For wood in a mill do I bolt a router to side or increase spindle rpm?

[slashmaster]

I want to mill wood in my X3. I already know that the 2000 rpm it puts out will not give the best results. My question is should I get a timing belt conversion that will give me a lot more rpm or do I get a router and bolt it to the side of the head somehow?

[Bowman]

I would opt for the router motor mounted to the spindle head versus trying to jack up your spindle speed. Odds are your spindle is only rated for slightly more rpm's than it is designed to run under so trying to overload that speed could fry them quick.

The router will give you a lot more rpm which is much better for wood cutting and if you look around you can find one that stripped down does not stick out to far loosing you travel distance. You will want it mounted as close to flush to the mill head as possible..

Good luck..


Bo

[John Welden]

Use a laminate trimmer instead of a full size router.

[slashmaster]

Use a laminate trimmer instead of a full size router.

So a Full size router is too big? Is a dremel too small?

[steve323]

So a Full size router is too big? Is a dremel too small?

Dremel's have really poor bearings and a lot of runout. They won't last very long.

I don't see anything horribly wrong with using a full size router. They will definately have enough power at the cost of more weight and noise.

I am very happy with the Bosch Colt laminate trimmer in my CNC router. It has enough power for my needs and is very quiet. I usually cut at around 1/2 of the max RPM. It comes with a 1/4" collet and you can now get 1/8" collets for it at http://www.precicebits.com

Steve