Router collet extensions

How safe are the 1/2" shank extensions? I have a bowl bit that I would like to try but it has such a short shank on it.

Need to see a picture of what you are doing

Most bowl bits I have seen are quite short, designed with a bearing to be used with a template and the cutting depth is about 1/2". I have an extension that I believe came from MLCS. The quality is not great but, I have seen others of varying prices and the quality is about the same. I have used mine successfully for depths of about an inch. I did use a large plate as recommended and could see things getting squirrely really fast if you did not have one. That is, if the motor were to tip but, this is true with any larger or longer bit when doing handheld work.

The good news is that you can do the work on a router table with greater safety IMHO. The principle is the same but, without the danger of tipping or overrunning your support surface if the bowl is quite large. The bulk of the waste is removed by forstner bit. The waste cannot be removed to full depth prior to the router bit since the center spur cuts deeper than the outer rim of the forstner. So, even when fully prepared, you still need to remove a fat 1/4" of surface for the whole area of the bowl plus the edges.

I have a 1-1/4" and a 3/4" bowl bit. The smaller bit works well for smaller "dishes" and you can see I did not use the larger plate for these small openings. Hope this helps.

Ive used the extension with the bowl bit a few times. As glenn said, using a oversized plate helps to avoid any tipping over.
My first time I made this bowl/dish with the extension without any problems.
I hogged out most of the inside with a forstner bit, then just ran the bowl bit over the rest.

allen levine said:

Ive used the extension with the bowl bit a few times. As glenn said, using a oversized plate helps to avoid any tipping over.
My first time I made this bowl/dish with the extension without any problems.
I hogged out most of the inside with a forstner bit, then just ran the bowl bit over the rest.

Click to expand...

Thank you , I can see what you are talking about .

Thanks guys... I'll do a shallow candy dish the first go around to get the feel. I wanted to make deeper one to hold a little more... I'll watch the sales and maybe pick one up down the road.

@Allen, I seem to remember when you bought that dish template... about 5 years ago I think. I was looking at them on Amazon today.....

yeah, the last few dishes I made couple years back I just free handed a design and cut it out of Masonite.
I did a snowman candy dish.cant find the picture files of that stuff, have a feeling its on my old computer somewhere.
Now Id just rather spin something on the lathe, takes a lot less time if its only a 1.5-2 inch depth.