Pumelloman Solysylva 25x37 Router Build

[CarveOne]

Yes, I have some pictures that I'm saving for my own build log that I will start sometime soon. Maybe later this weekend. I don't want to steal space in your build log with them though. You deserve full credit for your own work. This build is a lot of work, even on much better equipment than you or I have.

I'm making some changes to David Steele's original design, such as red oak woodwork, 1/4" aluminum stepper mounts, 1/2" lead screws, maybe some purple heart (or aluminum) bearing support blocks. The z axis side plates are next to make and will be 1/4" aluminum. The oak is finished with MinWax golden oak stain and MinWax clear satin spray polyurethane. Enough red oak for this project was surprisingly expensive.

So far, I have built the frame and the gantry. I have a 425 oz/in stepper system kit from Xylotex on hand. I haven't ordered the pulleys and belt or bearings yet. I picked up the aluminum angle and flat stock today for making the truck assemblies.

Ok, as a teaser, here are a couple of the stepper plates:

[pumelloman]

Whoa snap!!! Now those look pretty good!
Do you have access to a milling machine?

I just bought my trim router today off eBay (used one) for something like $48, and then $24 shipping (living in Canada can be expensive sometimes...). I know a new one is $99 from Amazon.com though, but I think it's free shipping only within the states, and then I have to pay duty too, so I think overall I saved a bit that I can use to put towards something like bits, etc. Eventually I plan on replacing the router with a more powerful one. I will probably use that to go about building another CNC eventually (moneys/space/time permitting...I also have to start studying for courses soon.......).

Make sure to post something when you start your own log, I'm really interested haha. It looks like it will be pretty awesome, far more awesome than mine haha.

[CarveOne]

I have a Lathemaster dovetail column milling machine http://www.lathemaster.com with Grizzly Industrial 3 axis glass scale DRO and power feed on the x axis and the gear head lift. My lathe is a Harbor Freight 12x36 gear head. It all fits in a 12x16 utility building along with too much other welding and woodworking stuff.

CarveOne

[grahamshere]

Hey Pumelloman I ess your in vancouver, Im in deroche just east of mission. Just thought id tell ya if you havnt orderd your belts better do it because it takes a while to get here from new york. I think were due for a cold winter this yr so ya a heater is a must for your shop plus it gets very wet here so watch the moister. I am guessing you didnt get your lead screws yet, If you can get 1/2" acme screw with 2 start if you can find them, Will help with speed as with 18 tpi all thread are slow and youll just want to change it right away , I know that for a fact lol. There is a place in abbatsford that might have the belts and pullys, Ill look for the name and # for you , maybe you can phone to see, will save in time. If I can remember the name of the place. Ill keep watching your thread for so if you need help. Graham

[pumelloman]

Hey Graham,
Thanks for the help! I've ordered my belts already though from the place recommended in the books (SDPI or something?). Those were so pricey....and I had to pay duty! If you can let me know where to find belts and pulleys at a better price, please let me know. Who knows if I'll be making another one, so it doesn't hurt to know haha.

I did get my leadscrews too from Home Depot (not ACME, that's for sure...). They're the 1/4-20's I believe. I just want to build the router, as crappy as it may be....then I'll work on replacing the parts slowly haha. I would rather have done it right the first time, would have been more cost effective too, but I'm really pressed for time since I have to start studying again soon.

Yeah it was 5 degrees this morning....looks like I'm going to have to find a heater hahaha....sigh.

Hmmmm I didn't do anything yesterday. However today I think I will get started on assembling the Z carriage and making the Z carriage spindle plate. Should be the same size as David's plans, since he was using the Porter Cable Trim Router. (hopefully....). At any rate I should probably work on something, I want to get stuff done soon.

btw, amazing stuff CarveOne, I wish I had tools like that...
How did you bore the hole in the motor mounts?! I'm not that great at machining, so I'm confused how you did that haha

[ZipSnipe]

Hey Pumelloman, welcome to the forum. Looks like a great start to your first cnc router. Just remember to be patient, measure twice and cut once. Picture in your head how the parts should fit together and then rewind and picture it again. Make sure you develop good work holding skills(I seen you had trouble with the drill press) which is the most crucial part in building and machining anything. And Ebay great for stuff but don,t forget to check you local area classifieds,garage sales and hunt for a website that shows government auctions in your area. Good luck and keep the pics coming, we Luv pics!!

