I hope it helps to narrow down your decision if your going to buy one.
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Nice comparison. I have been thinking about switching to a spindle. I have the Pro which only supports the 65 but good to see the differences in capability.
That router table I see in the background looks like the Norm Abram’s design. I built one of those 20ish years ago which I still use. I had to add some dust collection on the back of the fence because the below table port was not sufficient.
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Thank you! I’m glad you liked the test. So I built that router table about 15 years ago and it does have the dust port on the fence but it’s worthless. I should have boxed in the bottom cause that’s where all the dust ends up. But my porter cable 7518 is on the fritz, speed keeps fluctuating so I think I’m going to replace all of it and get the 2hp Grizzly shaper, more reliable.
Interesting. Mine had the dust port on the bottom and I added the one to the top because more was accumulating up there. I bet more goes through that port on the fence than you think. Mine has a large V behind the fence with plexiglass on top and the dust port is there.
I had an issue some time back with my Porter Cable router varying in speed. I took it out and cleaned it up good and it has been better since. I have never replaced the brushes in that thing and it is as old as the table. Maybe something I should check.
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Cool experiment.The spindle is one point in a list of potential failures though. You can hear the bits whine when pushed, even though the spindle managed the cut, for both spindles. The machine movement system is also stressed, and if it was an elaborate curve there would have been more issues.I don’t think that at home, in a non-production environment, speed is important. Cut quality is much more important, so staying within the limits of the bit is what you should aim for. I love my spindle, which is a 65mm water cooled, and think everyone should move away from the trim router for numerous reasons. At work we have a 7kw spindle that runs a 3/8 compression bit through 3/4 mdf at 200ipm+ all day. It makes sense in a production environment. At home, the goals should be quality and noise control within a budget, which is where the 65mm hits perfect.
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Yeah I checked on other sites and they all said the same to check the brushes first. I will check them but I think I would still rather the reliability of the 2hp 220 volt motor over the router.
So I didn’t include it in the video but I did run a few tests in both plywood and mdf cutting a circle and an ellipse. I didn’t realize how much an upcut bit lifts the piece your trying to cut, so twice the board came out of the clamps. My brother in law is a CNC expert in the medical industry, they make knees, spine, joint replacement…he told me that a straight line cut is the most stressful on a spindle because you are only loading one side of the spindle all the time, whereas in a circle the load is constantly changing as it goes round the circle therefore evenly distributed. Both spindles cut the MDF like butter and obviously the plywood was harder until it flew out of the clamps and I abandoned that type of cut. I didn’t hear a difference when cutting the circle versus the straight line in regards to the x or y axis motors but boy you better have them clamped down real good! I agree with your statement about cut quality at home, but the 2.2 Kw is quieter than the 1.2 Kw noticeably. I have to say that after switching to the 2.2 Kw I will never look back, you can do so much more.
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This was a very helpful comparison, I just ordered my machine and went with the 65mm, I was a little skeptical of the fact that a gas shock is required to hold up the 80mm spindle. I’m probably just being a bit paranoid but it did factor into my decision.
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Hey welcome! I’m not trying to knock on your choice in any way, but I just want to say that the z axis and the gantry are built for the 80mm spindle. In my opinion it’s a perfect pairing. You’ll see when the machine comes how rigid it is and you will understand. You didn’t make a bad choice at all so don’t worry. Have fun with the new machine!
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Thanks Peter, I appreciate the support. I’m coming from a Openbuilds 1010, I’m sure the Shapeoko is on a whole other level. I may reach out to Carbide 3D, it’s possible my unit hasn’t shipped yet and I can request the 80mm. If not I’ll live with it for now.
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