rrich
22nd May 2006, 01:33 PM
(I did not want to hijack another thread.)
Over the years I've been able to un-stick router bits with a piece of hardwood. Use the hardwood like a small cricket bat and give the router bit a sharp blow. Usually I hit the router bit perpendicular to the shaft. Sometimes it is necessary to hit the bit as if trying to drive it deeper into the collet.
To prevent the router bits from sticking there are two tricks. First, never bottom the router bit in the collet. Just insert the bit into the collet all the way and then withdraw the bit 3-4mm before tightening. Second, lubricate the collet and compression sleve with parafin.
(As in wax, like candle wax or canning wax. I don't know what the term for the wax is there. Here I just tell SWMBO, "On your next trip to the market please get some canning wax." Within a week a box of canning wax appears in the shop.)
The important point is that it is the OUTSIDE of the collet that is lubricated with the wax. This permits the collet to slip in and out of the sleeve. If the collet can slip in and out of the sleeve easily, it is almost impossible for the bits to get stuck.
Over the years I've been able to un-stick router bits with a piece of hardwood. Use the hardwood like a small cricket bat and give the router bit a sharp blow. Usually I hit the router bit perpendicular to the shaft. Sometimes it is necessary to hit the bit as if trying to drive it deeper into the collet.
To prevent the router bits from sticking there are two tricks. First, never bottom the router bit in the collet. Just insert the bit into the collet all the way and then withdraw the bit 3-4mm before tightening. Second, lubricate the collet and compression sleve with parafin.
(As in wax, like candle wax or canning wax. I don't know what the term for the wax is there. Here I just tell SWMBO, "On your next trip to the market please get some canning wax." Within a week a box of canning wax appears in the shop.)
The important point is that it is the OUTSIDE of the collet that is lubricated with the wax. This permits the collet to slip in and out of the sleeve. If the collet can slip in and out of the sleeve easily, it is almost impossible for the bits to get stuck.