Does anyone know anything about routers (power tool not wifi)

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BeatnikFraming
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Does anyone know anything about routers (power tool not wifi)

Post by BeatnikFraming »

Not strictly framing related but I know some on the forum use routers so I thought I'd ask. I have bought a new router table and upgraded my router from a cheap one to a used Hitachi router. The router table came with an extension collet which I tested and found none of my 1/2" bits would fit into. No big deal as I don't think I'll need it.

The router came a day later and works fine except it too won't take any of my 1/2 bits, it seems they are all just a fraction too wide. I considered that maybe my router bits are a bit cheap and maybe wrong, although they fit my old cheap router. Here's the thing though, the charnwood extension collet which has a 1/2 shank also is too wide for the Hitachi collet. So the extension collet seems to have a shank that is wider than the collet at the top. And my router has a similar slightly narrow collet.

I don't know if any one can suggest anything or if I've just managed to get two faulty products! It's confusing me at the moment though!
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Re: Does anyone know anything about routers (power tool not wifi)

Post by Not your average framer »

I'm guessing, but one could be a 1/2 inch diameter imperial diameter and the other could be a metric equivalent which it almost, but not quite exactly the same. The usually quoted metric equivalent for 1/2 an inch in metric is 12.7 millimetres, however 1/2 an inch is a tiny fraction more than that, the difference is only about 5 thousanths of a millimeter different and this rarely gets noticed now that british industry works to metric dimensions.

Unfortunately the charnwood collet must be from before 1971 when british industry adopted metrification. Sorry, but there's not much you can do about that as the old original 1/2 ich bit won't fit in to a 12.7 millimetre collet, as the bits are about thousanths of a millimeter too big!
Mark Lacey

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Re: Does anyone know anything about routers (power tool not wifi)

Post by fusionframer »

It seems odd that your router bits won't fit into either.

What model is the router? I would imagine that it will have come with a 1/2 inch collet originally as almost all do (bigger machines). However, you can buy 12mm collets and it is possible the previous owner switched the collet from a 1/2 inch (12.7mm) to a 12mm collet. I once bought a jig to cut letters and the router cutter had an 8mm shank.

You can buy replacement collets easy enough and collet reducers and they are safe to use. Axminster tools do collet reducers. This is what i did to use the above cutter

It may be worth getting a new 1/2 inch cutter to test as well. If they won't tighten properly, it may be that the router has the 1/2 inch collet and your router bits are a 12mm shank. If that is the case, again you will be able to get a reducer so you can use the 12mm cutters in the 1/2 inch shank.

It will be possible to sort one way or another. I am happy to help if you need any more advice. I currently have 5 routers (i have a tool addiction!).

Cheers

Nick
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Never trust a dog with orange eyebrows.
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Re: Does anyone know anything about routers (power tool not wifi)

Post by BeatnikFraming »

It's a Hitachi m12v, I've tried to attach a photo of the collet as I think it's a different design to normal, my old router had a sleeve that loosens when you undo the collet, this one the collet is all one piece, if that makes sense. I always find these things difficult to describe.

After a bit of research this is what I think has happened: the router came with a 1/4 collet adapter fitted and it was very hard to get out. So I think the 1/4 collet has been tightened and left in for a long time and the 1/2 collet has tightened around it. I found someone on another forum with this problem who fixed it by hammering in a socket e had that was 12.8 mm and leaving it until it stretched the collet back out. I guess I'll try that. There is a collet on eBay for £25 if that doesn't work. I think the charnwood extension adapter is just faulty but it confused me that my bits wouldn't fit . I had wondered if it had been fitted with a 12mm collet but the guy who sold it says he has used 1/2 bits.
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BeatnikFraming
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Re: Does anyone know anything about routers (power tool not wifi)

Post by BeatnikFraming »

Also, not sure if I explained properly in the first post, my bits are just slightly too wide to fit in the collet, not the other way round
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Re: Does anyone know anything about routers (power tool not wifi)

Post by Not your average framer »

A 1/2 inch router bit will not fit in to a 12.7mm diameter collet, because 1/2 an inch is 12.7005mm. It might be very close, but be 12.7005 is bigger than 12.7mm. Drills are normally made from drill blanks, these are supplied as pre-ground tool steel, or high speed steel blanks of an exact precision blanks and I would guess that this would also be how router bits are also produced. I was working in British industry when metrification came along in 1971, huge amounts of tooling had to be discarded and replaced at that time, because metric equivalents to imperial sizes were often not the same.

If the collet was only a 12mm collet, you would be able to see the difference, because it's much more obvious to be seen and would know that there is an obvious difference in sizes, but this is not such and obvious difference in sizes. If what I am suggesting to you is correct, the apparent difference is almost nothing. There are 39.37 thousanths of an inch to one millimeter and the difference between 1/2 an inch and 12.7 millimetres is about two thousandths of an inch (which is tiny), but still big enough not to fit.

Sorry, but that's the way it is, collets are not like drill chucks, they need to be an axact fit to work at all.
Mark Lacey

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Re: Does anyone know anything about routers (power tool not wifi)

Post by JFeig »

Half a micron oversized bit? Is the router bit shank chamfered? If so, I would just "press fit" that bit into the collet with a block of scrap wood to protect the sharp cutting edges.
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Re: Does anyone know anything about routers (power tool not wifi)

Post by BeatnikFraming »

Ok the image I posted was from a tool website, so I suspect that the 12.7mm is rounded down if 12.7mm is not exactly 1/2". Regardless, I'm pretty certain that I have a 1/2" collet that has become tight because a bit has been left in it. I just posted the image to show what my collet looks like
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Re: Does anyone know anything about routers (power tool not wifi)

Post by fusionframer »

What you say about the 1/4 inch collet adaptor being left in makes sense. Seen a similar problem mentioned on uk woodworkers forum. At worst, a new collet will fix the problem and the Hitachi routers are very good.

If you need to get a collet, it makes no odds if it says 12.7 or 1/2 inch by the way. They are not sensitive to 1/10000mm. Anyway, the machine you have is a great bit of kit.

Nick
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