Review - Mr.Beaver's Eccentrics

I got a set of Luke’s new eccentric nuts, and thought I would post a note about them.
The basics:

  1. They are a direct replacement for the eccentrics in the shapeoko 3.
  2. They require a 9mm wrench to adjust, instead of a 8mm wrench like the originals.
  3. They go all the way through the plate, instead of just a little bit like the originals. This should make them much more secure.
  4. They are nicely made, and marked with a machined dot on the “Wide” side. This is handy in those spots where you can’t see them end on and are trying to adjust.
  5. They’re pretty inexpensive (about $13 US), and took about a week to arrive at my location from the UK.

Installing them is pretty easy, remove the wheels with eccentrics, push the eccentric out of the hole if it doesn’t come out by itself. Put the wheel/shim back in place, and thread the screw into the eccentric. Line the eccentric up with the hole in the plate and which holding the eccentric with a wrench, tighten the screw. If you’re careful, you can do all this with the carriage plate still on the machine. Do be careful not to lose the shim, it’s necessary for the spacing to all be proper and not bind.

Then, go through the normal process of adjusting the eccentrics.

Coupled with a tougher wheel, you should be able to put considerably more clamping force between the wheels, and that should stiffen up the axis somewhat.

After running a couple small jobs, and tramming the system back up after the installation, it appears that these are holding position better. They are certainly much more robust than the originals. For the cost, they’re a worthy upgrade for me.

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@mikep thanks for the review! I’m very glad they got there and you’re happy with them.

As a note, 2 of these little fellas ship with every HDZ sold from a few weeks ago. I’ve decided not to use any of the old eccentric nuts as I feel these are better :smiley:

I presume I could replace the existing eccentrics on my S3 with these. I may have overtightened a couple of mine and intend to back them off but worried that they may actually unscrew…instructions say not to turn anticlockwise. If they do come lose that would be the best time to replace them.

Is that price $US13 for one or a set?

Yep they can be used to replace all the eccentric nuts on your machine. 8 on a standard S3. These are sold in sets of 6 or 8 not 13 for one :joy:

They’re pressed in place, turning them backwards can loosen the screw holding the wheel on. If you don’t have a wrench in the screw, turning to the right will not tighten or loosen the screw if it’s already tight.

Great. I am about to set up my machine and I will see how things go. I’ll probably buy a set of Lukes eccentric nuts and fit them later as I am keen to get thing up and running. Its been a lengthy process to do the assembly since I had to make the wasteboard and the first one turned out too small. My fault for not thinking things through.

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