Triton 1400 router dropping bits

[old_picker]

Horror of horrors
Trton 1400 bought 2 days ago dropped a cmt 1/4" shank bit right out of the collett and hit the rubber matt on the floor. The top bearing and collar went in different directions. My first day working this machine and i had noticed twice earlier in the job the bit had dropped slightly. I always put a fair bit of strain on tightening up the collett. I have used a cheap gmc for 18 months and it has always held the bit like grim death, even with as little as 15mm in the collett.

As you woukld know the 1/4" collett on the triton is a sleave that fits into the 1/2" collett. I like the way the gmc 1/4" is a separate collett altogether, the same size as the 1/2" obviously though with a 1/4" hole. The bit in question is a 1/4" shank 1/2" in patteren follower italian [cmt] bit I bought from carbatech, which has done little work.

I have a good collection of 1/4" shank bits and many of them cant be on a 1/2" shank. To me the 1/2" shank is for the heavier ogee and other fancy bits with big cutters. The work I do requires bits with small cutters with bearings. I bought the smaller triton thinking it would easily do 1/4" bits.

So what is the deal with this 1/4" sleave thingy??
Does It work??
Is there an alternative??
What did I do wrong??
Is triton 1/4" different to cmt 1/4"

I am wondering what it would have been like if the bit hit a bit of me instead of the big rubbery mat on the floor

[ian]

So what is the deal with this 1/4" sleave thingy??
Does It work??
Is there an alternative??
What did I do wrong??
Is triton 1/4" different to cmt 1/4"

I am wondering what it would have been like if the bit hit a bit of me instead of the big rubbery mat on the floor

why you using a beastie like the Triton with 1/4" bits?
I'd normally be reaching for Makita Trimmer with little bits like that

seriously,

What did I do wrong??

the most likely cause is that the slot in the sleeve is not aligned with the slot in the collet.


ian

[old_picker]

why you using a beastie like the Triton with 1/4" bits?
I'd normally be reaching for Makita Trimmer with little bits like that

seriously, the most likely cause is that the slot in the sleeve is not aligned with the slot in the collet.
ian

I use a 1/2" pattern follower quite a bit [top bearing] Never thought of getting a trimmer. Would it cut a 1 1/2"" deep into a piece of well seasoned hardwood. I generally cut neck pockets, control and pickup routs in a guitar body with the 1/2" pattern follower. The template is on top. Cut most of the hole out with a forstner and clean up with the router. The 1/2" is ideal as many if the neck and pickup profiles etc have the same radius in the corners


Slots?? You mean the split from top to bottom in the main collet should line up with one of the 4 in the top of the insert?

[martrix]

Ian, never heard of having to align any slots with other slots..

Take some pics of your bits in question and post them.

Is your 1/4" collet a snug fit inside the 1/2"? and is your 1/4" cutter also a snug fit in the reducing collet? before you tighten any of them?

Never had a bit slip on me, 1/2" 1/4" with or without a reducing collet.

Most threads I have read on here with people that have problems with bits slipping, also seem to say they are trying to squeeze blood out of the router when tightening the bit...

It is not necessary to over tighten the bit and over tightening, be it a router bit, buzzer Gib screws or the head nut on a spindle moulder will cause metal fatigue, leading to premature failure:eek:

[ian]

Slots?? You mean the split from top to bottom in the main collet should line up with one of the 4 in the top of the insert?

what I mean is the slot — that should go from one end of the insert to the other – should be aligned with the slot in the 1/2" collet
that way when you tighten the collet nut squeezing the 1/2" collet onto the sleve, the sleeve should also tighten around the 1/4" insert.

I don't know if a trimmer's got the guts to do what you're doing but given how light they are it would be worth a try, especially if nearly all the material has been removed already


ian

[old_picker]

There is a slot top to bottom in the main collett but the insert has 4 going almost to the bottom and another 4 [offset] going bottom almost to the top.



