I’ve had nothing but trouble with the VFD spindle kit and the Makitas burn up too quick for my use. What other options do I have?
I wish someone would make a “dumb” 65mm router kit that doesn’t require a VFD. I’m perfectly happy with not being able to control my speeds and get dial it in precisely. I need power to hog out material and not burn up a trim router.
What options are out there for the S5Pro?
First, please be patient working with support on the issues with the VFD spindle — we should be able to resolve this.
That said, to answer the question you asked, there are various options most of which were looked at in:
FWIW, I do have an alternative spindle on my SO5 Pro (transferred from my SO3 XL) as noted at:
It works well, but I’m still working on the dust collection angle — it’s really amazing how good and flexible/adjustable the Sweepy v2 is, and how elegant the Sweepy Pro is (for all that it is rather overwhelming in terms of its size and presence on a machine) — so would hesitate to recommend it to anyone unless they are willing to either put up with some awkwardness on that front (I switch back and forth between a Sweepy Pro and and Sweepy baseplate adapter as noted in the afore-mentioned thread, and yes, that’s as awkward and annoying as it sounds).
I keep wishing that there would be some other option here, but the existing trim routers and spindles seem workable enough for most folks that working on some alternative doesn’t seem a workable option — I’d love to be wrong.
Looking around, I found that Avid sells router mounts for a variety of 2 1/4 HP routers like the Bosch 1617 and Makita RF1101. I can’t find the specs on the S5Pro HDZ right now, but Avid’s mounting bolts are spaced 2.5" apart horizontally, and 1" vertically. This would be a suitable option for larger routers it seems if they match the HDZ specs.
My question is how would the added weight of a larger router or spindle affect the ridgity of the Z axis?
I picked up the gas strut for the 65mm spindle because I didn’t like the Z falling down onto the material after shutting down the machine due to the weight of the spindle. It says it’s included with the 80mm spindle purchase, so I imagine one of these other router options would be similar in weight to the 80mm spindle.
The HDZ can handle the 80MM water cooled spindles so find one of those and get the weight specifications. A 2.25-2.5 HP router I suspect would not be any heavier than an 80MM Spindle.
I started my CNC journey with a Shark with a Bosch 2.25 HP router. The Bosch had a crack in the bottom of the router housing and I replaced it. I kept the old router and use for nasty jobs. Personally I like Dewalt routers better than any other brand. Almost all 2.25-.5 routers have the same body measurement. The Bosch might have a longer body than the Dewalt and that could be a factor so check the specifications. All the 2.25 HP routers are cost competitive with each other. I have seen some good reviews for SKIL routers but dont own one personally. For years SKIL was a bottom consumer tool but they are trying to kick it up a notch or two.
I suppose the only advantage of a 2.25 HP router is the 1/2" collet. For an SO5 that would work but for any smaller Shapeoko the torque would likely be too much for the SO4/3. However just like the trim routers the noise of a larger router is larger and that seems to aggrevate a lot of people listening to the whine of roouters.
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