How to mount spindle horizontally

[Jasono]

Hello,

I'm wondering if anyone has ever tried mounting a spindle/router horizontally on their ShopBot. I'm thinking if it were possible, I could build an auxilary table at the end of the machine, and have a CNC tenoning machine. I just did 3600 tenons manually on a JDS Multirouter, and I think it would be nice to setup something on a ShopBot. Just wondering if anyone has any ideas on how this could be done.

-Jason

[oddcoach]

take a look at this thread
http://www.talkshopbot.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5012

[beacon14]

I've done it both ways,mounting the router horizontally and hanging the workpiece off the edge. Look at the last photo in this blog entry (http://www.shopbotblog.com/index.php/2010/09/machining-solid-wood-mortises/). Doesn't work real well for long pieces unless you can dig a hole in the floor.

Mounting horizontally worked but I think I lost a little rigidity with the router all the way across the gantry from the Y motor.
10757

On this one I mounted the router inboard and it worked pretty well.
10758

[rhfurniture]

If you have a prt I put a Kress spindle horizontally on mine (a benchtop) and it works very well - though you have to be a bit clever at dealing with the software.

[Jasono]

Thats just the sort of thing I was looking for, I hadn't thought of mounting it behind the main spindle. Did you have any problems with rigidity?

[rhfurniture]

No, it is very good - I use it for round end tenoning, hole boring, detailing it etc. I have to say however that I have seriously beefed up my shopbot, including the Z axis and adding another motor to the gantry carriage, which has improved rigidity throughout no-end. If you want it I can look out my dwg for the aluminium bracket which I cut from 10mm plate. A major issue was to make sure that the spindle/router was short enough not to interfere with the regular usage - I think 220mm was my limit and I had to hacksaw the top plastic off the kress - though it is easy enough to take out of the bracket......

R.

[Jasono]

Ralph, thanks for the offer, but I think I'll have to make it a little different for my machine, and for my application, but I'll probably use the same basic idea.

I think I might make a new dust foot at the same time, and attach it to the horizontal spindle mount.

Thanks for sharing the pics too.

Jason

[widgetworks_unlimited]

ShopBot showed off a new 5-axis head they're working on at IWF.

With your volumes, it might be a great upgrade to your machine.