Higher Quality Collet Replacement?

Shapeoko
#1

So when I have to do a lot of (manual) tool changes I find it annoying that when I go to undo a collet that it is essentially two stage: First I loosen it and then it moves freely for about 1/2 a revolution and then you have bite down again and losen it a 2nd time. Not a show stopper but kinda annoying and takes longer to make the change.

I am using the stock collet from Dewalt and the 1/8 replacement from Carbide.

Is there such a thing as a high quality collet that has a smoother/faster release?

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#2

ER and ER-style collets are a bit nicer to change. For the Dewalt there’s:

http://www.precisebits.com/products/equipment/dewalt_611_kits.asp

4 Likes
#3

Do they make them for the makita as well? i havent seen any

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#4

I have to do the double-loosen on my Precise Bits collet as well. I have the Dewalt version.

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#5

For the Makita there’re just replacements for the stock collets from Elaire Corp.:

http://www.elairecorp.com/makitaroutercollets.html

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#6

Yep i have that one would like to see one like the dewalt one for the makita.

#7

These are what I use and I don’t understand the double loosen routine. mine just one twist and finger turn it off. Makita with elaire collet adapter, so it’s the makita collet and the adapter has nothing to do with the collet tightening so I guess the makita collet nut is different than the dewalt collet nut.

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#8

I had a Porter Cable router for years and years until I could no longer get brushes for it. That one, also, had the double twist thing so I’ve always thought it was a design “feature.” So when you hand-tightened the collet nut it would hold the bit in place while you hunted for the wrench that you forgot to find before you started the whole bit change thing.

#9

Well folks on my Dewalt (a few years old) its a double-wrench process and I usually drop the wrench in-between. Once to break it loose the first time. One revolution or so by hand. Then a much harder wrench maneuver to finally break the bit loose. Because the collet is very loose between the two wrench-points you end up trying to juggle the wrench, move it forward by hand and then grab wrench again to finish it. Not smooth at all.

So they are a bit pricey but I am going to invest in an alternative.

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#10

I just started using the 1/8" PreciseBits collet for the DeWalt 611 and I can attest that it is VERY nicely machined. I’m using it with a 1/16" Kyocera bit for sign carving in hard maple. The single wrench is nice as well.

For what it’s worth, it appears to be a better deal to buy the standard precision collet kit through Inventables rather than direct from PreciseBits as you can avoid getting the special collet oil included in the kit: https://www.inventables.com/technologies/precision-collet-kit-for-dewalt-611

I can’t imagine you would need the ultra precision collet unless you had a well tuned Shapeoko and were machining metal.

I will definitely purchase the 1/4" collet in the future.

Oh, also be aware that the collet needs to be properly snapped into the nut prior to use…

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#11

Yes, dropping things. As you get older, gravity becomes the enemy.

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#12

Apologies for jumping the thread but since I am carving maple at the moment I would be interested in the bit youre using. Link?

#13

They are Kyocera Tycom part number 1600.0625.375A1 (1/16", 1/8" shank, 2 flute carbide endmill, 0.375" long), purchased on eBay from user “drillman1” who runs the “Carbide Plus” store.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/10-1-16-0625-2-FLUTE-CARBIDE-ENDMILLS-LONG-FLUTE-375-1600-0625-375-/382080787973?hash=item58f5ca2605:g:8goAAOSwlY1ZFnto

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#14

I bought the precise bits collet set for Dewalt. Yes it is a bit smoother but removing the bits is still a two-step process. Must be the same for all collets I am guessing. A couple of things that I think folks should consider based on my experience:

  1. These things are pricey. After all is said and done I paid close to $150 to replace the two stock collets. They ship UPS so its a minimum of $13-14 every purchase here on the East Coast.
  2. I got the “kit” which only comes with one nut so you have to disassemble/reassemble the collet if you change diameters. I went back and bought a 2nd nut so I can skip the assembly step since that is what I already had with the stock setup.
  3. These use a special wrench which I am finding a bit tedious. I will probably get used to it but for now I find it harder to change bits by feel than the stock setup. You have to get all these little notches lined up to loosen/tighten the nut.

So I have satisfied my tool envy need, but not sure this was a great investment from a pure value perspective. (don’t tell my wife I said that…I’ll deny it)

3 Likes
#15

Yeah, if the stock trim router won’t meet one’s needs, it’s hard to justify spending more on it than a basic precision collet — a spindle such as the Kress or Ugra makes a lot more sense.

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#16

This is all really good to know. I was cutting aluminum 5052 sheet metal thats .04" thick like butter yesterday with a spiral ‘o’ single flute aluminum cutting bit but today I have had nothing but the worst cuts ever. The tool paths are all the same and the only thing I can think of is my collet is going as it seems to not tighten as fast anymore. Tactile response-wise this thing gets to a stopping point tightening the stock collet vs feeling like I could go farther but don’t need to which is how it used to be… I am at a loss today.

#17

I have noticed since the beginning that my standard 1/8 and 1/4" collets for my Dewalt tighten, then as I tighten more they loosen, then tighten more, same way when I loosen. I give them a pretty firm (not gorilla) tightening the second time. One thing I always do though is clean my collets on every bit change, just a simple blowout with compressed air to make sure no tiny bits of material foul them. I know there’s also collet lubrication, but I haven’t tried that (I would assume a thin machine oil would work as well, not WD40 though as it tends to pickup dust, maybe silicone spray?). Just keeping them clean I’ve yet to have a bit slip, with exception of my own human error.

Dan

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#18

That’s wild because I just cranked up the air compressor today to do a thorough cleaning of the whole router and all around the gantry and it seemed to really help. I took on a task that was way too much maybe 3 weeks ago cutting a large plate steel sheet of 1/8" thick material and that was the last of the steel dust I could get rid of… #IwishIwenttoengineeringschool

1 Like