router guide collar


A router guide collar is a useful accessory that threads onto a router base and guides the router along a pattern or template. The one safety concern with guide collars is that they can loosen and possibly fall off, causing damage to your work or maybe an injury. You can make sure that your guide collar won't loosen by using PTFE ahead tape (also called teflon tape) to wrap around the treads. You can find this special tape in the plumbing section of most hardware stores.


Skill Builder Video





Video: How To Keep Router Guide Collar Tight - Video Transcript


Speaker: I hope you've never had this unpleasant experience but I can tell you firsthand that when your handheld routing with a guide collar, the ring that holds the guide collar in place doesn't always stay tight. If you've got a big routing job that you're doing, the vibration from the router motor can eventually work this ring loose. At best, it can ruin your accuracy, and at worst, the bit could come into contact with your guide collar and ruin it.


Well, here's a simple solution I found to the problem. Buy a roll of PTFE thread tape, you can find it in the plumbing supply section of any hardware store or Home Center, costs about 50 cents, and some people will refer to it as Teflon tape or plumber's tape. Then wrap three or four rings of that tape clockwise around the threaded portion of your guide collar and install it in the router as usual. The tape will make sure that that ring stays tight so you can keep routing without concern. I think this is 50 cents worth of routing that's pretty well spent, give it a try.