I have the Carbide compact router and ordered the precision collet set from Carbide 3d. I have no issues with the 1/4 collet but the 1/8 is extremely tight. I installed it for a project and it would not come out of the router. I was able to get the bit out with a pair of pliers but the collet wouldn’t budge. After some time I was able to work the collet loose, but now I am unable to fit a bit in the collet.
Has anyone else experienced this with the 1/8 precision collet?
@WillAdams I also have this exact problem, except for both sizes. My router came with the 1/8" & 1/4" collets, which I assume are the precision collets you also sell. The machining looked very nice, but they seem to be very soft material. Mine also got stuck.
I had assumed I overtightened them, but then I realized that they have no auto ejection mechanism like ER collets.
Support answers e-mails on the weekends (also holidays and late evenings) as best we can.
Simply keeping things clean and not overtightening should be all that’s necessary (and never install and tighten a collet w/o the correct size endmill in place).
The collets should be spring/tool steel — while they aren’t hardened, they shouldn’t be especially soft.
Have you tried them in another router brand? Meaning do they stick in the Carbide3D Router or in a Makita brand router, or both? I’d love for someone to test my theory.
Theory: Surface finish and spindle hardness
Reason: I make 99% of my own collets…(1/8, 4mm, 6mm, 1/4, 5/16, 3/8)…(So I’d like to learn from this problem)
I had the same problem with the precision collets in my Makita router. I tried the plier route a couple of times but then figured out I could use a rare earth magnet attached to a piece of scrap plywood to pull the collet out. Worked much easier and without the damage the plier method seemed to cause.
Same here, with both the 1/4 and 1/8th. I DREAD tool changes because of this. And now I’m actually completely unable to get the collet out of the carbide router. I’ve even tried WD40 with no luck.
Quick follow-up: Liquid Wrench got the job done. Not sure if it’s because it’s better than WD40, or it was simply the result of multiple applications and a lot of soak time between the both of them.