Collet question for PC router

[mgilley]

I bought a new collet and it has lubrication on it, is lacquer thinner ok for cleaning it. Also, how do you maintain the collet as for as cleaning etc.

Thanks,
Mike

[scottp55]

Michael, Didn't jump in before because I have the DT with spindle and am guilty of gross negligence(ignorance) in the past with my 15 yr old PC 3.25 plunge and my laminate trimmer. Lacquer thinner should be fine I would think but I used solvent alcohol on mine in the past or resin remover for bits if they got totally gummed up. Guilty of slapping a new bit in the routers without cleaning, but now give them a shot of compressed air in between bit changes and inspecting them. Use a stiff nylon or brass brush if I see anything on collet or cutter. I used Dri-Cote or wd40(whichever was closest) on the clean part and wiped off all excess simply to prevent rust for 14 years with no ill effect. On my spindle collet I simply use compressed air and the brushes because the shop is heated now. OK Everybody---Jump on me for giving bad advice!:)

[Burkhardt]

A long time ago I had a machine with a small Bosch router and bought precision collets from Precisebits.com (http://www.precisebits.com/gateways/ColletsNutsHome.htm). They came with a bottle of special very thin "collet care" (http://www.precisebits.com/products/chemicals/colletcare.asp) oil. I don't have the machine or the collets anymore but I still use that oil occasionally on my spindle collets after cleaning.

That said, I don't know what it is and maybe some paint thinner would do the same job.....

[hh_woodworking]

What the cleaner is a a colloidal graphite in Isoproanol

[Tom Bachman]

I use Denatured Alcohol to clean that stuff off things.

[mgilley]

I appreciate everyone's input. I have been using the collets for about 10 years without any maintenance and noticed one of the bits slowly creeping down on one of my cuts. I don't want this to happen when I am cutting on a $300 sign board.

Much obliged,
Michael

[mgilley]

Summary of Inquiry:
Brand: Porter-Cable
Product Group:
Product Type:
Subject: collets
Description: I bought a replacement collet and it had some lubrication on it and so did the bit. Do i clean them in solvent or what. how do you properly maintain collets and bits?



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The lubricant is to keep them from oxidizing or rusting. You can wipe excess off but it is particularly good to sometimes lubricate the collet to maintain it. You can just a spray lubricant to do the job. We would not advise solvent on them at all.


My second question
So the lubricant can be on the inside where the stem of the router bit is held in the collet?




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It will be on the inside of the collet as well. This will not cause any problem.

In case this email does not fully answer your question, or you would like to contact us for any reason, simply reply to this email.

Thank you,

Porter Cable Customer Care

[cowboy1296]

Its funny that you post this today. Just yesterday I cleaned my collets for the first time in over a year. I had noticed prior to cleaning that my 1/2 inch collet would not hold the bit securely until it was tightened. Seemed to work fine after that. But after cleaning the collet will hold the bit securely. So moral of the story, don't wait a year to clean the collets.

[tda]

Be very careful cleaning any precision ground surface with solvents. The whole reason we developed ColletCare to begin with was because of this. Some of our customers in the steel rule die industry were breaking a lot of tools. After running through a lot of troubleshooting we found that the spindles themselves had developed runout. We traced this back the the spindle supplier recommending cleaning the inside of the taper with alcohol (recommending to remove the rust with a Scotch-Brite pad didn't help either). This caused the tapers to rust and need replacement or rebuilds in as few as 6 months depending on the environment.

Basically if you remove all the oil or other corrosion inhibitor from the steel it will oxidize. This is regardless of if you completely dry it (water is in the air). How quickly this will effect collets, routers, or spindles depends on a lot of factors. Cleaning them with something like ColletCare leaves a micro layer of oil, corrosion inhibitor, and a dry lube behind that prevents this.

Also, just to clear up what was mentioned before ColletCare was NEVER Isoproanol. The first blend was a high end mineral oil with colloidal graphite. We have since switched to a mix of oils and a PTFE/boron nitride mix.

To be clear, I'm not saying "USE OUR PRODUCT!" I'm saying don't use something that leaves your equipment to the mercy of the environment.

[curtiss]

I like to use some medium strength blue Locktight between the bit and the collet .....It dries and might take up some space "in theory"

These are handy

http://www.mlcswoodworking.com/shopsite_sc/store/html/smarthtml/pages/bushing_ball_bearings.html