Thread: 1/4in router bit not held in TRA001

I have Hitachi routers and I am not familiar with the Triton routers but I can't imagine that much difference between the chucks.

Some thoughts rather than solutions.

Do the 1/2" bits still do up tight?

If there is dirt or rubbish in the slots of the adaptors it can stop them from closing tight but you have two that are loose

If you put a 1/4" drill bit in the router, does it do up tight?

There were some 6mm router bits around from memory, I think they use that size in parts of Europe.

The solution is to tighten it more. This is because the collet type in the TRA001 has a female chuck body and a male nut with a coarse thread. Because the threads are coarse, the amount of force required to turn the nut against a fairly steep shoulder is considerably more than is required to tighten a female nut using a fine thread and a shallow shoulder - the "norm" with other collet types.

You'll just need to heave on it a bit more. Try the sleeve in a position that the slot on the sleeve lines up with the slot of the male collet nut - that may help a little. The bit sure is a ¼" from your measurements. Any reason why you didn't get one with a ½" shank?

Ray.

I had the same problem, solved this by using a reducing collet adaptor from Gifkins.

You have a TRA001 inyour circular saw?

Originally Posted by acmegridley

You have a TRA001 inyour circular saw?

You may notice that Jill said "TABLESAW". It is quite common to do so. Many famous woodworkers also follow this practice. (ie. David Marks)
Jill, what Ray said is true. I have had this problem with both my Triton routers using 8mm and 1/4" shank cutters. You need some serious muscle for the job. As mcintoad says the Gifkins reducer may also improve the situation. I have heard good reports about it.
Les

What am I missing?
I got a Triton 1/4" reducer with my router and it works fine for me.
If you got one with the router,why are you using an after market one that doesn't seem to grip the bits .Or why go to 1/4" in the first place

I have a friend with a 1400w triton and a carbitool reducer - it doesn't grip some of the 1/4 bits that he has bought, despite the fact that they're rightened as far as they go. The router was bought as one of the $99 jobbies when bunnings first offloaded them and they didn't have the reducer in the box.

I have the triton reducer on my router (same model) and I think it's more flexible, and this works ok for my 1/4" bits, but good luck finding one now...

Oh, and there is good reason to use 1/4" bits at times... My 3.2mm CMT bit is dead useful

Cheers,
Dave

Hi Jill, PM me your Name & Address and I'll post you a genuine Triton Reducer as I have a few here

thanks for all your help, everyone. I shall try to addres the points raised above

Firstly, my mistake. Last time I looked my TRA001 was still a router, not a table saw

The reducing sleeves I used were brand new, no dirt involved. The router bit was brand new too, and was a genuine 1/4in bit.

The bit was a 1/2 inch pattern bit, not available with a 1/2 in shaft

I tightened it up in the router as tight as it would go without doing any damage, and it did not make any difference

Strangely, my 1/2in bits work OK in this router.

Many thanks for the very kind offer by Acco. I will give it a go.

regards to all,
Jill

I have a Bosch ½ in router and needed a quarter¼ in for a dovetail jig. I got a reducer but it never worked well, you were never sure of depth as the bit quite often wandered. My solution was I bought a cheap router from Aldi to do the odd job I need it to do

Originally Posted by JillB

Strangely, my 1/2in bits work OK in this router.

That's not strange, JillB. Think about how much more surface area they have in contact with the collet, compared to a ¼" shaft. Introduce a reducing sleeve and the problems become compounded, which is why dedicated collets are the best option.

However, although I've searched long and hard, there's no dedicated replacement male ¼" collet nut for the TRA001. Obvious, really - think about how thick the metal would be and how difficult it would be to compress such a nut.

Ray

I had the same problem with a replacement reducer in my Makita router.
Discovered that the replacement was 12mm and not 1/2 in.
The Makita parts list quotes a different number for both sizes.
Apparently the difference between 12mm and 1/2 in was enough to cause the problem.
Keith.

If you tightened the quarter inch bit with adaptor as hard as you could, and it still wouldn't grip, everything is clean, the open slot on the adaptor lined up with the open slot on the half inch collet, then there seem only a few other possibilities. The quarter inch shaft is undersize - but you ruled this out with your measurement. Or, the half inch hole in the collet is too big - but it grips okay on standard half inch bits. So what about the external diameter of the adaptor. Put a quarter inch bit into it and measure the outside diameter of the adaptor when it is tightly nipped onto the shaft, there is a possibility it is less than a half inch. I would track this problem down until you have traced the problem because no one wants a fast spinning bit to come out of a collet - and if you are cutting dovetails especially you don't want the height of the bit to change.

Originally Posted by rayintheuk

That's not strange, JillB. Think about how much more surface area they have in contact with the collet, compared to a ¼" shaft. Introduce a reducing sleeve and the problems become compounded, which is why dedicated collets are the best option.

However, although I've searched long and hard, there's no dedicated replacement male ¼" collet nut for the TRA001. Obvious, really - think about how thick the metal would be and how difficult it would be to compress such a nut.

Ray

I guess you mean other than the genuine (US) Triton collets I use on my routers? I don't use a reducer - I fit either the 1/4" collet nut, or the 1/2" depending on which router bit I am using. Best upgrade I ever did to my routers. (yes, you have to replace the entire collet as part of the upgrade to get the 1/4" and 1/2" collet flexibility)