[Ron Dunn]

You're right, I bought it from DamenCNC, in December 2010.

Shipping was EUR45 for a quoted 6-8 day delivery, but with Christmas it sat somewhere between Customs and Australia Post for a few weeks Not DamenCNC's fault, but something to keep in mind if you order at a busy time.

That Bosch trimmer looks pretty good!

It looks to have a better power switch than the Kress. I really don't like the slide-and-press switch, a simple rocker would be much better for my needs.

[Mr Overkill]

To be honest, I didn't set out to buy the Bosch; it was the best option of the very limited range that Sydney tools had in stock. Compared to the lower end Makitas, the Bosch has an all metal bearing housing that would be stiffer for clamping to a Z axis. It also had a chromed collet compared to a black passivated collet in all the other models I saw - might be less likely to corrode. The collet also had a shaft lock to make bit changes easier.

The Makitas had much larger fans but the bearing support is mostly plastic, which might be more flexible. There are two Makita models with all metal bodies however they are not stock items and the Syd. Tools staff didn't even know they existed. If you ever wanted to use the trimmer off the MV3, the Bosch has a much stronger metal base with micro height adjustment.

I don't have anything to directly compare the noise to, but the Bosch is much quieter compared to my three larger routers; I might not want to run it late at night but its definitely not annoying to work with up close.

The collets in all the laminate trimmers are nowhere near as good as the Kress; they all have a very small cone with a single slot - that would be a problem if your bits were even slightly off 1/4". None of the trimmers had the built-in speed control that the Kress has; that's worth quite a bit if you don't already have an external speed control.

[atwooddon]

Hey John, just wanted to say thank you for the information you have shared here on this thread. I was able to upgrade the Y axis on my machine (not Microcarve) from 5/8" rails to 3/4" rails using your technique for mounting oilite bearings and pvc. Anyway, the upgrade really helped with rigidity and reducing 'bounce' from the Y rails flexing with rapid Z movement and I just wanted to thank you for the information, it sure helped me.

Don

[microcarve]

Hey John, just wanted to say thank you for the information you have shared here on this thread. I was able to upgrade the Y axis on my machine (not Microcarve) from 5/8" rails to 3/4" rails using your technique for mounting oilite bearings and pvc. Anyway, the upgrade really helped with rigidity and reducing 'bounce' from the Y rails flexing with rapid Z movement and I just wanted to thank you for the information, it sure helped me.

Don

Thanks Very Much, Don!



It's always Very Nice to hear that something in these posts is useful to
others.


John

[TrickyCNC]

John

there is a vast amount of useful and diverse information hidden away in this thread.

Maybe you could make an index page with links to specific topics that have been discussed along the way ?

it would make a very useful resource !

just an idea

Rich

[microcarve]

John

there is a vast amount of useful and diverse information hidden away in this thread.

Maybe you could make an index page with links to specific topics that have been discussed along the way ?

it would make a very useful resource !

just an idea

Rich

I've been ...(sorta)...working on that along...

It'd be a lot simpler if I was able to edit a post and add
info as I locate it, but I have to try to gather it up so
I can do it at one time.

I have to dig through myself to refer to pictures and info,
so that's taking lots of time.


John

[TrickyCNC]

I've been ...(sorta)...working on that along...

It'd be a lot simpler if I was able to edit a post and add
info as I locate it, but I have to try to gather it up so
I can do it at one time.

I have to dig through myself to refer to pictures and info,
so that's taking lots of time.


John

yes, I would imagine it would take some time. I enjoyed reading through your threads, I would enjoy having a ref' to the best parts of them too.

Maybe a 'group' project ? so many pages each.

I'd be happy to chip in

Rich

[microcarve]

yes, I would imagine it would take some time. I enjoyed reading through your threads, I would enjoy having a ref' to the best parts of them too.

Maybe a 'group' project ? so many pages each.

I'd be happy to chip in

Rich

I do have a certain trick I use to find stuff. It works pretty well too.

That's to type in Google, "microcarve" "cnczone" and some other word that
should be normally expected in a post that contains info I'm looking for.

Example, "microcarve" "cnczone" and "painting"......(without the quotes)

Then I look on the Google image search results. I usually can locate
whatever post I'm looking for....


There have been so many topics that I forget what's here lots of times.
I wish I had a special award for those who've read the whole thread.
They surely deserve one. And if I ever win the lottery, I'll make sure
they get that reward.


John

[Bubba]

"I wish I had a special award for those who've read the whole thread.
They surely deserve one. And if I ever win the lottery, I'll make sure
they get that reward."

John,
I HAVE won the prize as I have learned a lot from reading this thread from the beginning:}) I also (because of this thread) got some great steppers for my machine!

