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I inherited a router and stand from a neighbor who passed away. Nice router and stand, so I'd like to use it. It has an older model Sears router (315.17380) with a fixed shank.

The bits are changed by unscrewing the bolt, so the bits themselves don't have a shank. It came with one bit. I searched the internet and can't find that style of bit. They only come with shanks.

Are these types of router bits still sold?

router in table

bit and collet

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  • Welcome to WSE.
    – Ashlar ♦
    Jan 3, 2021 at 18:59
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    First, welcome. Second, I had a set of these, and they were Sears brand also. I assume to save money, they put the bit (cutting portion) on a "reusable" shaft, although you could remove the shaft at anytime as Alaska Man points out (a little Wd40 maybe needed). My personal take on these bits were to toss them. As I recall, they are high speed steel (HSS) and dulled with just a glance. Good luck on your journey.
    – user3158591
    Jan 4, 2021 at 17:59
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    Please use the check mark to select my answer as correct if it solved you problem. (I believe it did based on the conversation we had in the comment section.)
    – Alaska Man
    Jan 4, 2021 at 20:25

2 Answers 2

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I believe you may be mistaken, I see a collet nut and presumably collet nuts can be turned. It is very possible that the shank of the bit in it is stuck after many years.

I found the manual online Here. Page 3 shows the bit changing instructions.

Click on this link to download a PDF of the manual

I owned one, same model i believe, and it definitely had a collet and i could change bits.

Here is a YouTube video of a similar model being resurrected.

enter image description here

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  • I'm new to this site so I'm not sure how to add another photo. I removed the collet and unscrewed the top nut. The bit came off. It's threaded on the inside.and screws to the shank inside the collet. The shank itself has a oval shaped shim which helps it fit tight inside the chuck. The chuck opening is .4" (10mm). I tried to use a new bit inside the chuck and it's too loose. Tightening the collet doesn't help. If I new this site better, I'd post a photo of the disassembled parts.
    – Don H
    Jan 3, 2021 at 20:03
  • If you can post them on image hosting site then i can add them here.
    – Alaska Man
    Jan 3, 2021 at 20:18
  • There are router bits with shanks that will except different cutting heads, It may be what is in your router but that does not mean that the shank is part of the router. It should still be removable. Did you imply you got it out but that a new shank can not be tightened?
    – Alaska Man
    Jan 3, 2021 at 20:21
  • Don't know what you mean by image hosting site. Like Dropbox?
    – Don H
    Jan 3, 2021 at 20:42
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    @DonH, you can edit the Question at any time (and as often as needed). Any further pictures should be included in the Question, not buried in the Comments or in a chat, to make this Q&A of most value to future searchers which is one of the key purposes of SE. The same upload feature is available during editing as when first creating the Q, so the process is identical to the one you already used for the first image.
    – Graphus
    Jan 4, 2021 at 7:34
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You normally shouldn't have to disassemble the collet to get the bit out, but perhaps it was necessary in this case -- the bit looks quite rusty. I wouldn't try to use that bit again, and I'd inspect the collet carefully; if it's anywhere near as rusty as the bit, it needs to be replaced. And if you're correct that the collet size is 10mm, you may need to replace it with a more standard size (preferably 1/2").

Ultimately, if you can't find a new collet that'll fit this router, you may need to replace the router. No matter how well the motor runs, you don't want razor sharp carbide spinning at 25,000 RPM without being held very securely in place.

Are these types of router bits still sold?

I doubt you'll find new cutters to fit that old shank, unless it's new old stock. There are some bit sets where the cutters are separate from the shaft, but in every case I've seen the idea is to change the configuration of the same cutters, not to completely replace the profile. For example, [this cope and stick bit] has two cutters whose positions can be swapped on the shank to cut mating parts of the same joint.

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