How to turn a 1965 Mustang Convertible into a CNC Router

[jallenmorris]

The title was just to get your attention. This is actually a very simple, two-step process.

1) Sell the 1965 Mustang Convertible

2) Get advice from CNCZone.com on how to spend that money to build a CNC Router.

I've got money burning a hole in my pocket...where to begin, where to begin?

As for size, I want it to be about 4' x 4'. I think I can save a little bit on cost by not going 4' x 8' and smaller should be easier to have more precision. I only plan on cutting wood with this. I like the idea of the 80/20 aluminum for stability. Is it realistic to keep the cost around $1,250? (I didn't say I was spending all the money from the Mustang on the CNC router.

Thanks for any links or advice.

jarod

[the4thseal]

1200 is lite it almost always cost more. much more, it depends on what you bring to the table. In terms of skill and fabrication capacity. Good luck and best wishes.

[jallenmorris]

Not that it matters too much, but i did say $1,250, not 1,200.

How much should I plan on spending on motors alone? Should I go with threaded rod? roller chain?

My main concern is the motors and hardware. I can scavenge a bunch of the rest.

[Geof]

You sold a '65 Mustang convertible and you only have $1250.00????

Either it was in really bad condition, or someone took advantage of you.

[Boots]

So ok you got your table/router bed going for $1250.00. Now what about spindle? I would suggest $5,000.00 range for a good one. Hope you did get alot for that Mustang you're gonna need it. Oh yeah I forgot you'll need lots of $$$ for headache meds also. comes with the territory.

[jallenmorris]

I never said $1,250 was ALL I got for the car. This is what I was going to spend on the router. $5,000 is way too high for a "good" router. Tons of people agree that you can build an all-metal MechMate for $2500 - $3500. Besides, I'm not going to use this for a professional shop, so I don't need all of the benefits that would come with spending $5,000 on one. I think sometimes people spend way more than they need to on stuff (even other than a router) and they think it's better quality but really, it's either not better quality or the quality improvements are not worth the extra money.