don't hit the router bit on the bench. If the bit doesn't come out on the first whack do it again.
They make hammers that will extract a bullet from a brass casing with that exact method, none of the parts are harmed. Momentum is a wonderful thing.
I do not think he can press it out from the back. I think this is a pull stud collet. Sounds like you need to look into shrink fit collets to get ideas on how to undo this. Do not get it so hot you affect the collet's temper. Keep it under 500F or so.
BilLD
I always make sure I have the bit at least 1/8" from bottomed out. That way if it gets stuck a little tap on the bit will push it in the 1/8 and free it hopefully. It hasn't failed me. It appears you may be able to get something in the slot and lightly pry the bit outward. If you get that far tapping it back in may free it overall
Freeze and then heat on the collet would be my first throught, too. But if it's really that stuck, I have to wonder whether the bit didn't turn in the collet for some reason, and may be galled tight to the inside of the collet - in which case some reverse torque may be necessary to break it loose. I'd go with the cold and heat, but be prepared to clamp up the bottom of the collet and apply some clockwise torque to the bit, if it doesn't pop put.
Patty, I don't think anything extra is needed, just experience. You should always be about 1/16-1/8" recessed from the back of the collet. Rule applies to handheld, bench or CNC routers.
If collet is open on motor end, drill a hole on some scrap wood that will support collet nut, Place nut over collet, then over hole in wood. Using a BRASS drift, drive bit out.
Give it a tap down that usually frees them. It's common problem with die grinder bits. I always give the shank a rap with one of the wrenches. Quality collets have a feature where if you keep undoing them , they pop .
I had to toss a router when the shaft taper spun. it was an old Craftsman Super Router, no loss.
Couldnt you stick a flat blade screwdriver in the slot and turn it just a bit?
My curiosity is growing, is the bit out?
Space balls are only 0.26" in diameter usually so I don't use them - with a 1/2" collet.
You can get rubber washers that are closer to 1/2" in diameter so that's what I use instead.
I'm not comfortable with the idea of using anything that can unbalance something spinning at the RPM a router turns. If the space ball rolls to one side of the collet, I don't feel that's in any way a good thing.
Patty
I forget who it was but one of the cabinet bit set companies(I remember they were yellow, at least I think they were) had a video describing them and he installed a fat Oring in the router and dropped the corresponding bits on the oring and thightened there. His were made to swich back and forth from rail to style with out height acdjustment using this oring. He said it doubled as a way to break that lockup.
I've got a bit of rubber sawed off the tread of a farm tractor tire in mine. No doubt it isn't perfectly balanced, but the moment arm is so small, and the density of the material so modest, there isn't any consequence - the forces involved don't begin to compare to those the spindle feels every time a blade come's round the bend and slams into the next cut on a piece of good, hard, wood.
Yup, Craig (as in Kreg Jig)Sommerfeld. He recommended a 1/2" grommet. I also have his router bits for cabinets and they work well.
Oops. Knew the story, but lost track of the players.
I'm having trouble telling if the threads are part of the router bit or collet. I'm guessing the collet....
Get some thin angle iron from the hardware store. Drill a hole and machine screw through one end. Now you have a "V" with both pieces of angle facing up. Use that V on a vise and have it pinch between the bit and the collet. Then you can take a nail punch and tap on the collet. If the threads are part of the collet that won't work but you can then flip the bit/collet around and take a screwdriver and tap in the slit of the collet just a little. If you have a workbench with dog holes you could use that instead of a vise. I wouldn't tighten the angle too much either because technically they'll be on different planes. The slop should help compensate. Hope it works. I had a friend push a router bit all the way in and it was a bear to get out.
The other idea is similar. Put 2 nuts with a large washer between them. Put the lowest washer in a vise and use a screwdriver to pop the router bit out. You could also use the angle iron or aluminum angle V from above. Personally I'd use aluminum due to it's softness.
I think it is time to note that the OP never returned.