The time has come for me. After way too long of a research I pulled the trigger on the order for the first parts. It is just screws but it makes me quite exited. My biggest hazzle was to find the right spindle since I didn’t want to buy a clone or a china spindle as my first one. Because I thought if something is wrong with them I would never find out because I lack the experience. (That is also why I go with the standard build volume of 600x600x7) So I thought my only option is the Kress with the hefty price of 250€. But now I found this one from Makita and on paper it looks alot like the Dewalt 660 and can also be found for about 60€.
Makita 3709. (Can’t include a link)
It has 530 W, the Dewalt has 550 W, the rpm are similar and so is the build size. Also I like Makita, they build great power tools. Has anyone of you already used this? I think this one fits even better than the RT0700 and is only half the price.
There are adapters/inserts that can convert 6mm to 3mm or 1/8". They are not recommended though, since they can add wobble to the spindle. I got one of those from Aliexpress, and will try them out and see if they suffice.
Yeah, I am also worried about the wobble. I guess for the beginning 6mm endmills is all I will use and if I get the hang with them, I will see what my options are.
Would be awesome if you could report back with your experience.
FWIW I ended up getting a Bosch, and picking up a collet from http://www.elairecorp.com/
They are more expensive than the aliexpress ones, but they’re just as good as OEM so no worries about wobble. They make various sizes for most brands of routers.
I also found these here. I heard good things from Sorotec and also plan to source end mills from them. Also 9€ doesn’t seem alot to me and their endmills are also priced within reason.
Also on my part printing comes along well, the table is finished and I gotta say the Makita router already payed off. Even if I won’t use it in the MPCNC for long, it is a great machine to smooth out corners and I love it. But first I gotta save up some more. This project develops into a bigger money drain than I expected. I need a table therefore I need (want) a circular saw, but I can only work in the evening when it is dark so I need a proper light and a cable roll because there is no plug around. It just goes on and on :D. So far this turned into a huge justification to buy more and more tools.
I actually sold my gaming pc to upgrade to a better 3d printer - I don’t regret it at all. It’s much better for my mental health to play with tinkering and creating stuff, than vegetating in front of a screen. The new obession on the other hand - is like you say, needing more tools to make things so that the machine can machine the parts for new machines - and so on and so on… a real life game for grown-ups!
When I met my wife I was studying stage management and technical theater with access to a fully equipped scene shop. One of the first gifts I gave her was to solve an ergonomic issue with her desk that I threw together in a few minutes in that shop.
A couple of years later, after graduating, we were watching New Yankee Workshop , and she said “Why don’t you make that sort of stuff for me anymore?” and I said “Okay, let’s estimate the cost of each tool he uses to get that done.” I went the Stage Management rather than tech carpenter path, so didn’t have shop access anymore.
Been equipping my home shop for a while now, and with the exception of a couple of uni-taskers (can’t justify a standalone mortiser or dedicated pocket screw cutting table) and settling for home-size rather than industrial capacity (little bandsaw rather than resawing monster), I think I could probably pull off most of Norm’s projects. Then again, he didn’t have a K40 laser “engraver” or 3D printer to play with. MPCNC is next on my “play” list.
