I am upgrading to a spindle for my Shapeoko 3XL. In the process I am being introduced to ER collets. These have a split ring in the bottom of the nut which adds a challenge when changing from 1/8" to 1/4" collets. Prior to this the collets for my Makita trim router fell out.
Looking on the Internet I found people using hammers, screwdrives and other questionable procedures and tools. Some suggested adjusting the collect at an angle and then gently twisting. I will owe it to my lack of intelligence, aging fingers or lack of fine motor skills that I wound up making my own Collet Removal Tool. A dowel and a round disk as shown in the photo.
Apologies to those who figured this out on their own. But it does work.
I’m all for DIY and shop tools, but maybe easier to get a second threaded nut and have one for set for 1/8, 1/4 (and maybe also 8mm)?
Tool changes are annoying, so anything to make it faster and easier.
I did what @72begin Bill did - and was advised also to make sure to clean out the dust from time to time. So I do that - but having a second collet is MUCH more convenient when you’re running jobs that go back and forth between them - or even one job that uses both, that you need to run repetitively.
I had actually had gotten to the point with repeating jobs, that I had created two - one that started with the same tool the previous one ended with so I could just start the next job without having to change tools — but that couldn’t be done on all jobs, and got a little nutso to maintain and manage on those that could. Separate collets - with the “clean the dust” proviso seems to make the most sense.
I have a collet and nut assembly for both 1/4" and 1/8" tools. After every use I remove the collets from the nuts for a cleaning. I also check the tapered area inside the nut where the tapered part of the collet contacts the nut for gouges. Recently I did end up tossing a 1/4" nut and collet in the trash because of a deep scratch in the tapered area.
The ER11 collet nuts being narrower can make things a little trickier, and some size collets are stiffer. But in general, it’s better to work with the collet than to brute force it. You need to find out which direction the collet wants to tilt, and work it out from that orientation. Some visual aids here: ER Collet Basics
If you want to use your collet removal tool with the minimum of violence, flip it over so the peg is facing up, press the collet nut down onto it, and then use your thumb to roll the collet itself around (kind of like the joystick on a video game controller).
Winston:
For folks with limited thumb strength being able to push down on the 2" disk rather than the edges of the collet nut works much easier. We can use the palm of our hand instead of our thumbs.
Thanks for the feedback.
