Router Bit won’t budge.

[Connie Freitas]

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?

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[Doug Garson]

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.

[Wes Grass]

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.

[Jimmy Harris]

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.

[Richard Coers]

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.

[Richard Coers]

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.

You think a hair dryer will put out enough heat? I don't.

[Myles Moran]

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.

[Patrick McCarthy]

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

[Jason Meinholz]

I would pry the collet in the slot, up near the bit in the chamfered area.

[Doug Garson]

You think a hair dryer will put out enough heat? I don't.

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.

[Lee Schierer]

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.

[Doug Garson]

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.

And when the router bit bounces off the concrete floor, deposit it in the metal recycling bucket.

[Bill Dufour]

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

[Cameron Wood]

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.

LOL. Maybe a 6 foot long board for good measure.

[Patty Hann]

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.

So is kinetic energy