After some bit slipping I decided to spend $60 on the on-sale ER-11 collet router.
Bad:
The inside of the spindle, where the collet goes, is dirty, maybe rusty. I cleaned it with some “Clean Streak” (a less toxic Brakeleen) and it seems OK where the collet rests, but deeper it’s still darker. Is this just dirt or could it be rust? Any worries? I’ll check runout tomorrow.
Good.
Installed a bit and ran it. It’s way quieter than the router that came with my Pro, at the same RPMs. Is this real? Is something potentially wrong with my old router (like maybe brushes are close to worn)? Just curious.
Also, bit holding seems great with the ER-11 collets, and uses a smaller wrench (17mm instead of 22mm), so the two wrench thing with the other wrench, a 13mm, doesn’t feel so unbalanced.
The Makita 701 and the C3D routers use the same parts. The C3D router is a clone of the Makita. The brushes tend to wear fast. The wire that connects the contact and the brush is relatively short. So when the brush is about half gone the brushes dont make good contact and cause noise that can lead to disconnects.
The Makita/C3D routers have issues with the bottom bearings going bad. You can take the router apart and replace the bearing rather easy and the bearings are about $25.00 plus shipping. If your old router is making a lot of noise it could be the bearing is toast.
ER collets are more precise and have more slits that compress to hold the bits better than the regular collets from Makita/C3D. The main thing is to keep the collets clean. I use brake cleaner on the collet and a gun brass brush to clean the router shaft inner area. I put brake cleaner on a qtip to clean the inside of the router shaft. Both regular and ER collets need to be cleaned regularily.
This week I used a Dewalt palm router to cut a grid for the MatchFit grooves in a piece of mdf. When I changed from the bit you use to clear out the channel to the dovetail bit my router collet was cloged with mdf dust. I cleaned it. You want your collets and router shaft to be clean and oil free.
The longer your bit the more runout you have. So make sure your bit is inserted at least to the top of your collet and tightened well. On long jobs it is a good idea to pause occasionally and check the tightness of your collet when using long bits.
The brushes on my old router are OK, maybe ½ way worn.
Still wondering if the new router came with rust inside the spindle.
Been toying with the idea of using 6mm x 14mm o-rings on the router bit shanks to help keep the collets clean. I know some woodworkers have used o-rings as a depth stop, others to prevent them from tightening the collet on the fillet. Wonder how effective as a dust shield they might be?