[JohnnyVegas]

I'm finishing up my electronics now and looking to begin building my CNC soon. This machine will do wood of course, but I would like to experiment with copper and alum. (PICSTEP, 305oz, etc)

I'm sourcing out routers now and looking for any suggestions. I know a spindle is ideal but I don't want to commit to one until I get over any learning curve. Can anyone suggest a nice router for this use? I am ver comfortable with wood working but this would be my first time with any metals. Will a wood router be able to handle Copper/Alum?

I was looking into the variable speed Bosch or Dewalt. Amazon link Any insight would be appreciated. thanks.

[ger21]

I've read that copper can be very difficult, and requires coolant to cut.

Bosch is a good router. I use all Porter Cables. A lot of guys get the Hitachi, which is much cheaper. The Makita is supposed to be pretty good as well. Never used a Dewalt.

[JohnnyVegas]

I do have an older Roybi I no longer use. I considered starting with that if there is not much difference in what I want to do with the machine at first.

Maybe I should just start there and see what happens. I guess I will try and make a fully adjustable latch so I can replace if needed.

[Plan>B]

Great question... as I am also wondering this as well. I am not even close to getting my parts for my build, but would like to know what options there are, as I would like to do maybe aluminum. Model numbers would be helpful for me.