Replies

1. 
   ronbudgell | Apr 19, 2007 09:27pm | #1

   To get it out, try tapping it further in with a block of wood. To prevent it getting stuck in the first place, maybe polishing the shanks with some fine steel wool?

   good luck with it

   Ron

2. 
   fingers | Apr 19, 2007 09:43pm | #2

   You could try putting an o-ring in before you push in the bit's shank.  (I've never tried this but I've heard it works.  I have never had  a bit stuck in my routers . . . happens all the time in my laminate trimmer tho.)  They say the shank is not as likely to get stuck if can't "bottom out" in the router.

1. 
   JMadson | Apr 19, 2007 09:51pm | #3

   You could try putting an o-ring in before you push in the bit's shank. 

   I could even try a half of a pencil eraser in first. Just something so I can tap it down instead of trying to pull it out. I've ruined two bits trying to get them out. But a quick little tap in should loosen it up enough to take it out with ease.“The richest genius, like the most fertile soil, when uncultivated, shoots up into the rankest weeds..” – Hume

3. 
   PaulBinCT | Apr 19, 2007 09:57pm | #4

   Bet your collet has a burr or other flaw. I had the same thing on my PC and when I replaced the collet, end of problem.

   PaulB

    

1. 
   JMadson | Apr 19, 2007 10:03pm | #5

   It's an old crapsman in my router table. Works fine there except for this problem.

   Maybe I should just go out and buy a new PC, yeah that's it.

    â€œThe richest genius, like the most fertile soil, when uncultivated, shoots up into the rankest weeds..” – Hume

1. 
   PaulBinCT | Apr 20, 2007 12:49am | #7

   Well, if you keep having trouble, see if Sears can get you a new collet...PaulB

    

4. 
   McDesign | Apr 19, 2007 10:15pm | #6

   I always whack the side of the collet nut with a chunk of brass in the drawer.

   Forrest

1. 
   dieselpig | Apr 20, 2007 01:44am | #9

   Tapping the collet works for me about 95% of the time.  I leave 1/2" shank flush trimmers in my routers for months at a time... working in the rain and sawdust framing.  Stuck bits are the norm and usually just tapping the collet does the trick.View Image

1. 
   JohnSprung | Apr 20, 2007 02:14am | #11

   The 1/2" shank makes it less prone to getting stuck.  With 1/4" you have to put twice the force on half the area to transfer the same energy to the bit.  So, it has to be four times tighter.  

    

   -- J.S.

    

1. 
   dieselpig | Apr 20, 2007 05:06am | #15

   Uhhh ok.  But I get stuck 1/4" bits out the same way.View Image

5. 
   DanH | Apr 20, 2007 12:51am | #8

   First off, if the bit is all the way down against the collet, back the collet nut farther off so it bears on the bit. It'll (hopefully) pop loose.

   Generally you should be able to, after loosening the collet, run the bit all the way out so you can grab it with a rag or, better, piece of heavy leather. Or clamp the bit in a vice between a couple of pieces of wood, then twist the router with the shaft lock held in.

   Otherwise just cuss and pull.

   The bit may seize due to spalling if it slips in the collet, so be sure to tighten the collet well. However, a little lube or anti-seize on the shank will also help prevent seizing.

   So convenient a thing it is to be a reasonable Creature, since it enables one to find or make a Reason for everything one has a mind to do. --Benjamin Franklin
1. 
   DanH | Apr 20, 2007 01:52am | #10

   Oh, yeah, something I've done before, when the bit isn't down against the collet, is stick a small open-end wrench between bit and collet, then raise (lower?) the collet.
   So convenient a thing it is to be a reasonable Creature, since it enables one to find or make a Reason for everything one has a mind to do. --Benjamin Franklin

6. 
   TomT226 | Apr 20, 2007 02:16am | #12

   Bottom the bit, then pull it out 1/16" and tignten.

   It it sticks, use the HANDLE of a hammer or mallet and tap on the side or the bit.

   Comes out every time.

   Now for yer personal bit....leave the dogs alone....

    

1. 
   pinko | Apr 20, 2007 04:27am | #13

   What tom said...Never bottom out your bits in the collet...Pull them back a hair before tightening--then when they stick, give 'em a tap IN and out they come.. Every time.

7. 
   junkhound | Apr 20, 2007 04:30am | #14

   Worst case, take the whole nut off, clamp in a vise, bang axially on the non-business end of the bit.

1. 
   BillHartmann | Apr 20, 2007 10:00pm | #23

   IIRC it was a Craftsman Router.If that was one of the house brand and not a rebranded one from a major manufacture the end of the shaft is the collet.So there is no way to get to the other end of the bit shaft..
   .
   A-holes. Hey every group has to have one. And I have been elected to be the one. I should make that my tagline.