Here is a pic of the bits you can see what i mean about the insert slots.
I don't get it by tghtening down the collet the insert should pinch onto the shank of the bit and hold it in place. Why isn't it?

Do triton make a 1/4" collett???

[TritonJapan]

Something's amiss here.

The new collets on the baby router are supposed to give a heck of a lot more gripping force than the type of collet in the big boy.

Somewhere I read a review or write up on the router that went into a bit of detail about the collet. It has a quirk that the reviewer took a while to get used to.

Whish I could recall where I read the article. May have been one of Dean's at www.onlinetoolreviews.com

Steve

[old_picker]

heres a pic of the co;;ett and insert
Attachment 34728

As you can see the insert is spilt 4 ways fom bottm and top. None of the slots go right through. The main collett is split top to bottom. There is a circlip on top of the the insert.

I found an review on this subject but it made me even more confused

[old_picker]

heres a pic of the two bits
Attachment 34728

As you can see the insert is spilt 4 ways fom bottm and top. None of the slots go right through. The main collett is split top to bottom. There is a circlip on top of the the insert.

I found an review here on this subject but it made me even more confused.

[JaD]

Well.....If it was me and I had just bought a shiny new Triton 1/2" router, I think I would just go and buy a set of CMT 1/2" router bits to go with it

hey? ...whats that????:confused: Did he????:eek: Really????:eek: The lucky old bugger

[martrix]

Most threads I have read on here with people that have problems with bits slipping, also seem to say they are trying to squeeze blood out of the router when tightening the bit...

It is not necessary to over tighten the bit and over tightening, be it a router bit, buzzer Gib screws or the head nut on a spindle moulder will cause metal fatigue, leading to premature failure:eek:

Watch this and see what I mean about not having too over-tighten...

[ian]

Ray
I don't own, nor have I used your router

However, I've used a very similar arrangement.
There is tremendous friction between the collet and the insert and if the insert is not arranged correctly in respect to the collet (which on the unit I'm familiar with means aligning the slots), you cannot tighten the collet nut sufficiently to hold a 1/4" bit


hope this helps

ian

[lesmeyer]

Something's amiss here.

The new collets on the baby router are supposed to give a heck of a lot more gripping force than the type of collet in the big boy.

Steve

Steve,
here in OZ the baby router has the identical collet to the big boy. I would beg to differ on the above statement. I have discussed this before when I stated my disappointment at not getting the same collet setup as the Triton routers sold in the US. I still maintain that a reducing sleeve is not sold in the US due to safety concerns. However, Triton pull the wool over our eyes here in OZ by refusing to provide an actual 1/4" collet. It should be as simple and turning out the 1/2" collet and turning in the 1/4" collet. How difficult is it to manufacture some extra collets and provide them on the baby router sold in every country??
Les

[martrix]

Well with all this talk about some 'trick' collet design on the Triton routers and bits dropping out, you have all successfully sold me on not getting a triton.
I just have have a bog stock Hitachi TR-12 1500W 1/2" Router with a straight 1/4" collet insert that has a couple of grooves running through it.
1/2" or 1/4" bit, makes no difference. A solid workhorse..

[old_picker]

Well with all this talk about some 'trick' collet design on the Triton routers and bits dropping out, you have all successfully sold me on not getting a triton.

MMMM
Whisht I hadda sniffed around a bit more prior to buying it.
However I am happy with most of the features of the triton.

As far as the US collett design, I fnd the parts list at the triton US site lists the same collett insert as on my machine.

The removing of the bit in the video above is different to mine. There is no 2 stage unlock the bit. You just loosen the collett and the bit comes out.

It's all very well to say go get some new 1/2" bits but I caint afford em. I bought this machine as it had a 1/4" capacity so I could use the bits [quality cmt/carbitool] I already spent a few hundred $$ on.

I emailed triton re this issue and you guessed it no reply after 3 days....

I am pretty certain that I wont be buying the triton circular saw I have been eying off for the past few months. I will get a makita which is what I should have done this time.