unable to remove router cutter from 1400

[pgrbff]

The collet nut undoes all the way but the bit is stuck fast.
Why is it stuck? How do I remove it?

 

[Birdhunter]

Without seeing your router, my answer is just a guess.

I once had this issue with my 1400. I had let the area inside the router drive shaft get dirty and the collet nut would come off but the collet gripper and the bit were stuck.

I put a few drops of Kroil around the collet gripper and the inside of the drive shaft and let it sit for about 10 minutes. I then wrapped a shop rag around the bit and rocked it back and forth a few times using pliers lightly. Everything popped loose.

I cleaned out the inside of the drive shaft with denatured alcohol and a Qtip. Never had the problem since.

 

[woodbutcherbower]

Hope you get fixed up. For the future - I regularly lubricate all of my router collets with dry PTFE spray. I also use the same spray on the cutters - it stops the buildup of resin very, very effectively.

 

[peter halle]

Just in case you are new to the 1400, the collet has two stages so to speak.  You loosen it and it seems like the bit should come out but it won't.  Continue to loosen and then it will release the bit.  Of course you might already be familiar and it is as noted previously a stuck bit or stuck collet.

Peter

 

[kitfit1]

As [member=75780]woodbutcherbower[/member] has said, dry PTFE spray is your friend. Not only for cutters and saw blades, but also the underside of tracksaws, all the bars on a sliding mitre saw and the 2 pillars on a router along with the router base. In fact, just about anything mechanical we use that needs a clean slippery surface. Unlike silicon spray, PTFE drys out and dosn't attract oil and sawdust to stick to it. PTFE also helps to reduce wear on sliding parts. To give you an example, in the last 35 years of kitchen fitting i have had only 2 routers. Both have been treated regularly with PTFE and both are as good as new (they are both Makita though  [smile]) One is now "retired", but still works as new.

 

[Peter_C]

Tap/smack the router bit with a soft piece of wood straight down. When setting the router bit into place make sure it is never completely bottomed in the collet.

 

[krudawg]

when I have a "stuck" bit on my router I use my router bit "removal tool".  I have a 3/4" by 2" maple stick thats about 24" long.  I taped one end with duct tape like I would tape a baseball bat to get a better grip of the "tool".  I give the stuck bit a sharp blow to the side of the bit and like magic, the bit comes right out.

 

[Jim Metzger]

My go to for a stuck bit is loosen the collet and then tap the collet nut sharply on the side with the wrench.  Usually pops the bit free.

 

[Crazyraceguy]

My go to for a stuck bit is loosen the collet and then tap the collet nut sharply on the side with the wrench.  Usually pops the bit free.

This was always the "go to" procedure back in the days before self-releasing" collets. I suppose that someone thought it was a bit crude, so they came up with a better way?
That is my one and only gripe about the Makita compact routers, both corded and cordless, still have the old-school "non-self-releasing" collets.