Can anyone recommend a good collet adapter or sleeve for the Makita RT0701C? It comes with 1/4 inch, would like to find an adapter sleeve so I can use 1/8 inch bits. Thanks!
Hi Phil, this will get you that collet. This comes from a five-year-old forum comment but the company the author refers to is still in business. They should have what you want.
MikeRe: Custom 1/8" Collet for Makita RT0701C Trim Router
Update for May 30, 2014:
Padded envelopes are sealed with their collets snugly inside, address labels attached, ready to go into the mail tomorrow! 
Being very satisfied with the collets produced for us, I’d like to now share the information about the company that made them.
The company name is Elaire Corporation of Ohio, and the URL for their website is http://www.elairecorp.com
I dealt with Mark there, and he can be reached via the E-Mail address sales@elairecorp.com . Mark was fantastic during the entire process, responding quickly to my E-Mails, and keeping me updated as things progressed. Total turn around time for custom manufacturing of our collets once I committed to purchasing them was about a week. Pretty awesome for a custom run of only 16 pieces.
Mark said that he rounded our batch up to 25 total pieces, and would offer the remaining 9 pieces on their website, first come first served, for $19.75 each. If you contact him via the sales E-Mail above and mention that you heard about the custom 1/8" collets for the Makita RT0701C Trim Router on the Shapeoko forums, he will give you the lower $17.50 price break we got for the first group order. Awesome.
They accept payment via PayPal, which is convenient. Mention that you would like to pay via PayPal when you E-Mail your order, and they will send you a PayPal invoice for the number of collets plus shipping. The invoice simplifies payment and gives you something you can file for your records.
If you have other types of spindles out there that don’t offer a stock collet for 1/8" bits, definitely check Elaire Corporation’s web site to see if they already offer one for your model. For example, they already offer 1/8" collets for the DW660 trim routers. If you have some uncommon spindle that they don’t already have collets for, I definitely recommend that you contact them about making you a custom collet. In the case of our custom 1/8" collet for RT0701C, there was an initial set-up cost of $50 for two collets, with increasing price breaks at 10 and 100 pieces. Of course the cost to create a custom collet for your device will vary based on the size and complexity of the collet, but I’m certain their pricing will be competitive. And of course, their service is top notch.
Regarding the collets themselves, they are extremely well made. In the case of the custom 1/8" collet for the RT0701C, it showed between 2x and 10x less runout than using the stock 1/4" Makita collet with an 1/8" set-screw adaptor. Check out my mini review and runout tests earlier in this thread to see how I tested, and what the actual runout measurements were.
All in all, a fantastic experience. Thanks also to the Shapeoko members who participated in our group order. Your collets will go out tomorrow and hopefully will be humming away in your machines shortly thereafter.
If you have any further questions, please don’t hesitate to ask.
Peter.
Mike
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What a coincidence! Only about an 15 minutes after your post I discovered elairecorp!!! And now they have quite a selection for all kinds of routers. I bought one for $24.50 plus shipping, and I’m confident it will be good quality! Plus they now make collets for other routers as well. All the others I found on ebay, amazon, looked cheap. For anyone else interested here’s the link:
https://elairecorp.com/makitaroutercollets.html
Thanks Mike, for your quick response!
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Hi Phil,
When I lost my collet, I was really frustrated and trying to locate a new one made that worse. I bought one for a different brand and lucked out as it fit perfectly.
I figured I’d try to save you the same frustration. Glad this worked out and there’s a permanent link here in the forum for everyone that loses a collet or vacuums it up by accident. Glad to help.
Mike
I ordered this one as well. Still waiting for it to arrive but Elaire seems to be the consensus on various CNC forums if you’re trying to use Makita router.
They seem to be the go to company for collets. And for custom made parts, their quality and pricing are great.
I ordered Aug 9 (Friday) and received a shipping notice via paypal (they only use paypal) on Tuesday. I just checked (Aug 14, Wed) and it’s still showing as “pre-shipment”, so it hasn’t yet made it to the post office. I also sent them an email but they never responded. They may have a good product (we’ll see) but their customer communication skills seem lacking!! It may be that it’s just a tiny company, or they don’t make the product until someone orders. I’ll let y’all know as soon as it comes in!
That is where I get my Collets from, Amazing quality and a good company. For what you are ordering they are probably custom making it. I would give them some time, I can assure you it will be worth it. They do take some time to get back to you but they worth it. I have been through thousands at this point and not a single issue yet.
Don’t open the box in your house…it has a strong oil/grease/WD40 smell.
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Got the 1/8 inch collet yesterday, looked perfect, and no bad grease/oil smell! Tried it out this morning and I quickly learned you gotta really tighten that sucker down! Was doing a test cut (my second!) and the bit worked loose and gradually dropped down into the work, making horrible shrieking noises all the way, as it was trying to cut about 15 mm of pine at a pass! Luckily the bit didn’t break. I was wondering how one changes bits in the middle of a job, well I found out! I had recorded the x and y start locations, so all I did was re-home x and y, then home z to the top of the work, and returned to the previous start point and re-start the job. Test run came out OK, even with the hole gouged into the wood!!
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At least it didn’t catch fire. When your pattern changes for each cut, the computer will check to ensure you are using the same tool. It there is a different bit, the machine waits for you to change the bit. You have to shut the router off manually then change the bit, turn it on and then hit enter to continue the cut… yeah, 1/8 bits have to be tightened up. Try reducing the depth of your cut tou prevent stress on the bit. That’ll make a big difference.
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That’s only if the post processor has a toolchange routine added.
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Also, double check the bit itself. Some of the cheaper 1/8" bits are really just repackaged Chinese 3mm bits and 3mm ≠1/8".
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That’s a great tip! I measured the bit and it is indeed 1/8, exactly. I just have to really tighten the heck out of the collet!