# freud 1700 - bits won't fit collet



## Boydpettitt (Feb 6, 2009)

I just got around to using my router after purchasing it a few months ago.
Building a deck is taking all my time. I wanted to use a roll over bit to make a narrow decking board. I have a set of 1/4" shaft bits that I use with my other router. I have checked to make sure the 2 pieces of the collet are firmly together, but when I put my bit in and tighten the collet all the way, you can just pull the bit out. This is brand new, my calipers say my bit is 1/4" and I had taken the 1/4" out of a sealed plastic bag and replaced my 1/2" bit so it should be clean. 
Anyone else had this problem?


----------



## sometimewoodworker (Feb 13, 2009)

It sound like a 6mm shank. 1/4 is 6.36mm


----------



## dutchman 46 (May 23, 2007)

Check to make sure that it isn't a mm. collet. I am not sure if they make one, It depends on the maker of the router. Not aware of any other possibilities except a over sized insert (collet insert).


----------



## levon (Sep 14, 2008)

no. 1- make sure when you insert the bit you bottom it out, then pull it back 1/8 to 1/4 inch, otherwise it will bind.

no. 2 some people have had problems with the freud router, if after pulling the bit out it doesnt seem to help, it seems to me the collet is causing the problems, let freud know about your problems.

p.s., i think freud may have dicontinued this router, im not sure of the reasons.

i have never heard of one that wouldnt tighten up the oppositite is usually the norm. make doubly sure it is tightened all the way.


----------



## Boydpettitt (Feb 6, 2009)

I talked to Freud yesterday, they said they had some units shipped with the metric
collet. They dropped a 1/4" in the mail to me without hesitation. Great dealer service.


----------



## kweinert (Jun 29, 2009)

I have this problem with a 1702 - The 1/2" collet is fine, I ruined a home made router table because I didn't realize that the bit wasn't fitting tight (after all, the nut was tight, this was brand new, why *wouldn't* it work?) and luckily all I ended up doing was digging an increasingly deeper trench in the table top.

At least I noticed it before the bit flew out entirely.

So, I bought a table - which the plate included with the router didn't fit in (too big for the hole) and the plate with the table didn't fit the router (holes didn't line up.)

So, I bought a replacement plate which I drilled out and mounted. This was fine until I realized that in order to adjust the height I'd have to move the fence. Yes, I had drilled it in backwards.

Then I redrilled the holes and use the 1/2" collet with 1/2" shank bits and all was fine.

Then I switched to a 1/4" collet and bit and could reach over and pull the bit out of the collet with the nut tightened down all the way.

I emailed customer service and he told me that if I scanned my receipt and send it to him he'd send me a new collet.

By now, being bought several months in the past, I no longer have the receipt - or at least the knowledge of where it is.

So, it looks like for under $30 I can get a new collet, along with some new experience


----------



## Boydpettitt (Feb 6, 2009)

I would just call. They shipped with the incorrect collet and I'm sure they will send you one.


----------



## kweinert (Jun 29, 2009)

I was emailing with a tech support guy named Jim who said it was very unlikely that this was the issue (metric collet) because very few of them got sent out that way.

However, he did give me an address so I just mailed mine out to them today - we'll see what happens and I'll update when I get a response.


----------



## sometimewoodworker (Feb 13, 2009)

kweinert said:


> I was emailing with a tech support guy named Jim who said it was very unlikely that this was the issue (metric collet) because very few of them got sent out that way.
> 
> However, he did give me an address so I just mailed mine out to them today - we'll see what happens and I'll update when I get a response.



The other thing that makes a metric collet unlikely to be the problem is the fact that a 6mm collet is tighter than a 1/4 inch (6.36mm). So if your 1/4 inch bits will even fit into the 6mm collet IT WILL ALWAYS HOLD them securely.

The reverse is often not the case. If you try to fit a 6mm bit into a 1/4 collet it will always fit but often the collet can not grip the shaft. So the bits can be pulled out DAMHIKT

The problem could be that the collet is a faulty one and is neither 6mm nor 6.36mm but some random size that is 6.5mm or larger


----------



## jschaben (Jun 21, 2009)

Seems to me there are some 8mm collets floating around also but you should notice that big a difference right away.


----------



## kweinert (Jun 29, 2009)

Well, I'm not sure which way it worked, but I came home and our UPS guy did their normal thing - hide the box under the semi-circle door mat. Like that's not obvious 

At any rate, I had a box on my doorstep that was 4 1/2 x 9 1/2 x 14 which contained a shipping list, an envelope with collet and nut, and a bunch of air filled bladders in it.

This one works fine, no issues at all.

I would have liked to have known what it was that they found, but still, give the main office kudos for taking care of the problem.


----------



## Boydpettitt (Feb 6, 2009)

The collet was metric, they sent me a new one and it fixed the problem


----------

