Stuck collet on the OF1010 fixed. Can I still use this collet?

[woeta]

Hi all,

After acquiring my first router (OF1010) and making the newbie mistake of tightening the nut and collet without a router bit installed  [embarassed] Thanks to a few topics on this forum I managed to get the collet out. I tried various ways, but the way that worked for me was:

tapping the top of the collet with a hammer
prying it upwards from the locking hole
use a pair of pliers to lift it out

Earlier that day (before I had started to play around with the router and getting into this mess) I had called Festool about collets, and asked them if it was possible to replace just the collet, or if that had to be with the nut as well (one webshop in my country sells loose collets, all the other webshops sell the assembly with the nut). At Festool they mentioned the collet and the nut should never come apart from each other.

So my question is.. can I still use this collet, since it came apart from the nut? I have now put the collet back in the nut, and it clicks in nicely. My gut tells me this should be fine, but just checking...

Also, there is some tiny marks on the collet from the prying and the pliers. It's minimal though, but I'm wondering what you guys think.

Maybe it's visible on these pictures, but as I mentioned, it's really minimal. Sorry for the external links, somehow the forum won't let me upload the pictures here.

damage to top

damage to bottom

Thanks a lot!

 

[ultane]

Welcome to the forum woeta! I’m sure someone more knowledgeable than I am will be along soon to answer your question.

 

[nvalinski]

As long as the conical exterior and cylindrical interior haven't been deformed too much, it still should work after reassembly. If they are too deformed, they won't clamp onto the bit as well and you'll have issues with the bit coming loose. I would not be testing it on high-value work immediately, but the good news is that with the dust shrouds that Festool provides, broken/falling out bits usually don't go too far to cause personal injury.

 

[Michael Kellough]

The official response will always be a damaged collet should be replaced. As said, in practice only the conical contact surfaces count. If there is a raised burr around a scratch it must be filed down. A scratch is okay as long as nothing projects above the surface of the machined cone.

 

[woeta]

Thanks for the quick replies! I reckon I'm good then. The damage is really minimal, barely visible even. But yeah I will indeed try it out on some scrap piece of wood first

I've also got the 1/4" collet coming my way, to be able to buy a wider range of bits, so I might not even use the 8mm collet that much anyway.

Cheers guys!