# Muscle Chuck problems Still!!!



## hawkeye10 (Jul 28, 2015)

I have been trying to make a dado and the Muscle Chuck won't let the bit go low enough without the router motor falling. The router bit has a 1/4" shank and a 1" cutting length. My router is a PC 895 and I am using it in a router table.

I have wasted money on this piece of you know what. :frown:


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## Gaffboat (Mar 11, 2012)

I use a muscle chuck on my Dewalt 618 and it's extra length and diameter does occasionally create problems like you are encountering. When all else fails, you can always replace the muscle chuck temporarily with your original collet for the operation you are trying to do. I find the muscle chuck works very well for the majority of my router table and hand held operations.


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

use a shorter cut length on the bit...


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## harrysin (Jan 15, 2007)

hawkeye10 said:


> I have been trying to make a dado and the Muscle Chuck won't let the bit go low enough without the router motor falling. The router bit has a 1/4" shank and a 1" cutting length. My router is a PC 895 and I am using it in a router table.
> 
> I have wasted money on this piece of you know what. :frown:


Whatever your problem is Don., it's most unlikely to be the MUSCLECHUCK which is a super precision piece of engineering.


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## dovetail_65 (Jan 22, 2008)

hawkeye10 said:


> I have been trying to make a dado and the Muscle Chuck won't let the bit go low enough without the router motor falling. The router bit has a 1/4" shank and a 1" cutting length. My router is a PC 895 and I am using it in a router table.
> 
> I have wasted money on this piece of you know what. :frown:


This has nothing to do with the Muscle Chuck as most people buy the thing not just for the ease of bit change but for extended reach! Everyone knows the Muscle Chuck adds a bit of a reach and in most cases is what users want. I swear somewhere it states it add 1/2" or additional reach or interference on shallow operations. Possibly I read that somewhere else, I think this is a generally known drawback for certain operations though. Possibly you didn't know this and found out the hard way. This doesn't make the Muscle chuck crap by any means.

Just use the regular collet set up for this one operation.

Okay I just pulled out my Muscle Chuck and it states right in the instructions I have printed up "adds 1/2" to reach". So it's nothing to do with the Muscle chuck at all. It's doing what it is supposed to do, it's the operation that is wrong for the tool(accessory in this case) chosen. This is a case of leaving a poor remark for something doing basically what it's designed to do and counting that against it. It's intend use is exactly what's not needed for the particular described operation.


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## hawkeye10 (Jul 28, 2015)

I went back and read my original post and I did bad mouth the MC but I was wrong. It is a quality piece of work. When I bought the MC they called and ask if I was going to use it in a router table and I said yes. They said I needed the extended version and I said okay. Of coarse it didn't work and they swapped it out at no cost to me. I thought I had everything solved but when I but a bit in there with a cutting length of 1" and the I couldn't make my cut I was mad and disappointed. The reason and only reason I bought the MC was because I was having trouble changing bits in the router table. My offset wrench was slipping off a lot and I was afraid I was going to break the carbide on one of my bits. I got a new router table with a lift and I hope I will be able to use the MC with it.


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## Herb Stoops (Aug 28, 2012)

hawkeye10 said:


> I went back and read my original post and I did bad mouth the MC but I was wrong. It is a quality piece of work. When I bought the MC they called and ask if I was going to use it in a router table and I said yes. They said I needed the extended version and I said okay. Of coarse it didn't work and they swapped it out at no cost to me. I thought I had everything solved but when I but a bit in there with a cutting length of 1" and the I couldn't make my cut I was mad and disappointed. The reason and only reason I bought the MC was because I was having trouble changing bits in the router table. My offset wrench was slipping off a lot and I was afraid I was going to break the carbide on one of my bits. I got a new router table with a lift and I hope I will be able to use the MC with it.


You can also clamp a 3/4" thick of plywood on the table with a hole for the bit to raise up the stock you are cutting.
just a suggestion,
Herb


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## CharleyL (Feb 28, 2009)

Herb Stoops said:


> You can also clamp a 3/4" thick of plywood on the table with a hole for the bit to raise up the stock you are cutting.
> just a suggestion,
> Herb


While I don't have a Muscle Chuck, I do have a couple of extra long bits. 

I have a plywood top that I add to my router table when I can't drop the bit low enough for what I'm trying to do with those bits. One of these bits is a 1/2" shank flush trim bit and retracting the router to it's full extent leaves almost 1 1/2" of bit still sticking out of the router.

Charley


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## dovetail_65 (Jan 22, 2008)

hawkeye10 said:


> I went back and read my original post and I did bad mouth the MC but I was wrong. It is a quality piece of work. When I bought the MC they called and ask if I was going to use it in a router table and I said yes. They said I needed the extended version and I said okay. Of coarse it didn't work and they swapped it out at no cost to me. I thought I had everything solved but when I but a bit in there with a cutting length of 1" and the I couldn't make my cut I was mad and disappointed. The reason and only reason I bought the MC was because I was having trouble changing bits in the router table. My offset wrench was slipping off a lot and I was afraid I was going to break the carbide on one of my bits. I got a new router table with a lift and I hope I will be able to use the MC with it.


You were frustrated I have been there, we all have believe me. I hope the new router table works well for you. 

