Triton Router - TR0001 - Can you over tighten the collet??

[brocher]

I have been very pleased so far with the Triton which I bought a few weeks ago. I used it quite happily to round off wood for a project I was doing with no problems whatsoever. And the height adjuster is brilliant for fine-tuning the height.

But today when I came to use it for another project, it wouldn't start when I put the router bit in the collet. Oh no, I thought, not another failed router. I took out of the table, after taking the bit out, and giving it a dust out, although as it was new it didn't need much. And when I switched it back on - it started easily again. I switched it on and off several times to make sure - all OK. So refitted into the table, and checked again that it would work, and it did.

So I thought OK, that's good, although I still couldn't see what I did which would have made any difference to it not working before. So, I fitted my router bit back in. And switched on - nothing!! WHAT!!

Now after changing the bit, thinking maybe the router is so intelligent that it didn't like the bit I fitted, I tried again. But again nothing!!

I was beginning to wonder what is going on. So I took the bit out again and tried to switch it on again. Blimey, it starts up properly and works!!

SO, I thought is it the way I am inserting and tightening the bit? Am I doing something different from when I first used it? So I re-inserted the bit, but this time only gave it a half turn to tighten it after finger tightening.

Switched on - it works!! Blimey is that the problem? So I put in a different bit and used the same procedure, only a half turn to tighten. And it works!

So my question to you guys, has anyone ever come across such a problem with the Triton before, because I certainly haven't in my google searches!

 

[Yojevol]

Are you fitting the cutter exactly as per the instructions?:-

Is the auto spindle lock releasing after tightening?

 

[Spectric]

I assume that after changing the cutter you lower the height and check the cutter spins which means the spindle lock has disengaged otherwise the interlock prevents switch operation.

 

[brocher]

Thanks @Spectric @Yojevol

Yes I have been checking the collet spins freely. So that was all ok. And yes the spindle lock was released OK when I would the router down using the raiser handle.

I suppose from the instructions when it says "turn the spanner anti-clockwise or clockwise" for some reason it doesn't mean do it tightly! But if so, that isn't very clear.

Anyway, I used the router OK this afternoon for a small routing job with no problems. So from that point of view I seem to be OK. But it has been a puzzle.

Fingers crossed the next time I use it, I remember the trick to do only an half turn if that!

 

[Simon89]

You don’t want a router bit coming loose and firing out…

 

[brocher]

@Simon89 - I agree!! Now that I have the router working, what I did was finger tight first and then use the supplied spinner to tighten it by up to 1/2 turn only. If I do it any tighter, then it refuses to start even though the switch is lit. It's most peculiar.

 

[Simon89]

take it back for a replacement. It’s not worth the risk of using it.

 

[brocher]

take it back for a replacement. It’s not worth the risk of using it.

Hmm. Its worth a thought

 

[TRITON]

Did you remove the plug when removing the cutter, or was it still plugged in ?.

I ask because it might have been that the plug wasnt fully in the socket, and the act of taking it out, then putting it back might have meant in the latter that it was fully seated.

Try switching it on, without a cutter, then pull and wobble the cable about, in case there is a loose or broken wire.

and then use the supplied spinner to tighten it by up to 1/2 turn only

Ive the same router and never given it that much of a tighten. 1/4 maybe or less.

 

[brocher]

Thanks @TRITON - yes I did remove the plug several times. But I never tried the cable wobble bit though.

I think like you I am now only giving it a slight tighten and when I used it this afternoon it seemed OK.

So fingers crossed

 

[Orraloon]

I cant see how tight the collet is would have anything to do with the thing starting or not. I suspect there is a loose contact somewhere in the table/plug/NVR switch arrangement or like Triton says the plug and flex. . Intermittent starting is a poor contact someplace.
Regards
John

 

[sometimewoodworker]

Thanks @TRITON - yes I did remove the plug several times. But I never tried the cable wobble bit though.

I think like you I am now only giving it a slight tighten and when I used it this afternoon it seemed OK.

