[Devastator]

I installed a damper on the X and got her running 100 ipm nice and smooth.

That's great news. Gerry was right on the money. I'm not running dampers on my X or Y, but like Ger said, every machine is different. Kinda weird that it just showed up after four years of carving though. I'd check all of your nuts and bolts for good measure too. Wood shrinks as it dries. I found some of the big bolts on the ends of my gantry plates were really loose after a year. Any vibration in the machine can cause the motors to resonate at certain RPM's.

I've updated my build thread with photos of my X gantry bearing mounts that you requested.

[ger21]

Also, make sure you oil or lubricate the screws. I use pneumatic tool oil on mine.
Oiling the screws can give you maybe 20-30% more speed. Provided you keep them oiled.

[mlk1950]

Also, make sure you oil or lubricate the screws. I use pneumatic tool oil on mine.
Oiling the screws can give you maybe 20-30% more speed. Provided you keep them oiled.

Doesn't your screws collect alot of saw dust using oil? What I have been using is a dry bicycle lubricant. Seems to work pretty good. I might try some of my nail gun oil to see if it's better.

[ger21]

Doesn't your screws collect a lot of saw dust using oil?

No, I have a good dust shoe that contains the majority of dust, so they get almost no dust on them.
Also, the oil is very light. I put a few drops along the screw, and run the axis back and forth a few times, then lightly wipe the screw with a rag.
The oil is much slipperier than any dry lubricants.

[Devastator]

The oil is much slipperier than any dry lubricants.

Agreed, especially graphite. Graphite is actually abrasive. I machine graphite rocket motor nozzles and the ways of my lathe get a lot of wear and tear from the dust.

On my leadscrews I use CRC 3-36. It leaves a thin long lasting film.

[mlk1950]

That's my next project, a dust shoe or at least strap a dust vac hose to the side of the router. I'll have to give the CRC 3-36 a try.

[mlk1950]

Still working on my machine. Just bought a new Bosch 2 1/4 horse router and am working on a new router mount. I'm making that out billet aluminum. I'll post some pics when I get it done.

[Devastator]

Just bought a new Bosch 2 1/4 horse router and am working on a new router mount.

What model router did you get? Mine is a 1617EVS. I like it except for the lower bearing. That bearing is not rated for the higher RPM's that the router is capable of. Needless to say, it eats bearings if you run it frequently at high RPM. I'm now changing bearings every three months. As soon as I hear any noise at all they are out of there. I learned after the first time not to ignore it because bearings are cheaper than broken bits.

[mlk1950]

Mine is the same router. You would think they would upgrade that bearing, because they have to be getting some complaints about that. Does it need a bigger or just a better bearing on the low end? If better, you should be able to take the old bearing to a bearing supplier and get an upgrade.
Found this some where else. it's about the lower bearing on the 1617EVS:
Lower Bearing
42mm (W) x 12 mm (H) x 20 mm (ID) – 6004-2RS, MOS. Opinion from some folks who work in the bearing industry indicates that there are perhaps other options available. A good choice would be a bearing from Motion Industries, Applied, or Kaman which are the 3 biggest distributors in the US. You can go to Motion for example and enter 6004 2RS (RS means rubber seal) and select SKF and see the choices. C3 is the most common clearance available and probably what the router uses (I will be ordering one to try out next time). SKF is Motion’s premium supplier and the better quality is reported to be worth the price ($33.55 vice $5.41 for the Bosch factory replacement bearing).

[mlk1950]

What do you use for your CNC bed? Until now I have just been using MDF. Now I'm looking at SlatWall with the aluminum inserts. Just curious what is the best thing to use.

[Devastator]

What do you use for your CNC bed? Until now I have just been using MDF. Now I'm looking at SlatWall with the aluminum inserts. Just curious what is the best thing to use.

MDF with your own inserts, or instead of inserts I just take aircraft ply scraps for clamps and drywall screw right into the MDF. After I do this however, it leaves a pucker sticking up where the screw went in, so I knock those down with a scraper before putting anything else on the table. I used to worry about putting screws into the MDF but considering it is a spoil board and you replace it occasionally, I don't worry about screwing it up.

Don't use the slat wall with aluminum channel. I tried that. It doesn't work well. The channels are L shaped rather than T's. Plus you'd need to attach your spoil board to that which would not be very stable. I just screw the MDF spoil board directly to my torsion box table and surface it flat. Make sure to put your screws deep so you don't hit any during your surfacing, or later during cutting parts.

[mlk1950]

Thanks, I was wondering how the Slat Wall would work. Guess I'll just keep using the MDF. Seems to work alright, as I was just looking for a better way.The Slat Wall and inserts were kinda pricey anyway.

[Devastator]

The Slat Wall and inserts were kinda pricey anyway.

I found a bunch of it on craigslist for $15 a sheet. Tried it on my table when first built. Worked like crap and the aluminum channel inserts got all bent up.