Ultimate resource challenge

[camfambmw5]

Ultamate resource chalange
I have been a member for only a couple of weeks, and let me tell ya, If my MBA was this informative I would be running the NYSE and Grasso would be working for me.

Now I have come to the conclusion that building qa nice router table is merely a matter of a few things
1) a nice supply of metal
2) the obvious steeper motor, spare pc, controllers, lead screws, bla, bla, bla.

I in no way am trying to trivialize the fantastic work I have been seeing from many of you miracle workers out there (rmtucker’s recent barrage of excellent photos comes to mind……quite impressive Mark).

I think the next step for me is to pose the question to all fellow enthusiasts. Where do each and every one of you recommend getting “ALL” of the necessary parts…if each of you recommend a part and a distributor, I will combine all of the data into a spreadsheet and post the results with Number of votes, prices, part numbers and what ever other information I can gather. Now we have to be careful here. Rmtucker is an example of a supplier that would not really qualify…he gets the work done where he works (great for you Mark, but…well you get the point). I don’t think I can just stop by and ask to use his boss’s milling equipment. Or “I got mine on e-bay”, that won’t qualify either…hardly a source that one can count on turning to (as a rule of thumb). So let’s here it guys (and gals) “I got My widget at Spacely Sprockets for $100 bucks” and 2 Cogs from, you guessed it “Cogswell Cogs for a grand total of $12.50 bucks

The challenge is on. I’ll tabulate all data I get. I’ll even (if you supply the web address) try to supply current prices and part numbers for all current and future CNCZONE members.

John Cameron

[chuckknigh]

MDF and various other structural materials, Home Depot and Lowes. If you get it out of the scrap bin, you can negotiate your own price...otherwise, retail for a full sheet of 3/4" MDF runs in the neighborhood of $20.

Allthread rod, best buys were at Lowes and Tractor Supply, Corp. Price depends on what size/pitch you want.

ACME rod, best buys are at McMaster and Enco.

Ballscrews, if you can't get them surplus on eBay (VERY common item on eBay) you can buy them from BSC. (I think that's right...)

Stepper motors, scrounged from tech surplus. HP LaserJet printers are available at almost all local thrift/resale shops for around $5 each. If you shop around, you can get a better buy -- I paid $0.40 for my last one.

-- Chuck Knight

[samualt]

camfambmw5:
I think first you need to design a machine. It is hard to build one otherwise. And don't count-out ebay. I bought all my THK rails there. It was as if a huge weight was lifted from me...mostly from my wallet! LOL. Also, every machine will be different. Mine doesn't use long ball/acme screws, but instead rack and pinion. Some people build out of wood, others aluminum, some use plastic or steel. Everyone is going to want something different.

See "Router Parts" on My CNC Router Links. I threw that page up for a friend. It is really just my Netscape bookmarks for CNC.

[duluthboat]

Here is a good source for many of the things you will need.

http://www.reidtool.com/

Gary

[Verboten]

Hello!

If you haven't looked at McMaster-Carr, you should. They have an excellent site and online catalog and it is getting better all the time. Plus, extremely fast shipping and no-hassle online ordering. It is a good reference when you're looking for what is available, even if you wont be ordering from them.

I tried to order some stuff online from Enco on two occasions, I have never heard back from them after emails asking about my "purchase" (just take a look at there FAQ - they have no idea where my order went, not to mention my address and credit card info). They do list low prices, but it just isn't worth it IMO.

[NeoMoses]

McMaster Carr (www.mcmaster.com) is a great resource for LOTS of hardware. They have almost everything there, but sometimes they're a little bit pricey.

www.use-enco.com has a lot of tools, too. However, I've found a lot of their enco brand tooling is of low quality.

www.newegg.com is by far the best place to buy computer parts. They are quite possibly the best online retailer I've ever dealt with, even when compared with McMaster.

www.geckodrives.com - great little drivers. 'nuff said

www.seanet.com/~dmauch Dan sells some good products as well. Slightly pricey, but a good person to deal with.

www.mpja.com - great resource for electronics.

www.all-electronics.com - ditto.

www.onlinemetals.com - a good supplier for small quantities of metal.

[CNCadmin]

http://www.wmberg.com/index.htm

[NeoMoses]

Here's a bump and a couple more suppliers:

www.digikey.com - 'nother good place to buy electronics, such as toroidal transformers.

Also, I'd like to see this thread "sticky'ed" since it's a pretty useful thread. Anyone else think so?

[balsaman]

Done.

Eric

[camfambmw5]

Sorry for my ignorance, but, what is "sticky'ed". It sounds like a good thing (don't read into this ;-) but, how does it work and how does one use it??

thanks

[ToyMaker]

Don't we already have a "links" forum that was created specifically for the kind of items that appear in this thread?

robotic regards,

Tom

[NeoMoses]

See how when you go to the CNC Wood Router Tables and Home-Made CNC Wood Routers forum, this thread appears at the top of the list, with "Sticky:" in front of it? That means that it'll stay at the top of the page, so all who come to this forum will always see it.

It's generally a good idea to keep "Sticky" threads clean, as they tend to become quite long (hundreds of posts) if they contain good information.

My advice to you would be to edit the original post to contain all of the suppliers that each person links to. Ideally, you could group them such as:
Electronics
XXX
YYY
ZZZ

Leadscrews and Slides
AAA
BBB
CCC....

or however you best see fit. Basically, this thread will become a good reference for anyone wanting to build their own machines.