[leweekend]

I had a router bit which was out of balance damage my router table the other week. Whilst thinking about building a new table, I though about using a 2.2kw spindle from eBay. Would there be any issue with mounting these on the underside of a table? My idea was to control the rise and fall using a stepper motor.

[ger21]

You mean for a manual router table? Yes, you can use a spindle.

[leweekend]

You mean for a manual router table? Yes, you can use a spindle.

Yes. The reason I ask is that it does not seem to be a popular choice.

[Bob La Londe]

A manual router table with a 3 phase variable controlled Chinese spindle with a stepper drive for raising and lowering the spindle? I like it. As long as it can be raised high enough to change bits above the table. You can get very good speed control with a setup like that.

[ger21]

Yes. The reason I ask is that it does not seem to be a popular choice.

Probably because there's no off the shelf mounting method or router lift that will fit one.

[jfong]

A decent 2+ hp woodworking router is almost the cost of a 2.2kw spindle. Might as well spend the extra for a much better spindle. I would do the same for my woodshop but I don't have 220v in the room. Next wave automation had a stepper controlled router table but is very expensive. You can do the same with a arduino for much cheaper.

I have a 2.2kw water cooled spindle on my gantry CNC. It lives next to the fuse box so it was easy to wire up a 220V outlet. It's really much nicer than my big Porter cable router I use in the router table.

[leweekend]

I am in the UK, my options for1/2 in fixed base routers are limited. Plunge routers are fine, but they impede the ability to change the bit from above - which can be a pain.

[wizard]

Yes. The reason I ask is that it does not seem to be a popular choice.

My router table has been around for a long time now and it isn't ready for a rebuild yet. However I have thought about doing as you describe. As others have pointed out their isn't a massive difference in costs and you do get some advantages with that slight increase in cost. The obvious thing here is that you need to engineer a new mount for the spindle and you need to build a control panel of some sort if you want the automation. If you don't want the automation you could go with a totally enclosed VFD to eliminate the need for a control panel.

However if it was me, I'd go with a nicely sized control panel in which you can add your automation along with the spindle drive. You can accomplish the "CNC'ing" of the machine with a cheap Arduino and a decent stepper drive. Do make sure the stepper is large enough to hold the spindle in place under load though. Arduino should be powerful enough to allow you to do an electronic fence in the future. Actually this is pretty certain as all you really need to do is move the axis into the selected positions, there is no dynamic movements involved. Even so I'd probably go with GRBL for the CNC software.

No matter what you use for control software, on the Arduino, you will need to come up with an interface for that software. If you go GRBL there are some CNC interfaces already in existence but more oriented towards 3 axis machines. In the long run you will likely want to craft your own simple interface that is rugged enough to sit right at the machine.

In a nutshell you have a good idea here. Success does require some trailblazing engineering but there is nothing out of the ordinary here, there just aren't a lot of examples out there.

[wizard]

I am in the UK, my options for1/2 in fixed base routers are limited. Plunge routers are fine, but they impede the ability to change the bit from above - which can be a pain.

If that is the case you have three choices:

1. Go the Chinese spindle approach you asked about.
2. Change the mother hen regulations in Europe that deprive you of the simplest tools.
3. Move to North America and build whatever you want.

Item one is the cheapest solution, item 2 is next to impossible and 3 is a bit expensive.

Most of the router table built in the USA use the motor out of a fixed base router in part due to the inexpensive nature of the motors and maybe to a bigger degree due to all the differing approaches to mounting said motor in a router table. There are probably more than a dozen commercial mounting solutions and probably hundreds of DIY approaches on the net. This probably explains why we don't see many Chinese spindle motor builds, it's pure inertia due to all the pre-existing solutions.

This inertia is one reason why I'd like to see you go forward with this project. Sometimes you just need the inventiveness of somebody saying why not to get people to consider an alternative.

[leweekend]

Thanks Wizard, I might put some time into this over the winter months and see what can be done.

[woody2shoes]

Hi Leweekend any update on how you got on or any advice from anyone else, having a spindle in a router table sounds like a good idea.

[louieatienza]

I wonder if you could just get a undermount lift from Woodpeckers, or JessEm, and make a custom collar, and mount a stepper to that? I have a Woodpeckers PRL version 1 with 2 32tpi screws chain driven, but maybe I'd swap sprockets for timing belts...

[woody2shoes]

Thanks louieatienza, being a total novice to this what is a stepper?

The American lifts are great but our issue in Europe is finding a round bodied router to fit them.

Our standard plunge routers are just plugged into the 240V 50 Hz domestic supply and any variable speed control is on the router.

If I can find a spindle to fit an American lift (which look like bigger diameter's than spindles) do I also need to buy a control box to run it through with the variable speed control built in? Will the spindle be able to handle large diameter panel raiser bits, it looks like most spindles I see have very small bits in them.

[louieatienza]

Thanks louieatienza, being a total novice to this what is a stepper?

The American lifts are great but our issue in Europe is finding a round bodied router to fit them.

Our standard plunge routers are just plugged into the 240V 50 Hz domestic supply and any variable speed control is on the router.

If I can find a spindle to fit an American lift (which look like bigger diameter's than spindles) do I also need to buy a control box to run it through with the variable speed control built in? Will the spindle be able to handle large diameter panel raiser bits, it looks like most spindles I see have very small bits in them.

Sorry tough to get all my thoughts in with a phone. The bearings on these spindles are better than that of a router. So larger tools should be able to work.

What I intended to say was that you can purchase a ready made lift, then get the spindle, you may need a custom collar to hold it on the lift clamp. Then a stepper motor can be attached to the screw mechanism to raise or lower the lift.

The spindle has a VFD which should be able to run on 240/50, see your supplier....

[Robert M]

Gerry (GER21), since.....over 2½ yrs....have seen or heard of one try this ?!
Laer, Robert

[ger21]

Just looked, and didn't see any...

[Robert M]

same here....been web surtching this past...min hr....ans nada !?!
Humm...a though one would have given a try !
I know I will, just only in a few mo, to much to do at this point, but, will give new so it may inspire other @_# !
Cheers....and enjoy a nice W.E. !

[woody2shoes]

Since the original thread I have purchased a router with a remote variable speed that is just plug and play, it fitted straight into my router lift and I have been using it for over a year and very happy with it.

https://woodworkersworkshop.co.uk/pr...r-and-nvr-240v