Router Lifts and Quick Change Chucks / Collets

I put the regular Muscle Chuck (only 1/4” longer than the stock collet) in a PC 7518. Used a 1/2” carbide spiral bit for checking vibration. Vibration seemed moderate to low and rotating the chuck to different positions didn’t make any difference that I could tell. Didn’t measure runout.

I’ll probably get the longer version too.

Tried this in the new/old SmartLift Digital (last produced over ten years ago) which proved the worth of the easy bit change because the crank for driving the lift is too short to use when a long bit is installed. Poor design. That’s not a problem with the easy Allen key chuck release. You don’t even need to raise the router up to wrench height.
 
I’m trying to find a genuine MC 1/4” collet online. Woodline says “the manufacturer is experiencing severe equipment difficulties” and that the “30 day delay” has been in effect for months with no end in sight.

Wrote DeRosa and am waiting…

Meanwhile I tried a Whiteside 1/4” collet/adapter and a 1/4” bit and barely got the bit tight and then it had visible runout. Have to check the straightness of the Chinese bit bit I suspect the problem is that the Whiteside collet is a full 2 thousands under 1/2” and the bit is 1 thou under 1/4”.

I had planned to test the MC with a 1/2” precision ground dowel but the fit is too tight.

 
Put the same Chinese bit in a 1/4” PC collet and the fit was good and snug. No more visible runout than the usual Chinese bit.

Maybe the MC is good but the Whiteside collet isn’t. Too small on the outside and too big inside. Could barely get the bit tight and runout was terrible.

Not the first time I’ve had an issue with a Whiteside product. My Collins Ply Prep bit (made by Whiteside) is supposed to have a hash mark in the middle of the cutter but mine is about 1/16” off.

I’ve ordered an Eliminator chuck too. The maker claims it is dynamically balanced. There is a bit of steel drilled out on the side opposite the screw. The MC does not, instead depending on its asymmetrical balance to be counteracted by idiosyncrasies in the router spindle, and you have to find the best arrangement. The MC wasn’t too bad with a simple 1/2” diameter straight bit but I’m beginning to have my doubts about it.
 
The MuscleChuck manufacturer, De Rosa, is still active. You can write and get answers via email, but apparently just one answer per email. And you can buy stuff.

I bought a kit that includes the #1E chuck (extended length for PC 7518), one of his 1/4” collets, and a T-handle hex wrench. Took a few days via USPS to get to NYC.

The extended chuck adds .42” to the length of the regular MuscleChuck. That’s a little more than a thick wrench worth but it will help. I use the DustMaster/MilesCraft dust collection kit that uses a silicon collar around the collet so I loose about a 1/4” in height when lifting the router. The MC E will replace that and more but even the regular length MC is easy enough to access in a lift in a router table.

My MC #1 has an id of .4999. I can’t get my .5000 precision dowel pin into it. My MC #1 E is slightly tighter. I think the clamp portion has been over tightened so the “loose” end is slightly inside of being concentric. Most of the bits I’ve measured (both 1/2 and 1/4 inch) are at least .0005” under their nominal shank diameter so fit really well in the MC. Once started in the MC a heavy bit slowly slides down as the air escapes.

I wrote previously about how difficult it was to get a 1/4” bit tight in the MC using a Whiteside 1/4” collet adapter. The Whiteside 1/4” collet is .002” under in the od and it’s a little large in the id. The MuscleChuck 1/4” collet works great. It’s a better design and better made. It costs twice as much but is probably the only collet that works well with the MC. It’s suitable for any kind of collet. It even has an oversized top that is undercut so you can grab the collet to pull it out.

I also bought an Eliminator chuck via ebay and I’m not sure what version it is. At the Eliminator website there are two patent numbers mentioned, one for the first gen and one for the current version. This chuck’s packaging has a different patent number but it still uses a screw driven wedge that pushes the bit against the opposite wall of the chuck. Even though the Whiteside collet reducer is undersized the Eliminator wedge can close it tightly against a 1/4” bit easily if the full length slot is positioned in the right place.

However, the Eliminator chuck is .5001” id so when the wedge is tightened it pushes a .4995 shank against the opposite side of the rigid collet leaving the bit .0006 off center. And there are only two points of contact between the bit and the collet. Using 1/4” bit in the  Whiteside adapter put the bit even farther off-center. In the MC the 1/2” bit will be .0004” off but there is more contact with the kind of clamp used by the MC. I don’t know if there is any practical difference but in principle I’d try to limit how much time the router runs with a big bit installed in one of these chucks.

 
Forgot to add pics. MuscleChuck collet adapter on the left, Whiteside on the right.

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Eliminator on left, MC chucks on right.
 

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I thought about getting out the rarely need dial indicator but it’s too much trouble.

Subjectively the Eliminator sounds as good as the regular MC. The MC E needed a little rotational adjustment to sound as good.

It nice to only need one little hex key to change bits. Also, less lift height travel is needed.
 
I have a couple of Muscle Chucks and an Eliminator chuck.

I prefer the Eliminator because every bit I’ve tried fits easily. The split collar on the Muscle Chuck is too tight for many bits. I thought the Eliminator might have more runout than the Muscle Chuck but not so as far as I can tell.

The only problem with the Eliminator is that it’s easy to over tighten, which results in a dent in the bit shaft (if it is made of steel). I found that it’s best to tighten the T-handle hex wrench until the bit stops being easily moved in the chuck then give the wrench an additional half turn. Soooo much easier than tightening a conventional collet.

I’ve also regained my appreciation for my old BenchDog router lift’s 8tpi acme thread lift screw. Cranking it up and down for bit changes is fast.
 
Bought my BenchDog lift forever ago from Tool Crib of the North and it’s been fantastic. Coupled with Incra’s Wonder Fence, the Dust Router extraction with a CMS dual hose, my own top and frame leaves hardly any clean up despite the frame being open.
 
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