Just starting my CNC journey

How To
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Hope everyone is having a blessed day, I’m a 74 year old newbe to the world of CNC. I just got my 5.1 4x2 and I am in the final stage of set up. I see a lot of knowledge, experience and some amazing projects here and on various web sites and it truly inspires me. I do this as a hobby and love to make things for my family, church and friends as gifts. I want to stay active, engaged and learn new skills so I can personalize more of my gifts to others. I have two questions for the group

  1. how close do you set the end of your spindle to the waste board when you assemble the spindle? I have read 3"-5" from the bottom of the mount to the end of the spindle, currently I have mine set so there is a 1/2" gap between the spindle bottom and waste board at it’s lowest position.
  2. How far do you set your cut out from the edge of the stock, say for a 1/4" endmill, is 3/4" safe for work holding and hopefully don’t get into the clamps?
    Thank you and I’m looking forward to learning more from this group.
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  1. See 65mm VFD Spindle (ER-16)
  2. Depends on how expensive the stock is and what sort of workholding I’m using — I view the Essentials Clamps as a consumable (yes, I know, I get mine for free 'cause I work for the company) — but we have some videos on this:

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Thank you Will, I will enjoy watching these