So fingers crossed

It is impossible for the router to sense the tightness of the collet unless there are actual pressure sensors in the router. You can be absolutely sure that the Triton router doesn’t have them as if it did it would be thousands, if not millions of pounds more expensive.

So you have a correlation. However correlation is not causation. What you are doing by tightening the collet slightly is dangerous and can certainly allow the router bit to creep or even launch out of the router, this can be at best annoying (damaged work) and at worst potentially deadly. The correct tightness is a matter of feel but isn’t that difficult to judge.

So there is some other cause. There are so many possibilities that it’s impossible to list them, but it could be that some dust or even manufacturing debris was the cause and it has since dropped out.

If it were my tool I would strip it down and rebuild it to try to locate the problem, but I realise that isn’t the usual response.

 

[Etaf]

• I have been very pleased so far with the Triton which I bought a few weeks ago.

only a few weeks old - get it replaced ..... its faulty in some way

 

[aforjeh]

The only thing that should prevent starting is the physical lock on the switch when swapping the bit. There’s no sensor or magic, it sounds broken.

Trying so hard to not ‘over tighten’ sounds like a recipe for a bit in the face….

When I got my Triton it was my first router, I didn’t fully understand how to extract the bit. I.e. turn the nut, it loosens, then turn more and it stiffens as it extracts the bit. I was just loosening it and pulling the bit out with a glove! Anyway, I figured I was ‘over tightening’ and tried it a little looser. Next cut, the bit flew out, and took a chunk out of my work, another bit of wood, and the floor before coming to rest. If I were using the router upside down that could have been much hairier!!

Anyway you could try fixing it… but if it’s only a few weeks old, definitely get it replaced under warranty.

 

[sometimewoodworker]

Trying so hard to not ‘over tighten’ sounds like a recipe for a bit in the face….

I figured I was ‘over tightening’ and tried it a little looser. Next cut, the bit flew out, and took a chunk out of my work, another bit of wood, and the floor before coming to rest. If I were using the router upside down that could have been much hairier!!

Not tightening the collet enough is a typical beginner mistake (usually one that only happens once) you were lucky that when the bit came out you didn’t get injured or moderately deceased (Though the latter is unlikely and certainly a first hand report is impossible )

FWIW I have had a bit creep once or twice, though these occasions were when it was difficult to get the spanner onto the collet due to a poor designed table and the bit stayed in the collet.

If using the tools supplied with the router it is very unlikely that you will be able to over tighten the collet certainly not more than once or twice.

 

[Mikebart]

Not tightening the collet enough is a typical beginner mistake (usually one that only happens once) you were lucky that when the bit came out you didn’t get injured or moderately deceased (Though the latter is unlikely and certainly a first hand report is impossible )

FWIW I have had a bit creep once or twice, though these occasions were when it was difficult to get the spanner onto the collet due to a poor designed table and the bit stayed in the collet.

If using the tools supplied with the router it is very unlikely that you will be able to over tighten the collet certainly not more than once or twice.

I have the same router in a table and had issues with the lift part not lifting far enough to engage the auto spindle lock , checked to make sure there was enough clearance for the router to lift enough it was okay but still not engaging the spindle lock.
I then realised I had the on switch cover that keeps the router in the on position when using a remote NVR switch and had to slide the cover to allow the router to lift fully to engage the spindle lock, perhaps ops issue was the cover not fully in the on position when putting it back into the table.
ie on enough to disengage spindle lock but not enough to start router.

 

[brocher]

I thought this might be of interest. I got in touch with Triton about my wee problem. The reply I got referred to their plug supplied with the machine.

"Has your unit got a dual plug (EU plug in a UK shell)? If so could you please undo the shell and just check that the EU plug is fully clipped in before doing it back up. I have seen it in the past where the plug wasn't making full contact with the connector in the shell, it did cause a similar strange issue with the light being on at all times but the router not always starting."

So I checked the plug, and yes it is one of these strange UK shell plugs - I haven't seen one of these before. I opened it up and checked the connections. It all seems to be tight. Anyway having put it back together, the router is still working! So in many respects I am none the wiser as to what my problem really was!

Photos of plug attached!