[CarveOne]

Prior to doing the hole drilling I drew the stepper mount plate in TurboCAD 12 and put crosshairs in each hole to better locate for the drillings. I printed it at 1X and checked the printed copy with a caliper. Then I sprayed onto the paper a light coat of 3M 77 spray contact cement. After waving the paper around a little to dry the cement I placed it on the aluminum so that I could cut the plate to size and accurately drill at the hole centers. The paper can easily be removed if you only spray the paper and not both the paper and aluminum. I made a pointed 3/8" rod about 3" long on my lathe to use in a spindle drill chuck as a pointer that shows when the spindle is centered on the crosshair "targets". It's simpler than using other centering devices and will work on your drill press also. Even a short pencil with an evenly sharpened point is better than no pointer or centering tool at all.

Using the milling machine to bore the 1-1/2" hole I first drilled the hole with a 1/2" drill in a 1/2" collet in the mill spindle and then re-drilled it with a 1-1/4" Silver and Deming drill that has a 1/2" shank. Then I removed the S&D drill and installed a 1/2" shank boring head with a carbide boring cutter inserted and finished the hole to 1-1/2" so that the stepper motor just barely dropped into the 1-1/2" hole. The smaller stepper mount screw holes were drilled using the pointer and they all align just fine.

CarveOne

[pumelloman]

Thanks for the advice ZipSnipe, I will definitely have to check out those government auctions, didn't even think of that, and I will keep the pics coming ^^

CarveOne....all I can say is wow. So sweet hahaha. I had no idea there was such a tool as a shank boring head. I was talking to my friend about how he would make that piece too. He said that maybe an option would be to use a Rotary Table. But that would be expensive to buy...
Making an alignment tool to center your mill was pretty smart...never thought of making my own haha. I think I'll have to make one of those next time I go into the machine shop at school, I kinda made the one I got at Lee Valley tools a bit "flat" on the end. Aluminum Extrusion vs. Lee Valley Tools center punch didn't work out well. Now I use my Uncle's bigass Steel punch...so much better.

Anyways though, I'm almost finished the router carriage. Glued it with wood glue, and put drywall screws into it, holds pretty nicely. I ended up using the leadscrew through one of the holes to support the carriage and keep it square. That worked surprisingly well...

Next step is to put make the Z-axis "spindle plate" and conduit, then I'll be pretty much done the carriage.

Ordered my Transformer from Allied Electronics last night too. Should come in sometime next week or a bit later. Going to buy a speed controller (potentiometer) soon, then hook that up to the router. I really want to be able to cut aluminum, so I think it's kind of necessary for me to have a speed controller. However, has anyone cut aluminum before with this router?? Does it work well?

Enjoy the pictures!

[CarveOne]

Your z axis assembly is looking good. Maybe your pictures will show me some details that I may not see in the Solsylva assembly book. I am working on the z axis parts now.

My oak blocks have been cut to size but not drilled yet. I will complete the side plate drawing today since I got some unexpected time off this afternoon. Maybe this evening I will be able to cut the side plates to size if I don't go back to work again later this evening.

You will want to taper the pointer so that it is easy to see the sharp point when it is on the center of the punch mark or crosshair. I lower it into the punch mark slightly or to the paper and look at it from the front and one side to visually check the alignment. Having a sharp well centered point is essential and you can get within a couple of thousandths easily.

I have an 8" rotary table with a 6" four jaw independent chuck mounted on it that I use with an end mill to bore large holes but the thing weighs so much that I can barely lift it onto the milling table. For this reason I tend to not use it until I need to make a 2" or larger hole.

BTW, here is a good chance that I may get a chance to visit the ShopBot folks in Durham, NC in a week or two. Looks like I may get involved in using one at work later this year. Yippee!!

CarveOne

[CarveOne]

pumelloman,

I started my project file in this forum today. CarveOne's Solsylva 25x37 Router Build is what I called it. Ok, it's dueling leadscrews time.... which of us will finish our machine first? Does my workspace look as small and as cluttered as yours?

