I get the dummy-of-the-day award....

[Brian Tymchak]

Still shaking my head over this one...

Was running some test cuts with a new Quadra-cut bit in the router table - (nice bit, btw, and a quieter than other 2 flute bits I've used). Noticed that I wasn't getting the full profile of the cutting edge. Turned out that the bearing on the bit was a little too large, holding the work off the bit by several thousandths.

Since I was using it in the router table, the bearing isn't really necessary, so I decided to take the bearing off. Was just about on the last turn of the screw when I fumbled the allen wrench. In a nano-second that wrench disappeared into the router motor. It dropped just perfectly so that there was no chance to grab it. It just, poof, was gone. It happened so fast that I questioned myself for a bit about whether that wrench actually fell in to the motor. But I couldn't find it in the dust box.

Took me a while but I was finally able to see just a little bit of the wrench sitting on the windings behind the fan. I tried a small magnetized screw driver, but couldn't pull the wrench up. At this point I'm thinking of all sorts of bad scenarios, like having to replace the motor, etc.

After taking a few minutes and a couple deep cleansing breaths, I thought of turning the whole plate/lift/motor assembly over and trying the magnetized screw driver using gravity to my advantage. I propped the motor assembly over the open tool well in my split top bench and got under the bench. Within about 10 seconds, I fished the wrench out with the magnetized screw driver. Just dropped right out.

I never would have previously considered the possibility of dropping that wrench into the motor. So, lesson learned. Keep the small tools away from the top of the router motor.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

I've done similar things many times. Thanks for the reminder!

[Steve Eure]

Me too. I dropped a very tiny screw that holds the plastic plates aound the bit down into my router once. Did like you and turned the router motor upside down and fortunately it fell out. No worse for wear.

[Bill Dufour]

When working on cars it is recommended to stuff a rag into the intake so bits and pieces do not fall into the valves and cylinders. It is much harder to turn a engine upside down and shake it.
Bill D.

[Ben Rivel]

Oooooh yea, I have seriously been concerned that might happen to me too! Thats why I picked up one of these little gems (LINK)! Do those bit bearing changes OFF the motor!

[Tom Blank]

Nah. The dummy award would go to the guy who gave up looking for the wrench, got another wrench to finish removing the bearing, and then turned on the router.

[Earl McLain]

I bet that if 50 of us gathered to try to purposely drop that wrench into the motor, it would take us 2 days to make that shot!! Great recovery!! (i dropped a washer yesterday, and watched it roll perfectly on its side at least 15 feet to beneath a shop table. I doubt i could do that on purpose if i had to)
earl

[Brian Tymchak]

Oooooh yea, I have seriously been concerned that might happen to me too! Thats why I picked up one of these little gems (LINK)! Do those bit bearing changes OFF the motor!

Oh that's definitely going on my list! Thanks for that link Ben!

[Brian Tymchak]

When working on cars it is recommended to stuff a rag into the intake so bits and pieces do not fall into the valves and cylinders. It is much harder to turn a engine upside down and shake it.
Bill D.

I did the same in my younger life and your post now inspires the thought that it might be a good idea to have a shield of some sort under the bit above the motor to deflect not only allen wrenches but cuttings/dust in general. I never thought much about it before but some amount of dust must be escaping the fence dust collection and the only place for it to go is down into that motor.

[Brian Tymchak]

I bet that if 50 of us gathered to try to purposely drop that wrench into the motor, it would take us 2 days to make that shot!! Great recovery!! (i dropped a washer yesterday, and watched it roll perfectly on its side at least 15 feet to beneath a shop table. I doubt i could do that on purpose if i had to)
earl

Don't know if it's just Murphy's Law, or some other undiscovered law of physics, but I believe there is a force that draws dropped things towards the most inconvenient final resting spot possible.

[Brian Tymchak]

Don't know if it's just Murphy's Law, or some other undiscovered law of physics, but I believe there is a force that draws dropped things towards the most inconvenient final resting spot possible.

In fact I think I'll dub that the PITA force....

[Rod Sheridan]

During a plant shutdown at Ford, I dropped a 1/2” nut into a 2MVA rectifier transformer.

It took me 6 hours to retrieve it.

To this day I remember the dull sound of that nut wedging in the winding in a cooling duct.......Rod

[Malcolm McLeod]

When working on cars it is recommended to stuff a rag into the intake so bits and pieces do not fall into the valves and cylinders. It is much harder to turn a engine upside down and shake it.
Bill D.

Open the hood on old cars and you can see the ground around the engine. New ones? ...not so much.

I had a new (at the time) car; screwdriver slipped out of my hand while under the hood. It disappeared, and to the best of my knowledge, was still there when I sold the car. Now I let other more talented people lose their tools under my hoods.

[Bill Dufour]

Don't know if it's just Murphy's Law, or some other undiscovered law of physics, but I believe there is a force that draws dropped things towards the most inconvenient final resting spot possible.

It is called a black hole. it pulls everything so hard that even light can not escape its pull.
Bill D

[jared herbert]

I have found a few tools in the engine/transmission areas of used vehicles that I bought-screw drivers, wrenches and a couple special tools I couldn’t identify. I spoke I have given a few away that way too