PSA: This friction nut can ruin your day!

[Kevin Sjostrand]

Buy a Dewalt. It's an awesome router especially the ease to raise and lower your cut. If is mounted on a tower it's the cats meow!

[Srick]

I like your tower and cradle Kevin (especially those custom “springs”). But seriously, nice work! That one picture gives me a bunch of ideas - especially in regards to the cradle.

This will likely be on the list for my next build (OMG - I still haven’t finished this one), since cutting the binding channel is such a critical step in the process. And, as mentioned, the Bosch Colt is now on the “naughty” list.

Cheers!

[JLT]

I last used my Bosch Colt router when cutting the binding channel on my latest build. I had no idea why, but the router bit suddenly dropped and ruined a good inch of so of the channel. Needless to say, I was not happy in the least. And I figured it was operator error. Of course it was. It always is.

I hadn’t used the router since that ugly day. Today, I picked it up to fabricate a caul to glue the bridge and (!!!??****##$$ what the - what the!!?) it happened AGAIN! This time I figured it out. The router’s height locking mechanism may seem tight enough, but with enough load, it slips and ruins your work.

In my aviation days, I was told that a locknut couldn't be trusted unless there was at least a thread and a half showing above the nut itself once it was tightened. And no locknut could be reused once it was off (although some sources told me that you could re-use a locknut, but only once, after which you had to discard it).

I can't see from the picture how the locknut in question was mounted, but that may be a factor.

[Srick]

JLT - John Hall calls it a friction nut. It needs to be tight enough to allow you to lock the collar, but not so tight that you can’t close the cam. In this case, it appeared to be tight enough, and in light use (like my trial cuts), worked fine. But when the assembly encountered a sustained load, it slipped and the whole motor\collet dropped down 3/16 - 1/4 of an inch. It’s not the best design. The design is aimed at making the router’s depth quickly adjustable, but that’s also its downfall. Again, a lesson learned.

And boy, did I ever learn a lot in covering the error. I used veneer and inlays, eventually matching the color and grain with some acrylic paint. At this point, it’s hidden pretty well and I am proud of the result. It could have been worse!

[Stray Feathers]

As I read this thread, it begins to resonate with me. I have a couple of Bosch Colt routers, and have one more or less permanently mounted in my Fleischmann style binding cutting jig.

IMG_7639_resize.jpg

I've had good success with it, but I did have an odd incident a couple of years ago. I was not happy with a maple binding job and decided to rout off the binding, but try to leave the herringbone purfling on the top.
Things were going okay but then the bit unexpectedly climbed up, gouging the herringbone purfling I was hoping to save.

IMG_8181_resize.jpg

I could not figure out what had gone wrong. As a precaution I changed routers in the jig, and finished the job okay. In the end I was able to repair the damaged herringbone and finish the guitar.

I now wonder if I was operating the router jig by holding the router with my hand, and when I lifted it it to move it or reposition it, the clamp may have slipped, and I engaged the bit in the wrong place. It's still confusing. So I will check these clamps and locknuts more carefully now. I might consider replacing the routers but I also have a plunge base, and an angled base, and that makes for a more significant investment. Bruce W.

[scamp]

Since I almost had a problem with the same issue with my Colt router I decided to look at it more closely.

There is indeed a "friction nut" that sets how tightly the collar camps against the router.
Too loose and it does appear that the router can move up and down in the collar to some extent but not a lot.
Too tight and it's difficult to close the clamp lever.

That said, what appears to keep the router from moving up and down is the the clamp tightening the collar tight enough so the threads of the height adjustment screw in the collar engage with the threads machined into the sides of the router. When the friction nut is too loose the adjustment screw threads are not fully engaged and the router can move to some extent. To move a lot, however, it seems the router needs to be very loose in the collar clamp or you need to put a lot of pressure on the router.

What could cause a problem it seems is if the threads machined into the sides of the router or the threads of the adjustment screw are stripped. If this is the case then the router will move even if the collar clamp is relatively tight. Also...the height adjustment, I believe, shouldn't be made with the collar clamped. It needs to be open. If you do try to make an adjustment with the collar clamped closed it will put too much pressure on the adjustment treads and possibly strip them causing this problem it seems.

Anyway... my two cents.

Colt Router 1.JPEG

Colt Router 2.JPEG

[phavriluk]

Would a split lockwasher or a star washer help?

[tippie53]

I had 1 colt hated it. the ridig is my go to router

[Diane Kauffmds]

Oh Lord, I feel your pain. I had the exact same thing happen on build #2 many years ago, which took off the left corner of the upper bout. I never used the router, which was a Harbour Freight piece of junk again. It also had the lovely tendency to let go of bits.

It became a permanent resident in my circular file #13 (aka, the garbage can). I own 2 Ridgids now.

[jread]

This happens on both my routers. A Bosch and a Rigid. I don't mind tightening it up pretty good but the issue I have is that they have to be so tight that you can't get the collar off by just flipping the locking lever. You flip the lever and it loosens the collar but not loose enough to slide off the end of the router. You have to loosen it a lot so that you can slip the collar off so to me, I'd rather not even have the flip lever, it's just completely useless. I think a couple of wing nuts would be better. Tighten up, route, loosen up, remove. What's the point of the lever?