Do you have one of those bent wrench(some call it an offset wrench) for the router collet? I found mine helped me get the bit out much faster and simpler when I did a lot of router table work without some kind of extended reach collet. It allowed me to get at the collet when it was below the table surface. This might help for the times you can't use that muscle chuck. They make the bent wrench for some of the most common routers. I must have at least 3 for different routers.

I never know when stuff is obvious or it may be helpful. For most guys that know about them ignore me, but for the few newbs that aren't aware these bent wrench may be helpful, I used mine quite a bit:


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## hawkeye10 (Jul 28, 2015)

dovetail_65 said:


> You were frustrated I have been there, we all have believe me. I hope the new router table works well for you.
> 
> Do you have one of those bent wrench(some call it an offset wrench) for the router collet? I find mine helped when I did a lot of router table work using a regular collet. It allowed me to get at the collet when it was below the table surface. They make the bent wrench for some of the most common routers.


Yes I do have an offset wrench and it's all buggered up. That is the wrench that keeps slipping off. I think it's made of that metal the Chinese dumps in the ocean and brings it back up when needed. Don't really know if that is true or not but I heard that is what they do.


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## dovetail_65 (Jan 22, 2008)

hawkeye10 said:


> Yes I do have an offset wrench and it's all buggered up. That is the wrench that keeps slipping off. I think it's made of that metal the Chinese dumps in the ocean and brings it back up when needed. Don't really know if that is true or not but I heard that is what they do.


Oh darn it. Well it was a thought. It could be it's not the perfect size wrench or shape(or as you infer just poorly made) or it may be your Colet is a weird shape from use? I have rounded the edges of a few colets corners in my time. Maybe a precision collet could help or possibly when time comes for a new router it will eliminate the issue. Good luck!

Guys how do you spell colet anyhow, collet or colet? My spell check doesn't like either.


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## Mike (Nov 22, 2004)

Collet. Add it to your standard dictionary by right clicking on it.

Don, Adding an auxiliary table top goes back many years for a variety of problems. You will find this in books from all the router gurus.

The Router Workshop method is to make your auxiliary table top overhang all four edges of your table and add some wooden strips to keep it in position. Think like the lid on a box.

I think most people are glad I talked John into building the Musclechuck to fit most brands of routers. In the beginning they only fit PC and Bosch.


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## hawkeye10 (Jul 28, 2015)

dovetail_65 said:


> Oh darn it. Well it was a thought. It could be it's not the perfect size wrench or shape(or as you infer just poorly made) or it may be your Colet is a weird shape from use? I have rounded the edges of a few colets corners in my time. Maybe a precision collet could help or possibly when time comes for a new router it will eliminate the issue. Good luck!
> 
> Guys how do you spell colet anyhow, collet or colet? My spell check doesn't like either.


You got it all right. The wrench is poorly and it doesn't fit very. As they it's loose as a goose.


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## Herb Stoops (Aug 28, 2012)

hawkeye10 said:


> You got it all right. The wrench is poorly and it doesn't fit very. As they it's loose as a goose.


that was the reason I went to the MC was that I had to use 2 wrenches ,the offset one and a straight one, and it was gowing up the aluminum inset in the table. I liked it so well I got another for the other table.

Herb


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## tomp913 (Mar 7, 2014)

hawkeye10 said:


> Yes I do have an offset wrench and it's all buggered up. That is the wrench that keeps slipping off. I think it's made of that metal the Chinese dumps in the ocean and brings it back up when needed. Don't really know if that is true or not but I heard that is what they do.


I have the offset wrench and had the same problem with it slipping off the chuck, not enough hands to keep it in position. A piece of scrap plywood and 15 minutes and I had the solution - works very well.


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## dovetail_65 (Jan 22, 2008)

Nice quick fix tomp913 !


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## tomp913 (Mar 7, 2014)

@dovetail_65

Thanks. For the 15 minutes it took me to make, it's saved many times that in frustration. It works so well that I'm considering buying a second wrench, using a thicker piece of plywood so that is sits on top of this wrench and is centered on the top nut - have to swap the pan head screws out for flat heads though.


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## dovetail_65 (Jan 22, 2008)

I could cut them in aluminum on my smaller CNC and crazy glue them right on the wrench, or provide holes or threaded holes for either screw or small flush mount bolt and nut. Wood is of course simpler, maybe not quite as elegant.


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## tomp913 (Mar 7, 2014)

dovetail_65 said:


> I could cut them in aluminum on my smaller CNC and crazy glue them right on the wrench, or provide holes or threaded holes for either screw or small flush mount bolt and nut. Wood is of course simpler, maybe not quite as elegant.


My big dream is a little CNC mill, I have all these ideas.............


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## Herb Stoops (Aug 28, 2012)

As you can see the offset in the wrench is larger than the hole in the plate and without the plywood spacer rubs on the edge of the hole. The spacer is a good solution. and wood won't damage the router either.
Herb


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## hawkeye10 (Jul 28, 2015)

I bought a Woodpecker router table and lift. I will now be able to use the MC or any collet I want. I love using a router table so much that I got a really nice one.


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## Dejure (Jul 27, 2009)

I'm too lazy to remove the MuscleChuck for the rare light cut it won't allow, so I just add to the base.


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## Mike (Nov 22, 2004)

Kelly your projects you have posted won't let that dog hunt.


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## Dejure (Jul 27, 2009)

It's true. I'll spend hours trying to avoid minutes of work.



Mike said:


> Kelly your projects you have posted won't let that dog hunt.


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