I have a new-to-me Burly model. As you can see in this picture, the bottom of the spindle is quite low compared to the bottom of the Z-tubes. This means that if I raise the spindle even a couple of inches the carriage will go off the rails. Is it reasonable to see if I can shift the tubes down relative to the spindle (there is plenty of room at the top) to end closer to where the spindle collet ends?
You should be able to move that gray tool clamp up on the mounting plate. There are 5 holes on either side of the red plate that will allow you to position the tool mount higher. If it was built to spec there will be glued-in captive nuts behind the holes in the plate.
In my opinion, having the bottom of the router nut at the same level as the bottom of the tubes is ideal. This is the way the mounts Ryan designed work for the common routers, and this placement gives you the maximum amount of working space within the build. You cannot always achieve an ideal placement with mounts designed by 3rd parties (usually from Thingiverse) for uncommon MPCNC routers/spindles.
Looking at this from a different angle I think I may have to at the least try swapping the orientation of the top grey brace as if I shift the bottom one up a hole or two the top won’t be able to connect to the orange piece.
Sounds like a good idea! If the cross section shape is symmetrical, then you could turn the top brace 180 degrees and earn one or two holes in heigth, did I understand you correctly? If not - are there other fitting mounts that might position the spindle at a higher position?
Yes that’s what I’m thinking. But I also need to understand why the orange plate is connected so low along the tubes (I haven’t dared take it apart for fear of humpty dumptying it
The bottom of the tool mount plate supposed to flush with the pipes. I think it’s this specific spindle mount which is made in a way that makes the spindle pointing too low
If the trim ring at the end of the black part of the rotary tool unscrews (like on a Dremel), you may find a mount similar to https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1594625 or that has that thread built-in and would allow the tool to ride higher on the Z axis useful. The one I found is for the pre-Burly 525 model. I don’t know how close the tool mounts are between those two models.
