How does a router measure up to a spindle?

[myxpykalix]

Scott,
Did this yesterday while my other was here and held a pleasant conversation while it was cutting the cats.

Now that's a new use for the Shopbot i'd never thought of

I've used the router for 7 years and only until you get up into the 21,000rpm does it sound like it's screaming. Like others have said you buy a quiet spindle but put a loud dust collector in there and it defeats the purpose. But even then when you shut the shop doors and get 10 feet away it is just a dull hum you hear.

I would say a majority of what i do is 3d work that takes hours of cutting usually with small bits making only small amounts of sawdust. A majority of the time i don't even use the dust collection because i have the wireless camera setup to a side monitor and just watch it work while i'm inside watching football (DA..BEARS!)

What it comes down to is your budget and how meticulous you are. The spindle takes more maintanance and care in operation and a router you just turn on and go.

[scottp55]

Jack, Twisted, just twisted. Everyone knows you use a low angle skew plane for cat sushi. But did my attention to"my other" when I meant my mother. One other thing , my stray cat would NOT come into the shop when running the shopvac or Delta 3/4hp DC. Since we got the Fein, if I'm using small bits she'll come in and sleep on the small workbench. Jack, my Dad has no use for cats either, yet his wife and her cat run the joint(he just pays the rent and lives there by their grace).
Dad, has two hearing aids from running his old CNC shop(heavy iron) and he wasn't even running the floor, he regrets not using hearing protection.

[Xray]

Router Vs Spindle...

Noise. It isn't how loud it is, it is the frequency of the noise. Porter Cables make that horrific whine, that really gets to you after listening to it for hours. Very annoying.

The air cooled Asian spindles are the same or just a little more than a 7518...and PC sold out, and manufactures them in China anyway - so do the math.

-B

True, hard to get away from chinese manufacture of anything, unfortunately ,,, But an outfit like PC would generally have far better quality control/support than a chinese branded tool. I have read enough horror stories to keep me away if I ever go with a spindle, I'm sure there are success stories as well. But they are cheap for a reason, and that is poor quality, materials & support.
To me, the cost of even the cheap ones does not justify their use for what I do, and its noise of operation never bothered me even slightly, in fact I can hardly even hear it over the whine of my shop vac. Too, I do alot of etching with a drag bit, and those don't require the router to even be turned on.

[shilala]

The only thing I can add, and excuse me if someone has already mentioned it...
I use 1/4" shank 1/16" ballnose endmills in my BT-48/router all the time. I like to do lots of very intricate 3d models, and use the bits to clean up and make things sharper.
It works fabulously.

[wespor]

The only thing I can add, and excuse me if someone has already mentioned it...
I use 1/4" shank 1/16" ballnose endmills in my BT-48/router all the time. I like to do lots of very intricate 3d models, and use the bits to clean up and make things sharper.
It works fabulously.

Good to know! Scott Plaisted did this test cut for me on his Desktop, do you think your Buddy is capable of the same detailed relief?

testcut.jpg

For reference, this was the original stamp he was duplicating. It's a boring stamp but I need the ability to emboss typography that small.

teststamp.jpg

[Joe Porter]

Weston, you can always go down in size with the table on the Buddy. If I am doing 3d work, I use a small aluminum table that concentrates the work in the center of the X axis and lightens up the strain on the X motor. If I need to cut cabinet size pieces, I slide out the small table and put in a longer Power Stick and can cut up to 8' in one go. You probably can't do this with a Desk Top. Life is full of compromise, but at least you are shopping at the right place...By the way, and I hate mentioning this, but have you considered a 4X4 fixed table machine? More money still, but we are still in the talking stage...joe

[paul_z]

I use a PC router but would also use a spindle if I had one. A FYI - using a precise bits collet, I use bits as small as 0.030" on the router (with a slow ZZero routine). The only time that I broke one of the 0.030" bits is when I dropped it on the floor.

Paul Z

[rb99]

It would be nice to be able to use both. The spindle is great for when you need it, but the warm up time is a little annoying compared to the instant on of the Porter Cable.

[scottp55]

My shop is a mess, usually those nine minutes once a day is the only time I get to clean.

[shilala]

Good to know! Scott Plaisted did this test cut for me on his Desktop, do you think your Buddy is capable of the same detailed relief?

Absolutely. I create detailed lettering like that all the time.
You can make the angled sides at any degree you like, for even more strength to the letters. You can flatten the tops, or even flatten them and inset them so your letters looked like they were line drawn.
The options are endless.

Someone mentioned their smaller table...
Probably the single most important thing is making a nice, solid table that won't warp or go goofy on you. I used two pieces of 3/4" Baltic birch plywood, screwed, glued, stained and painted. I resurface it whenever I think I need it.
I used to work from the center of the table to avoid any trouble. Don't need to anymore. I added some raised edges to the side of my table and they converge right at 0, 0. I just slap my wood (or whatever) in the corner, screw it down, and go crazy.
I mic my wood's dimensions prior to starting, put those measurements into Aspire before I cut, and I get perfect flip operations every time.
I'm rambling, but I get excited about what the Bot can do. It is simply amazing. It takes a little bit of doing to get everything perfect, but once you do, it's clear sailing.
Good Luck, my brother!!!