8. 
   grpphoto | Apr 20, 2007 05:21am | #16

   > And if it does get stuck, how do you get it out with out ruining it?

   So far, I've always been able to get them out by loosening the collet nut. I don't mean just the normal amount. Loosen the nut and keep loosening it. At some point, it will start pressing on the lower part of the bit cutters and force the bit out.

   George Patterson, Patterson Handyman Service

9. 
   jako17 | Apr 20, 2007 01:38pm | #17

    To stop it sticking clean the collet inside.I assume there is no burr .Clean the cone in the end of the armature.Then use some furniture hard wax (just a wipe) on the inside of the cone in the end of the shaft.Also on the mating cone on the OUTSIDE of the collet.That should fix it ,repaet as needed.

10. 
    nikkiwood | Apr 20, 2007 05:27pm | #18

    All you ever wanted to know about collets:

    http://www.woodhaven.com/FAQShow.aspx?ID=1748

    This same outfit sells brass brushes for keeping the inside of the collet clean:

    http://www.woodhaven.com/SearchResult.aspx?CategoryID=123

    From my own experience, you should loosen the collet nut and tap on the flat of the nut (if the bit is stuck). Sometimes you have to hit it pretty hard, and turn the assempbly so you can tap different sides of the collet. I generally use the edge of the collet wrench. If the bit stays stuck (after tapping), spray some penetrant (like Liquid Wrench) between the bit and the collet.

    ********************************************************
    "It is what we learn after we think we know it all, that counts."

    John Wooden 1910-

1. 
   Toolsguy | Apr 20, 2007 05:51pm | #19

   Someone once gave me a tip that you should put small 1/8" or less thickness rubber gromets on the bits so they dont sit all the way down in the collets.

2. 
   Sphere | Apr 20, 2007 09:37pm | #22

   I do the whack the flat trick w/ the wrench myself, but there are two different types of collets ( as you know) , the old ones were much more prone to sticking, than the newer 'self-release' style..some times I forget that is the style, and actually, I had just not loosened enuf yet.Parolee # 40835

1. 
   nikkiwood | Apr 21, 2007 12:22am | #24

   yep -- I've never had a bit stick with one of those self-releasing collets. you behavin' yurself?********************************************************
   "It is what we learn after we think we know it all, that counts."

   John Wooden 1910-

1. 
   Sphere | Apr 21, 2007 02:17am | #27

   Behaving?  NO. I put the wife on a plane this AM. for the weekend....went to work and hung a "U" shaped gutter of 5" 'K', and two downspouts, total length was 40' of gutter and maybe 20' of downs. There was 2 outside miters tho' that took up the time. Soldering sucks.

   Any who, did it in just shy of 4 hours, with Dale of course.

   I come home and attack the yard..grass was kilt by that last freeze, but still aiming for the sky and lush..like I 've never seen.

   My best hope is that the weeds that flowered and set seed, got a good whack.

   I have been usurping ( buying) tools, like a whale on qurill...just trying to be as fast and better than the guys half my age, looking for work in my field, and produce half as much, for half the $.

   Waitin on the lathe from Doug ( SHOUT) , but all is well in the Sphere-shop-dom...messy .Parolee # 40835

3. 
   [email protected] | Apr 21, 2007 12:50am | #26

   Gun cleaning brushes are less expensive if you already own a gun cleaning kit, and the gun cleaning solvents do a good job of cleaning up the collet.  50cal is a half inch, and 25-cal for the 1/4 inch.

11. 
    SamT | Apr 20, 2007 06:50pm | #20

    My bit is stuck

    That's what I told her last night.

    SamT

    Praise the Corporation, for the Corporations' highest concern is the well being of the public.

1. 
   JMadson | Apr 20, 2007 06:58pm | #21

   That's what I told her last night.

   Make sure she doesn't take BT's advice. You might get a wack from the backend of a hammer right in the nut that's holding your shank.

   “The richest genius, like the most fertile soil, when uncultivated, shoots up into the rankest weeds..” – Hume

   Edited 4/20/2007 12:00 pm by JMadson

12. 
    frost | Apr 21, 2007 12:45am | #25

    Take the others advice about how to stop it from sticking (don't know myself), but as for getting the bit out I really don"t like smacking the collett with a wrench while its still in the router.  Just seems to me that you're also trying to bend the actual shaft if you do that, runout is a concern with routers.   I take the collett all the way off, so now you have just the collett with a stuck bit in it, then I use a nailset or small screwdriver, something small and tap the bit out of the collett from the bottom. I can usually do this in my hands without having to resort to clamps (there's a knack), but if you need to you can rest it in something while you're tapping. Just tap it onto the workbench, not the concrete floor.  Better to have it stuck then to have it come out on its own.......