Newbie- Hand Router, 8mm collet vs. ER11 Extension chunk

[einarak]

Hi, I´m totally new in the CNC world but I´m about to finish my first router table, its has a 130cm x 60cm table. I will mostly be cutting soft woods and foam.
I will be using 1200w Einhell router like this on the table:


But the thing is, it only has 8mm and 6mm collet but I want to use router bits down to 1/8" or maybe even 2mm...

I think I would like to use the ER11 chunk for those small bits...
I have found some ER11 Colllet extension with 8mm shank but im not sure if that is what I need. Is it safe to use such an extension straight into my routers 8mm collet? (Maybe it´s a dumb question, but putting a collet into another collet, just doesn´t sound right to me ) Or should i rather use some adapter collets?

All help would be appreciated!

Here is a pic of my machinery and the first test

[JohnZ]

I personally would not put any of the ER extensions into a hand router as their shanks are just too long. Going by the Techniks guidelines, a collet extension should not extend more than 4x the shank diameter. So in your case, it could not extend more than 32mm, and that would be measured from the face of your routers collet all the way to the face of the collet on the extension. You would have to find a VERY SHORT extension for this to work. I would say a 50mm shank length max, hoping that you could get more than 35mm of that shank into your routers collet in order to get the maximum recommended extension.

[stk2008]

Hi there I feel your pain I to am stuck using a crap router and hate it but I have no money at all to purchase any thing else.

I am saving for a super PID but this looks like a lost cause.

And I all so am stuck with 1/4 shank on me router limiting me massively.

Could you link me to the ER11 collate you talk about?.

All so could you not cut some of the shank off the ER11 collate?

[einarak]

Originally Posted by stk2008 Hi there I feel your pain I to am stuck using a crap router and hate it but I have no money at all to purchase any thing else. I am saving for a super PID but this looks like a lost cause. And I all so am stuck with 1/4 shank on me router limiting me massively. Could you link me to the ER11 collate you talk about?. All so could you not cut some of the shank off the ER11 collate?

Here is one for an example ER11 8MM Straight Shank Collet Chuck CNC Milling Lathe | eBay
Wow this SuperPID is a cool thing, ive never seen it before but I want one already!


JohnZ, if lenght is the only trouble with using these extensions i´ll just have the shank cut down to 1" or 1 1/2", i´m not looking for this to extend my chunk, only to make it easier to get good cuting bits.

[ger21]

I'd use the ER11 collet chuck, just cut the shank down to get it as close as possible to the router collet. Make sure the shank is a few mm's short of bottoming out, or the collet won't hold it properly.

[DonFrambach]

You may not want to purchase another spindle but have you considered a Kress spindle? Integral collets of very small diameters are available. Here's a link: 800FME240V 800 FME (240V) Motors Kress | World of CNC - Marchant Dice

[Walky]

My first router was an Einhell (looks a little like yours, but it's red) and it has the worst runout I've ever seen, I'd rather get a better brand. Using a ER extension on such a router (assuming yours is as bad as mine) would be a waste of money IMHO, at that lenght you'll probably be breaking small bits quite often and getting wrong diameters if they don't.

[einarak]

Originally Posted by Walky My first router was an Einhell (looks a little like yours, but it's red) and it has the worst runout I've ever seen, I'd rather get a better brand. Using a ER extension on such a router (assuming yours is as bad as mine) would be a waste of money IMHO, at that lenght you'll probably be breaking small bits quite often and getting wrong diameters if they don't.

Yes, I know, it´s only a 50$ router but this is a limited budget project so it will have to do for now. I will then be upgrating one piece at the time probably starting with the router.
... What options do I have in the 100-200$ range for router/spindle?