# Collet nut- tightening and loosening



## Peteroo1 (Feb 28, 2017)

Hi 
may I ask three questions about locking and unlocking the router nut on a router?

1)should the collet nut and armature threads be oiled? 

2)is there an ideal tension for the nut to be tightened? Should a tortion wrench with a crows foot open-end spanner be used to get the ideal tension?

3)what causes the collet nut to suddenly unlock with disastrous effect on the wrist?

Thanking you in anticipation
Peteroo


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

1) dry lube...
2) very snug + about a ¼ turn as a rule of thumb
3) not sure what you mean... I haven't any VOE on this..

.


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

Peteroo; You're making this way too complicated, if you'll pardon me for saying so.
You're absolutely correct in suggesting a collet nut coming loose is not a good thing, but having agreed with you on that, no, _don't put oil anywhere near the collet assembly
_! keep it clean of course...I use acetone to wash nuts and bolts in if I don't want residue left behind. Wiping it down with Mineral Spirits (Paint Thinner) would work just as well...but no lubricants and no WD40.
As for the wrenches, have you lost the ones that came with the router? The nut only needs to be firmly tightened, not reefed down so you have to fight with it to get it to release.
Have you already had a bad experience? What prompted this concern about the nut coming loose??? (Not that being safety conscious isn't a good thing!)


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## gdonham1 (Oct 31, 2011)

Collets should be hand tightened. They obviously need to be tight but putting the gorilla grip on a collet is not recommened. The collet and the hole in the end of the router should be cleaned and degreased. Oil is not required on the inside or the threads but would not hurt anything on the outside. The router bit should be pushed in as far as possible without bottoming out. Push the bit down until you feel it bottom out and then pull it up about 1/8" of an inch. The collet should be hand tightened down and only the final tightening done with a set and/or single wrench. There are different types of collets. Most common is the Porter Cable type. It is a nut with a captive piece that is squeazed between the router bit and a slight inclined plane in the end of the router motor shaft. There are other types that Bosch uses that is a nut with the same piece as a Porter Cable but is not captive in the collet nut. The inner part that squeezes the router bit is separate and should always be clean and free of burrs. 

If a collet is consistently loosening up you should replace it. Collets are not expensive and can be obtained from the OEM or ereplacementparts.com

Using a torque gauge is impractical on a router.

To tighten your collet and bit first secure the router. Put the bit in the collet and hand tighten the nut down as far as you can get it. Then push the router bit down to the bottom of the hole and pull up about 1/8" of an inch. Do not leave the router bit bottomed out in the hole. Then using a two wrench setup tighten the collet nut while holding the shaft nut. If your router has a pin and a single wrench then make sure your pins is pushed all the way in. A partially inserted pin can cause the anchor hole to break or chip out making tightening hard.

If you have a Porter Cable you can buy 1/4" thick wrenches and replace those cheap little punched out flat wrenches. You get a much better grip on your tightening operation and they are cheap on Ebay and other sites.


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## gdonham1 (Oct 31, 2011)

To tighten a collet.

1. Make sure the collet and the hole in the end of the router drive shaft are clean and dry.
2. Insert a 1/2" in a 1/2" collet, 8MM in a 8MM Collet , a 3/8 in a 3/8" Collet and a 1/4" in a 1/4" collet. A 3/8 and 8MM are similar but not the same.
3. After pushing in the router bit and hand tightening the collet push the bit all the way to the bottom of the hole and lift it about 1/8" . Do not leave the bit bottomed out in the hole. The router bit should be pushed in as far as practical without bottoming out. 
4. Use your wrenches to tighten the collet nut to the router drive shaft. The connection must be tight but not so tight you cannot get it loose. 

There are two basic types of collets.

1. Porter Cable Style. A collet nut with the bit holder attached via a C ring.
2. All other types, usually a separate collet nut with the bit holder in various sizes.

If your router bit is consistently coming loose replace the bit holder and nut together. Throw away a bad collet nut/bit holder. Do not keep it around to cause more problems later when your memory get cloudly and you forget why you replaced it in the first place.


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## sunnybob (Apr 3, 2015)

as above, but one side note for future reference regarding torque wrenches;
If you use a crows foot on a torque wrench then you are exceeding the torque settings by quite a bit because the axle is then to one side of the nut. I dont think you will ever come across a nut that needs a torque setting but also needs a crows foot socket.


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## mgmine (Jan 16, 2012)

Snug then a little bit tighter that's it.


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## JFPNCM (Dec 13, 2009)

Considera Musclechuck. Great alternative.


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## DesertRatTom (Jul 3, 2012)

On my half inch collets, I drop in a half inch grommet and lightly bottom the shank on that.


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## Peteroo1 (Feb 28, 2017)

Hi Danin Van
Thank you for the reply. what i meant was concerned with changing cutters. On trying to release the nut it suddenly gives way and my wrist can get graunched on the inside edge of the wrist. I'm still getting over the bruising from last autumn. 
regards 
Peteroo


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

Ah! You mean the second stage of loosening after you've already run the nut part way undone, and then it tightens again?
Even at that stage it shoudn't take much force to get past that 2nd position(?).
I get your point now about a longer wrench handle to keep your knuckles out of the way.


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## kbwoodworker (Dec 31, 2016)

I much prefer using two wrenches rather than a push button and a wrench. that's where I get slightly banged up. I find it hard to control the push button wrench combo. Have a few wrist and hand issues. I use a board to wedge it against and that's slightly better.


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