I got the basic kit from a friend who I think got it from another friend. I bought the Ridgid r22002 router since that was the one everyone recommended. So far so good. After I built the stand I started working on the temporary sled and ran into some problems. It looks like most tutorials are using the ring now. Is that correct? Is there an “original temp sled” guide somewhere? I just need to know how to mount the chain to the sled. The way it looked like people did it on YouTube doesn’t look right to me and the chain doesn’t sit well.
The bungie strap in the kit I got is way thinner than the images from the build guide and one side keeps falling off. Is this normal?
Today when I was working on the z-axis I noticed my coupler isn’t the right size for the Rigid. I also noticed the motor side didn’t have a flat side for set screw to go against. The motor side still looks to be tight and I can’t spin it when I twist it but the router side coupler mount is way too big to fit tightly over the router z height adjuster screw. Did Rigid change something? Here’s a photo that might help.
Should I upgrade to the ring? Do they even sell just the ring and coupler? If nothing else I guess I could 3D print an adapter to go between the coupler and the router. I’m so close to getting this thing built. I’d really like to get it running for the long weekend coming up if possible.
if your kit is old enough that it attached the chains to big L brackets, you do
want to upgrade that.
you can buy a ring
or you can build a linkage kit using your existing machine (even an inaccurate
machine can be used to build parts that will make it much more accurate)
Everything is there for upgrading to the ring. That $175 package also comes with their shield. I’m not sure on the need to upgrade that (I never had the original setup so don’t know what its lacking from the improvements over the years), hopefully someone else will have some input. Your original coupler, is that meant to fit over the knob? The hole looks quite big.
This is probably a dumb question, but do you have the original Z-axis motor or a motor sourced from somewhere else? The old coupler I have has different sized openings on the ends. Here is the only reference I found to an old post @Bar made on the original Z-axis coupler.
Also, The instructions for the original kit on github, maybe of help.
I’m the third person to own this particular kit but the first person to put it together (I think. Everything was in the ziplock baggies so I’m assuming it’s never been put together or used before).
I believe all the parts are original. The coupler that was in the box is the one in the photos. Should I email them you think? I still haven’t heard back from East Bay but I guess it is a holiday weekend. $10 for a new coupler is fine but I really don’t want to spend the $200+ for the ring kit unless I have to.
I also noticed that my coupler has that orange plastic in the middle. No other coupler from any wiki or YouTube video looks like that. Not sure if that matters or not.
I believe all the parts are original. The coupler that was in the box is the
one in the photos. Should I email them you think?
to use the original coupler, you pop the top off of the adjustment knob of the
router and undo the screw holding it to the shaft. At that point one end of the
couple should fit the shaft on the router and the other will fit the Z motor
(they are different sizes)
I still haven’t heard back
from East Bay but I guess it is a holiday weekend. $10 for a new coupler is
fine but I really don’t want to spend the $200+ for the ring kit unless I have
to.
I sell a pantograph kit that will do the job a bit differently for $40
And as I said before, you can make a linkage kit yourself (either using the
maslow or just with a drill press or careful drilling)
you end up needing to make 6 linkage arms, 4 with two holes in them (that must
be the same distance apart, exact distance isn’t critical, just that they must
be the same), and 2 with 3 holes (again they must match, exact distance and
exact centering of the holes don’t matter, you just have to keep everything in
the correct orientation and drill the sled to match)
As far as the coupler is concerned, the one I received in the original kit was all aluminum. The more important thing is the size of the holes on it. Measure oth openings preferably with calipers. What are the hole sizes on your coupler?
According to the post I linked earlier one side of the coupler is 6 mm and the other is 3/8" or ~9.53 mm. Re-check measurements of z-motor shaft and router shaft mounting point. If the measurements don’t accommodate the motor and router shafts together you may have the wrong one.
This is starting to become circular and not at all helpful.
I bought a kit from a friend. My coupler doesn’t look like any coupler I’ve seen. It’s too big on one side. It’s so big that it almost fits over the knob. I know it doesn’t go over the knob.
It is also so big that it won’t tighten over the spot where it should go.
I took pictures and measurements to show people how big it is.
