Are router bits shanks and collets universal?

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The title says it all.

Knowing the diferences between countries that use metric or imperial system units as per threads, and other things I wonder if router and router bit manufacturers make different shanks and collet diameters depending on the country they are selling their products.

Does any of you know about this??

Thanks in advance.
 
as far as i can tell, here in the states, the router bits i've used have either been 1/4" or 1/2". my milwaukee router came with 2 collets, for those size bits. hopefully this shines some light on the problem.

dan
 
Yes they "Should Be" 1/4" & 1/2" but some foreign "less than precision" outfits may produce "slightly undersized" shanks. These you must be careful as they may slip out of the Collet.
 
I have seen some bits with metric size shanks but those vendors offer adapters to 1/2" I have seen Metric saw blade holes as well but I don't know how popular they are. We need someone from Europe to answer.
 
Porter-Cable makes 1/4", 8mm, 3/8", and 1/2" collets for sure (I have them all) and I think they also make a 12mm.

1/4" & 1/2" are the U.S. 'standards' but the rest of the world uses SI (metric).

I use the 8mm collet for the (Canadian) Leigh jig bits, and the 3/8" one for using two-flute end mills. The end mills are solid carbide, up-cutting, and are way cheaper than solid carbide spiral router bits.
 
Porter-Cable makes 1/4", 8mm, 3/8", and 1/2" collets for sure (I have them all) and I think they also make a 12mm.

1/4" & 1/2" are the U.S. 'standards' but the rest of the world uses SI (metric).

I use the 8mm collet for the (Canadian) Leigh jig bits, and the 3/8" one for using two-flute end mills. The end mills are solid carbide, up-cutting, and are way cheaper than solid carbide spiral router bits.

got a link to the end mills jim?
 
CMT Bits are made in Italy. If you try to find a metric size, you have to look in their very large catalog, not in the small catalog given away free at tool shops.

I have a few of their metric bits, but these are 1/4" shank. I'll have to check with a digital caliper to see if the shank is 6mm or 1/4"

I have a bunch of 8mm shank bits from England. And I have no trouble in a half-inch router when I use the 8mm sleeve.

Gary Curtis
 
short answer......yup there are different euro sizes.
i don`t know what is available in spain so you should find a local supplier and deal with them.
 
short answer......yup there are different euro sizes.
i don`t know what is available in spain so you should find a local supplier and deal with them.

Thanks Tod ( and the rest) That is what I feared about, I've measured the shanks of my bits and they are 7.97mm that is 0.31" does that make sense to you? I mean do you have 0.31" standard diameter shanks?
 
Toni, that would be an 8mm shank. That's a common European size.

FWIW, I've been running into something that had never been an issue for me before. Some of my bits have out of round shanks. Most of my routers don't care but I've got a chuck that is designed to be a very close fit and some of the cheaper bits won't go in.
 
I have seen some bits with metric size shanks but those vendors offer adapters to 1/2" I have seen Metric saw blade holes as well but I don't know how popular they are. We need someone from Europe to answer.

How about Asia :D :wave:

Here the router bit are all 6mm, 8mm, and 12mm, but I could get a 1/4" and 1/2" collet for my Hitachi routers :dunno:

Cheers!
 
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