[dsnellen]

Finally finished!! Thanks John for sharing your knowledge. Back in post #435 you were discussing using Alumilite for anti-backlash nuts. I made a silicon mold of the threads and then cast the nut around this mold instead of around the metal threads. It has worked well for a couple of years now. Heat has never been a problem. Maybe the leadscrew is acting like a heat-sink. A question, when you cast the large blocks of Alumilite, do you use a wood mold or a large silicon mold? Thanks
Dave

[mmonti]

"I wish I had a special award for those who've read the whole thread.
They surely deserve one. And if I ever win the lottery, I'll make sure
they get that reward."

John,
I HAVE won the prize as I have learned a lot from reading this thread from the beginning:}) I also (because of this thread) got some great steppers for my machine!

I read the entire thread, then again piece by piece for maybe a 2nd time. I got an A4 for reading it =)

[microcarve]

Finally finished!! Thanks John for sharing your knowledge. Back in post #435 you were discussing using Alumilite for anti-backlash nuts. I made a silicon mold of the threads and then cast the nut around this mold instead of around the metal threads. It has worked well for a couple of years now. Heat has never been a problem. Maybe the leadscrew is acting like a heat-sink. A question, when you cast the large blocks of Alumilite, do you use a wood mold or a large silicon mold? Thanks
Dave

Thanks!



I have several "trial runs" at making nuts from the urethane. They all do
work well, but I don't trust them quite enough to send them out with
machine kits....Delrin is cheap and reliable. But then sometimes a tap
needs to be made...so again, it's a trade off.

It can say that when the urethane slides against a *well polished*
surface, it holds up extraordinarily well. I use slide plates on my lathe
made from it.

But...any place that's not very smooth can abrade it fairly easily.
That's the same with iron or brass, though. The roller bearings I made
from it work Great and are actually good for fairly low RPM applications.
The ball bearings burnish the material and seat themselves very well.

Molds....

Wood molds are easier than messing around with $$$ silicone rubber,
but as you know, sometimes the rubber is the better choice.
Tupperware type containers also work well. Too bad they don't make
them simply rectangular like they used to. Now they all have space-age
curves and odd shapes that need to be wastefully cut away when
casting something as simple as a plain old block for further machining....

Just wax the heck out of the wood mold so the urethane doesn't stick.


John

[microcarve]

I read the entire thread, then again piece by piece for maybe a 2nd time. I got an A4 for reading it =)

A Very Nice one, too!....


John

[microcarve]

John,
I HAVE won the prize as I have learned a lot from reading this thread from the beginning:}) I also (because of this thread) got some great steppers for my machine!

Thanks Bubba!



I wish I had more of those motors. They're Good ones!


John

[Bubba]

I wish I had more of those motors. They're Good ones!


John

By the way, I found a pdf file of the specs on those motors if you need it.

[microcarve]

By the way, I found a pdf file of the specs on those motors if you need it.

I had one at one time. Best I recall they were about 3V 3A and low induction..
which was what made them great motors....

I only kept 3 out of 20. But I still have plenty more from other places left
over.

I pretty much trust any from Hobbycnc. Kelings 280-381 oz range, and the
yellow motors from Probotix.

I've had some other Good motors. Along with some pretty bad motors.
I was going to sell them with machines at one time was how I ended up
with over 60 motors. Not much profit in motors unless someone buys
pallets of them from China.

BTW...I've yet to see a motor go bad. Bad performance from some, but they
always worked....


John

[mmonti]

A Very Nice one, too!....


John

Thanks! Its a great design to start with. I built it to build parts for my large machine, but I'm having so much fun with it I haven't bothered with those parts.

This was easy and fun to make, I just put some finish lacquer coats on tonight after work, still need to glue in my magnets but its basically done. Its made from 3/4 maple, the finish color was an experiment but I like it.

[gadgetwiz]

That box looks really nice - you've given me some great ideas for making jewelry boxes as gifts. Well done!

[microcarve]

This was easy and fun to make, I just put some finish lacquer coats on tonight after work, still need to glue in my magnets but its basically done. Its made from 3/4 maple, the finish color was an experiment but I like it.

Wow! That's absolutely Beautiful, Mike!!!

Really_Really Nice!


John

[GMS]

Hi John,

I contacted you some time ago (page 96) to have you send a copy of the sides of your machine which you did in your usual expeditious manner.
This has enabled me to have the bulk of the machine constructed.
My focus in the initial build is to use it for light engraving ie circuit boards.
The Z-axis fine tuning is yet to be done, and I have built a high speed spindle inspired by the Wolfgang model which will be fitted with a Makita laminate trimmer 1/4 "collet and nut.
Having some hardware yet to be done means that I have not got to the stage just yet of running any software.
Delivery of the SOC Robotics stepper drivers MK4..MM160 system is just a few days away
Today I downloaded the UBUNTU/EMC2 software today.
Initial playing with it has been very impressive in appearancealong with the wide range of setup choices.
I would like some advice on which setup to choose...I suspect the stepper options will be sensible...any advice you have on this would be appreciated.
I realize that I have burbled on a bit but I know you are interested in what others are doing and I hope that this progress of mine is some interest to you and others.
I intend to detail some of my design ideas to help others as you have done in order to encourage them.

Kind regards
GMS