CarveOne

[pumelloman]

Thanks CarveOne, just posted to your forum now ^^ looking really good.

I also worked on my router this weekend. In typical pumelloman fashion, I made several parts....twice! (oh my god...)

This weekend I completed the Z axis Spindle Plate. I ended up making that out of 3/4" MDF, which was pretty nice to work with as long as you're not sanding it I guess (I have a long history with MDF, once made a 10' plug for a car out of MDF boards...one of the more painful memories in my life was sanding that for 5-6 months). I kinda buggered up the first one, too short, but then the second one turned out really well. I found it hard to cut the ...reliefs? for the bolts to sit in and be adjusted, with a Wood Spade bit (I didn't have a hole saw at the moment). What was even harder was trying to tighten the rails on with one side on already. Had to do that with needlenose pliers.

I was pretty worried about slop in my machine, when I slid the assembly in, and it was rattling around in between the bearings. I could just imagine the router trying to cut something while it's jiggling around about 1/16". I started sweating and was trying to figure out how I could fix the problem, first I readjusted by bearings slightly, then I tried loosening the rails a bit so the channel wouldn't be pushed in as much. Eventually I realized what the tensioning leadscrews were for..... sigh. I just pushed on the sides of the carriage a little, then tried the spindle plate again and it was perfect. Whew.
I really need some calipers so I don't have to measure these kind of gaps using a steel yardstick, that was kinda stupid.

I installed the spindle plate on Saturday, and then on Sunday I (basically did nothing) worked on the Z axis bracket/rod coupler. Kinda buggered that up, going to do it again today. I underestimated the width of the drill (ie didn't measure) and now material between the edge and the hole to attach the 3/4" aluminum extrusion to the rod coupler is 1/32" thick. So I will be remaking that today....maybe I can use that as a mini tomato plant stake...it's only 2.75" long...

After this my Z axis is pretty much ready for me to install my router (still in the mail though), and then on to working on the next axis. Does the frame take a long time to build? Those caps that hold the gantry look pretty involved.

I ordered my Transformer on Friday so it should be here after about 1.5 weeks, so I better be ready for my electronics part at that time. I also ordered that Rheostat (speed controller).

I plan on using my Router to make moulds (I still haven't quite figured out why American's spell it "molds", mold is the fuzz, mould is the thing you pour metal/plastic/etc in? Pain in the ass googling stuff.) First I'm going to machine some machinable wax, make a mould for plastic parts. Mostly out of Polyurethane I think. Then I'm going to try laminating some MDF pieces and do some 3D work with that. I'd like to one day use the machinable wax to machine moulds to make female moulds to do metal casting in. That's probably several years down the line when I actually get a house that I can ghetto build a small foundry at. I heard also that Polyurethane foam is fairly easy to cut and keeps good shape. But mostly I think I would like to use my CNC to build another CNC that I design myself...

I'm pretty impressed by CarveOne's 2D router (I think that's what it is). That would make things so much easier to make a second machine...

Still not sure if this machine will be able to cut aluminum, even with the speed control. I'm thinkin' no.

[CarveOne]

That work room is just 9' x 10' and barely has space to move around three sides of the worktable.

Mould or mold? Some of us spell it both ways in the same sentence to just "dispel any ambiguity". Hah! sneaky Americans, eh? The words sound the same and are easy to get mixed up.

The CopyCarver redesign is actually a 3D duplicator. It can reproduce flat 2D plywood parts and with a rotating fixture can duplicate things like propellers, baseball bats, and rifle stocks as you manually rotate the object being used as a "master". The probe on the left side of the fixture is moved methodically over the surface of the master and the router bit follows the probe movements in all three axes. The z axis is limited to about 4" - 5" and moves in an arc. The weight of the y-z assembly (gantry) is counterbalanced so that the probe takes almost no effort to move it around. If you let go of the probe knob it will raise the router upwards until it reaches the limit of travel, thereby preventing gouging your workpiece. The pulleys roll on the x axis conduit very easily also. It doesn't have the accuracy of a cnc table but can duplicate anything pretty well anything that fits within its working envelope.

CarveOne