The new DeWalt router was installed into the router table today. It came with a 2 piece collet. The 1/4 inch fits inside of the 1/2 inch. I will order some extra one piece collets.
In the process, Charles L tore the entire lift down to it’s components. It got a thorough cleaning.
It should be easier to use for a while.
Thank you to all for getting the lift cleaned and router installed.
Can we schedule an interval for normal cleaning and deep cleaning of the lift?
Yep. We working on that for the entire space.
Thanks for the pics! I’ll use these 
But more importantly, thank you @cfstaley and @CLeininger for tackling this!
We might as well order a couple spare 0.25" collet sleeves now …
it’s easy to see these sleeves getting lost in a community shop.
Anybody have thoughts on using the reducer sleeves vs getting actual 1/4" collets?
I’m a little skeptical in general of adding spacers, but I’ve never used these.
Might work great, but easier to lose.
Actual 1/4" collet is preferable. Sleeves will be lost. They also need to be very clean before inserting into a 1/2" collet, otherwise they can get jammed and/or will be loose while the router is running. I purchased the same DeWalt router about five years ago and it had a proper 1/4" collet, so I’m not sure why they would switch to a sleeve.
I assume it’s a cost thing. Real 1/4" collets are still available, just not included in-box anymore.
Awesome! Thank you! I appreciate all your hardwork!
I’ve used sleeves and they seem cost effective but they don’t hold as well. Admittedly our new sleeve is of a better design than the ones I’ve used in the past (see below) but I suspect they’d suffer from a similar less-effective grip. Two walls of friction grip are inferior to one wall of grip.
I’d vote for a 0.25" collet.
Thanks for getting this done! It worked beautifully during the safety class last night.
I noticed 2 things when running it I thought worth mentioning: 1) the variable speed doesn’t do anything. The router only ran with full power. 2) the spindle lock seems to no longer be working.
Not pointing these things out as problems necessarily; just drawing attention so everyone is aware.
I wonder if the switch on the speed control was set to full power vs variable?
It’s a soft-start/variable-speed router. We probably the same problem I have on my Porter Cable 75182 - you can’t have an electronic speed control in series with the internal electronic speed control. If that’s the case, we should replace the knob on the router table with an on/off switch and point out to people that they can set the speed on the router motor.
The DeWalt is soft start so @Jon is right. I plugged in the variable speed controller but did not test it. I’ll find DeWalt’s speed / bit circumference chart and tape it to the cabinet front door.
The spindle lock was working when I installed so I will take a look over the weekend.
I used the new router table today and the spindle lock works fine.
Here’s what perhaps you were experiencing … locking on the wrong surface.
You can either lock in the hole (pic 1) or think you lock by pressing on a face (pic 2).
The former locks tight while the latter slides along the surface, not really locking.
Ah! Sorry I should have clarified…i meant the spindle lock on the table itself that prevents the router from being lowered or raised.
That spindle lock is a god send!
So you are saying that the spindle lock is not working? It was working when Charles rebuilt the lift. I’ll check it today.
The indicator sure was out of alignment. Now it’s fixed.
It was functioning properly, but the indicator arrow was not pointing correctly.
