For the past month or so, I’ve been putting 6mm ID rubber washers onto my bit shanks.
This has a number of benefits:
- For long shank bits, you can place the washer so that it won’t bottom out in the spindle.
- For bits with larger diameter cutting profiles, like the Vee bit pictured, it prevents you from tightening the collet down on the radius part where the shank meets the cutterhead.
- With the washer pressed up against the bottom of the collet nut, it helps keep the insides of the spindle and collet cleaner.
About the only issue I have with them is that when on the bit, the bit no longer fits into the narrow plastic boxes it came in. Not a problem if you store the bits in a tray, or just remove them before you put the bits away.
The ones I got on Amazon were $0.25 each, 6mm ID and 14mm OD, 2.5mm thick:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07D23X239
The 6mm ID is just tight enough that they stay on and stay where you put them, but not so tight that you can’t easily slide them off when you want to.
