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I have the same motor/gearbox combo and have nothing like what you are describing. Are you sure the lock screw is fully engaged on the shaft? Almost sounds like a loose pinion gear to me.

In 7 years I've had three spoil board fires. Thankfully all caught very quickly since we keep the machine manned when it's running. Two fires in MDF one in plywood. Two caused by metallic trash (and...

Do you have vacuum hold down?

I've done this before with similar material. Just use a down spiral single flute polished O flute tool. Make sure it's designed for soft plastic. Cuts like a charm...

"Requirements for all include steady history, ability to think ahead, reliability, self motivation, communication, and the ability to learn and follow company guidelines and methods."

You want...

Ask Onsrud who your nearest dealer is. Mine often just drops by with mine and drops them off. Get a good discount as well.

We use up our old 1/4" downspirals for the job. The plastic laminate is going to eat up carbide pretty fast no matter whose magic tool you use. Longest life is with max inch per second and lowest...

We cut 4x8x.75 sheets into small parts all day! Usually upwards of 40 parts but some jobs we cut 60. Steve M is on the right track for our tactics. We pull the sheet off whole onto an outfeed table...

I have done something similar by covering MDF with vertical grade laminate that matches the rest of the melamine.

You can carve the MDF much better and smoother. Prime and paint with any good...

I'm a veteran of a couple of spoil board fires. Got a big co2 extinguisher at the table and some dry chems spread around my shop.

If it started in the shop vac I'm thinking it might have been a...

I agree that the helix angle is probably the same but the actual "angle of attack" at the cutting edge will be different due to secondary grinds or differences in the gullet in many tools. Plain ol'...

Brady, have to disagree with you on the geometry of tooling! An end mill for metal usually has a different edge angle than a tool designed for cutting wood or plastics (which each have their own...

High Jeff,
greetings from a former reef keeper. Like your stuff! You should have no trouble with the acrylic. I've cut lots of it up to 1.5". Half inch will give you good results with proper...

I'm using a Picza, slow but very accurate and the price was right.

Do not bet on any one set of specs carries over to another model! It's best to contact the spindle manufacturer or one of their reps and get a specific spec. I run a 5hp Colombo and just getting a...

Don't forget your vacuum filter!

You know, thinking back to when my machine ran PRT controls I think we decided that 2.1 inches/sec was about the most dependable speed when through cutting 3/4" stock without loosing position.

The need for a changer should be based on the work being done. I now have over 200,000 parts cut on my 'bot and see no need for a tool changer for the work that I do. A great deal can be accomplished...

Also consider tool sharpness. If your tool isn't razor sharp then when you're cutting harder materials you're just introducing more flex because it's "pushing" harder to make the cut.

Hmmmm, I'm very familiar with big iron like Komo, FlexiCam, etc. Don't know of any operators worth their salt that take that approach. Most base their speeds on chip load, hold down issues and...

Bruce, with his machine he can not feed fast enough to get anywhere near a proper chip load at 18,000 rpm. Most spindles on Shopbots can't turn any higher than that either. There's no point to a...

I use the same type pump as Roger. Ditto on the remarks. It's not just inches of mercury but volume that matters. A 1hp pump just cant move enough volume. I consider a 15 hp regen or 10 hp vane pump...

"Now I'm trying 10,000 rpm."

Onsrud likes to see about a .016 to 018 chip load per cutter in laminated particle board per their factory tables. To do that at the speed you're feeding you would...

Is it a single flute or two flute cutter?

The number of sheets you cut per tool is purely a question of the inches of cut per sheet and chip loading. There are also some tricks like ripple cutting that will extend the life more. I've cut...

Nathan, I have a 'bot that is 6 years old, has been upgraded at least three times I can think of and runs a lot, I mean a whole lot. The frame has passed the 200,000 parts mark and I'm on my second...