Sanity check please!
Preamble:
.75 cypress
.25 down cut (C3D & Whiteside bits), depth per pass .25, 100 IPM
.25 & .5 ramp plunges
two wrenches to tighten the collet nut
Over the past week, I’ve been experiencing significant bit slippage.
I’ve cleaned the bits, collet, collet nut, and up inside the router. I also tried a new C3D precision collet to eliminate worn collet from the equation…to no avail.
Your thoughts/comments/suggestions would be appreciated.
Note that we recommend using a pair of good quality wrenches. The community has the following notes on Carbide Compact Router/Makita RT0700/0700 shaft and collet/nut wrench sizes:
A firm squeeze should be all that is necessary, assuming everything is clean and dry/free of oil.
I’m going to piggyback off this topic to ask a related question. I have been using a metal rod fed through the hole in the shaft of the router to lock it in place while tightening the collet nut with a wrench. Is this ill-advised?
Another thing that can cause the bit to come lose is bottoming out the bit in the shaft. The bit needs room to expand when heat builds up and in some cases the bit will not tighten properly when the bit is bottomed out.
Anthony
Yes. Just use the button to hand-tighten — that structure isn’t intended for more force than that.
Cypress is a relatively soft wood but a .25" DOC is a lot. The one thing about cypress is it is a resinious wood due to it growing in the water. So along with your deep DOC and the stickiness of the wood you are likely building up heat on the bit. When metal gets hot it expands. When metal expands it transfers heat to other objects like your collet and collet nut. So reduce doc, reduce heat, reduce the bit coming loose.
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