Makita Router not holding the bit

Hey Steve,

suggesting Jim’s advice, with his focus on

  • cleaning also the seat of the collet,
  • making sure bit is fully slid into collet, and
  • finally tightening very firmly with two wrenches:

[…] the way the Makita collet is made.

I think what Jim means here is that unlike ER collets, which clamp the bit shaft over a longer length, the Makita collet just clamps the bit on the beginning of shaft (see length of conical part on picture, it is extremely short on Makita):

Makita_collet
Makita collet

ER_collet

ER collet

This would be a good justification for both tightening the Makita collet more than a ER collet and for having to loosen the Makita when not in use (strong clamping force on a small conical surface would deform steel more and earlier than on a larger surface)

Here a cleaning tool with leather strips for cleaning the collet seat inside axle

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