Good wrenches for the carbide compact router

The pot metal silver wrench that came with my carbide compact router gave up the ghost. I knew it was inevitable.

Anyone have a link handy to a good quality set (or individual) of collet wrenches confirmed to fit this router?

(Surprised that these aren’t in the carbide 3d store)

I got a set of metric wrenches from harbor freight for less than 10 bucks. A 12mm and 17mm are all you need. At least for the ER11 version. I had to grind down the 12 just a little to get it to hold the shaft properly.

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The community has the following notes on Carbide Compact Router/Makita RT0700/0700 collet wrench/nut sizes:

As noted, for an ER-11 spindle for the Nomad or Carbide 3D VFD Spindle) you will need a 12mm (usually, there are some where a 12.7mm or 13mm is a better fit — please measure) low profile and a 17mm stubby:

Nomad spindle:

For 17mm:

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I have seen several wrenches used on YouTube with Dipped handles that look very comfortable.
Park Tool Wrench

Yes, I too think they should have something like this on the Carbide site.

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Don’t know why it never occurred to me to look for a complete set of thin wrenches. Doh! I can think of a pile of times where these would have been useful to have in the arsenal. Thank you for the links.

Ordered a set each of Duratech Metric and SAE on Amazon. 29 bucks each set not bad. Hopefully they’re not awful!

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I bought a complete set of the Asahi wrenches because I found the one I’d purchased so nice — had to pay shipping from Japan, but they are very nice for the price — here’re most of the wrenches I’ve bought for use on my machines:

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You could make your own. Like this steel 30mm I made from a chunk of scrap.

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Wrapping this up, These came today. Not fancy but a seem like a pretty decent set of tools for a fair price. Maybe worth adding to the recommends @WillAdams ?

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Added to:

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The subject of tools came up on team chat, and I was wondering what tools folks were using, since it’s been a while.

Also, to expand the subject beyond wrenches, does everyone just use the hex key sets included with the machine? Or has anyone found any which are especially well-suited — T-handle sets seem a likely option. Lastly, the quantity of hardware on the Hybrid T-tracks argues for a ratcheting feature — my favorite tool on that front is a Silca T-ratchet (which I also use on the family bikes). I have the (1st gen) torque bar for that — anyone else have any favorite torque wrenches suited to the machines?

I still use the supplied hex wrenches but should probably get something better. I do like the ball ends on them.

I did strip out the head on one of the screws that is on the ZPlus back plate so I need to replace and be more careful. Crap, I just ordered a new set of collets to replace the one I messed up last night. I should have looked for a replacement set of screws on the website as well.

The supplied hex wrenches are quite good quality (at least my sets have have been).

I don’t think we have replacement screws in the shop — any decent hardware store should have suitable metric hardware — we spec stainless, but black oxide finish should be okay (so long as the machine isn’t in a garage w/ muriatic acid or some similar corrosive agent).

I am using the Park Tool Shop Cone Wrenches. I like them but they do seem to be marring up the surface of the collet nut.

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I will check Lowe’s and ACE. I will need to pull another one out to measure.

The cone wrenches are only intended for the shaft where a thin wrench is needed.

For the nut, a normal sized (but stubby if possible) wrench works better.

I use those as well and see the same marking.

That makes sense. I just like the nice rubberized handle on them. Ill look for a stubby.

I personally went to a local bicycle shop where they carried the ParkTool Cone wrenches at 15mm and 22mm. $9.95 each.

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