Hey guys, I’m not sure whats going on, All weekend long, while using most of my 1/4 shank endmills, they have caused the jobs to crash because the bits themselves are creeping out of the collet and “know” I’ve tighten them good and snug (just as I have since my purchase back in july). I’m not sure why all of a sudden they are slipping out, but 1. it’s scary as crap and 2. its F’N up my stuff man! (lol) I’m wondering if it’s the Precision collet? the little steel thing you have to put up in there, before the nut and the bit? or am I running it too hard? 1/4" endmill, I’m doing .125 step overs and at the most, .2 on my depth per pass, but most of the time I do .155 and it’s still been doing this?
Are the inside and outside faces of the collet still smooth and cylindrical & conical? It looks like it’s pretty badly beaten up and scarred in those pics.
Is that a depth stop clamped onto the cutter? Do you have that in place whilst the router is running? I suspect that’s not balanced and would introduce a lot of vibration.
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I’ve seen it several times here…poor (soft) quality with a poorly made taper angle on either the collet and or Spindle…Are you using the no-name OR Makita router?
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Yes, after posting, I looked at the one I sent photos of at first and then looked at my 1/8th inch and the other 1/4 that Carbide3d provided (I haven’t used) and I can see significant gaps in the one I’ve been using, I don’t think they were that wide when I first got it, so it’s like they’ve opened up, which I would assume is keeping it from gripping the bit?
I do keep a depth collar on there since I dont have a Bit Setter it allows me to do the Advanced Carves until I can get one. I didn’t know it was bad to have on there?
So, 0.2 depth per cut is not bad on the quarter inch cutter right?
I’ve got the No Name version
If the face of the collet that goes inside the router is not smooth or if the internal faces gripping the cutter are damaged then it is unlikely to be able to hold the cutter, dispose of it and get a new one which isn’t damaged, they’re not really repairable once damaged.
As for the depth stop, is there a noticeable difference in vibration when you spin up the router with that mounted? If not then it may be OK, I prefer not to add additional sources of imbalance to cutters and spend the time setting zero with the bitzero, but that’s what works for me.
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I didn’t mention…you are not tightening the collet enough…because I assume you know how…
PS Chy-Nah makes some pretty good stuff…once in a while…and a WHOLE lotta junk too.
I own 4 routers…
One DeWalt (Nice but not Slow enough for my metal work)
Two- Makitas (the one I am using at present has been running almost every weekday for 3 years, and 10 months…I bought another Makita about two years ago…because it’s gotta eventually break and for ($69 Factory Recon from Makita) I though tit was good insurance to have a spare…
And a Chy-Nah POS…that got used ONE TIME…and then went directly into the Fk-it-Bucket.
Yes I stock extra brushes…never needed them (Ref: Sock Pre-Filter)
But that’s my story…just a 40+ year (20+ year CNC) Tool and Die Maker (and retired NASA guy)
PS I now make my own Makita Collets…(Fully heat treated and Blackened)
EDIT: ((ADD)) As an Engineer, I reviewed the 3 collet photo you recently posted. The surface contact on the TAPER area should NOT be a single black LINE, like 2 out of the 3 appear to have. That is a BAD sign. ((Ref: Insufficient contact area)) THIS IS WHY THEY ARE SPINNING!
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0.2" DOC can be done… but standard in CC is 0.04" or so. You can go 5x deeper as long as you change feedrate or stepover (feedrate is best) proportionally.
0.2" at 60ipm is… maybe a bit on the high side for what I’d be comfortable with
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Yes, I think it may be the cause. 2morro I will try a job with the collet I’ve never used and see if it holds. I’ll Also, decrease my depths per cut and just let it take longer, maybe that will put less strain on the bit and therefore the collet.
What you say makes sense about the depth stops, I never thought about the balance, but I have completed a few advanced vee carves using them, so I was happy. I really just need to spend the bread for the bit setter.
Thanks guys, I’ll make some adjustments 2morro and report back.
Problem could be the Collet, Spindle Taper or BOTH. You should look at the inside of the Spindle (Router) Taper Area too.
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Lol…you frightened me with those pics. lol
I went out to see what those were and they were just accumulations of saw dust. Shweeew!
Man, did they sure look like cracks in the metal, huh?
Now that hole thing up under the screw, I looked in the manual and the screw never goes through it in the manual either. But…i wonder is it suppose to? it seems to be loose too
That’s a terrible looking collet. Not sure what happened to it, but I’d strongly recommend replacing it, it’s likely not holding the endmill properly. What do the sides look like?
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Looking at the pic on the C3D store;
It appears that the hole is meant to be vertical and the bottom of the lead screw sits in it.
The leadscrew is hopefully retained at the top mount and this is just to stop it flapping about as there’s no bearing installed?
sorry for the fright… (Happy Halloween???)
Yeah, when I saw the dust lines I thought they were cracks…anyhow, glad they’re not.
If the lead screw was supposed to be in that divot from the start, you might want to address that, then check the upper end…anti-backlash assy, mounts, whatever, give it a "going over"to be safe…
No, the cylindrical post is just a stop. The hole in it is simply for ease of fitment. The leadscrew should not be trapped in it.
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the only collet Ive seen worse is the 3/8" collet that came with a makita-clone router. 3/8" is intriguing to use since the bits are plentiful and much more sturdy than 1/4th …
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I see several have weighed in but looking at your bit stickout that must be a very long but or you do not have it all the way in the collet.
The collet appears to be about an inch long. Measure your collet length and the bit should be in the collet right up to the top of the collet. So if the collet is an inch then the bit should be inserted at least an inch so you get maximum grab on the bit by the collet. It is ok if the bit were a little higher but you do not want to bottom out the bit in the router shaft.
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