Vent: My domino bit snapped mid-mortise on a $3k cherry table job

I was in my shop last Tuesday routing out mortises for a dining table when the bit caught a knot and sheared off at the collet. Had to scrap the rail and recut it, which set me back 2 hours and taught me to always check for hidden grain defects before plunging in.

3 comments

3 Comments

gavinhunt1d ago

Man, I had something similar happen years ago with a router bit that decided to explode on a walnut desk. Turned out the collet nut was a bit loose and the bit walked out just enough to catch a knot and snap clean off. Took me a whole afternoon to fix the tearout and figure out what went wrong. Now I give every collet a few extra cranks with a wrench before I start anything, especially on expensive lumber. Sucks when a tiny mistake costs you hours of work and a chunk of profit.

david_henderson623h ago

Damn right, I had a bit grab on some cherry once and it threw the whole workpiece across the shop.

finley_flores281d ago

@gavinhunt my collet now gets the same death grip I give my morning coffee cup.