Thread: Drawer Locking Bit

Is the bit coming out of the router chuck?
or is the router depth setting altering?

If the bit is moving in the collet, that is cause for concern and potentially very dangerous. Are you sure you have it tightened enough ? I haven't had any such probs in my Triton router except when I used a 1/4 bit with the reducer in place and forgot to tighten it properly. :eek:

Is it the table top moving ? Maybe that's the problem. Are you pressing down on it more in some areas and moving those plastic rings down a bit as you do it.

There's an article on lock mitre bits in one of our Triton Club newsletters. Check the Newsletter index and you'll find it.
www.tritonwoodworkers.org.au

After reading your posts I went and had another look at the problem and the scary thing is the bit was coming out of the router jaw. It had moved out a good 2 cm. Scary stuff. I have been tightening as usual but This is the first time I have used such a big bit. I tried again and tightened more strongly.This time no problems. I will leave this thread on just to highlight the dangers involved although I will look like a goose.

Originally Posted by boxers

After reading your posts I went and had another look at the problem and the scary thing is the bit was coming out of the router jaw. It had moved out a good 2 cm. Scary stuff. I have been tightening as usual but This is the first time I have used such a big bit. I tried again and tightened more strongly.This time no problems. I will leave this thread on just to highlight the dangers involved although I will look like a goose.

Also make sure that you have slowed the machine down considerably - perhaps to its slowest speed. The RPM at the outside circumference of the drawer locking bit is substantially higher that on a smaller bit - perhaps the sheer mass involved at a high speed is more that the collet can handle.

Agree with Don on router speed. I was recently making up some tongue and groove boards for a pie cabinet, and was using a matched pair of Infinity router bits designed for the purpose. It was only when I heard the router whistle up to full speed that I remembered that I needed to throttle its speed right back.

As to a bit (especially a large one) in a loose collet: doesn't bear thinking about...

...and check the shank of the bit for any burrs, etc.

I've a large roundover bit that kept levitating in the same way. I didn't have any problems with other bits tightened to the same degree, just this one. On close inspection there was a small ding in the shank, something I wouldn't have ordinarily thought twice about. I think the edges were raised just enough that it'd grip them and "feel" tight but there was only minimal shank/collet contact.

I touched the ding up with a diamond lap and now the problem seems to have gone. [fingers Xed]