I printed the part found on the not shop however it didn’t seem to work well and not sure if it is just me, a bad print or what. How is everyone else holding down the spindle lock button on the router?
Thanks!
I found that loosening the top and bottom clamp parts and then wiggling the router around while inserting the plug part gets you there, then tighten them in place again while the plug is in there for repeatable success. That said it is still a bit fiddly to get it in there, and (with the router unplugged) rotating the bit holder around a bit by hand gets it to go in ok on subsequent tries.
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Is it possible to raise Z all the way up and access the collet nut and the spindle lock with two wrenches while resting on the workpiece?
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I miss the experience of my other Bosch router which utilizes two wrenches to complete this operation (both provided by the manufacturer) instead of the current stick this plug which doesn’t work well (mine didnt fit without sanding and now seems a bit slim) Two wrenches is just more robust than this button && a wrench.
To me it isn’t clean to lock the router. Its difficult in addition to not being able to really fit your hands in there. I really wish the router chosen for this would have utilized 2 wrenches instead. I mean I could CNC professionaly to make flats on it but it seems like overkill; however I really dislike the current process of bit changes even with the 3D Printed part.
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you don’t have to use this one, find another one with the same diameter (69mm)
with a body at least 4" long and you can use that.
But I think you will find as you look for a router that just about all of them
have switched from two wrenches to a locking button.
the kobalt router has the locking button positioned further towards the nose, so
it doesn’t need the cutout in the clamp to let you get at it for the bit change.
David Lang
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Yes we’re arguing about semantics. It’s hard to argue that the ergonomics of two wrenches is beastes by two separate wrenches.
I didn’t realize the difference between the two until now however it’s clear. I have 3 routers owned already.
The router selected by default should be easy to switch bits, etc.
I have zero ill will towards the developers. If anything I continue to help them towards the same end goal.
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I’m just saying that most trim routers now don’t use two wrenches. That used to
be the standard, but the market has decided that it’s more convienient to be
able to lock the spindle instead (only two hands needed instead of three is muy
guess)
There also isn’t anything special about the particular one that Bar uses as the
default, don’t feel locked in to that one.
David Lang
I want to change to the “z” dialog to have a few more options, like a go to button. e.g. enter ### or click “top” maybe and it goes to that height. I know this does not answer the two wrench problem, but the printed plug plus a wrench I hang from the same hook I hang the plug/remove before flight tag on works well enough for the dewalt (for me anyway in my whole 4-5 times of using it, lol)
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I’ll reprint the plug part to see if that helps.
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I believe the plug issues I was having yesterday seem to be due to the router having slipped a bit (rotation wise) within the maslow. So apologies for the messages yesterday and hopefully this message helps someone else.
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What is proper procedure for changing bits within a project? I ran my first trial today and started with a roughing file which went well, then needed to change to a detail bit and then couldn’t re-home and start the detail cut without going through the retract/extend all routine and lost Home.
When the code ends for first stage, should I push the pause button, change the bit, load detail code then push play?
The detail file did complete but was pretty rough as I missed getting the exact same home spot after the reset.
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On my (1) successful cut, I had a storied journey of 4 or 5 attempts. I had tried / stopped, started, etc many times and it never lost x/y home (sometimes z but that is not an issue really). Once it had home set it seemed to stay set until I re-homed for another job, even after the power up dance 
.
I changed the bit by taking the Z all the way up till it started clicking, put in the collet plug part (wiggling things around until it goes in, then took the bit out, put in the new one, pulled out the collet plug. then I re-set Z by going down till I saw the bit lift the sled then back back up 1mm (and set Z home to that). If you have more accurate needs, others have devised a way to use sheet metal to take a z probe that sounds when the bit hits it, but for me 1mm is close enough for my needs.
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thanks Ron, will try again tomorrow…
I find for some projects its easier to split the job so each tool has its own NC file.
Regarding re-homing issues, if possible, you can create your job so home is strategically located, have your NC job drop down and gently touch home to physically mark your workpiece or spoilboard, or use a tiny round sticker to do the same and set home on the sticker. Either way, you can always manually jog that location and reset home if re-homing is causing issues.
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And ideally, we implement independent X, Y, and Z zeroing (homing) which opens the door for us to use this method to set or find home:
Probe
You take a stamp size piece of metalized duct tape and place it on the corner of your workpiece. With your bit installed (new or toolchange bit) clip a pre-wired magnet on your collet, and an allegator clip with a wire and you can jog each axis independently until your bit hits the metal tape at each face of the corner. Basically a probe method where you set home to be a corner of your workpiece. For now, we can use a continuity checker to confirm your bit is just touching each corner as you approach each face with a micro jog. As you reach continuity you set your zero/home for that axis. Proceed through the other two axis is a similar fashion and bingo you are locked in to a home on the corner of the workpiece and have a way to get back to it manually if home is lost.
The good thing about this method and independent axis homing for tool change, is that it assures that your new and original tool are set home to the same depth.
Here is a similar concept:
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Does FluidNC support a touch probe? I’d like to use the Openbuilds XYZ Touch probe if possible, would need pin outs diagram for board.
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I don’t know about FluidNC but would be great to have just simple probe capability.
What is the minimum jog distance that M4 can handle? Ideally would be great to have .1mm resolution in jog steps.
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I have one but prefer the metalized duct tape method because I can lock home very precisely on really tiny features in a workpiece that the huge XYZ Touch probe can’t get, simply using the metalized tape. I can probe on a feature smaller than a grain of rice whereas the XYZ probe needs corner edge.
ps Openbuilds Control has good support for both probing approaches
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for tool changes, we want to support a subroutine that does one of two things.
- runs Z up to max (without going off the lead screws, see Z discussion thread)
- tells the user to unplug the router and change the bit
- tells the user to put a homing plate under the sled (may also need to connect
a clip to the bit) - runs the bit down until it touches the homing plate
- tells the user to put the homing plate away (may need to tell the user to
disconnect a clip from the bit) - moves to a safe Z height (a few mm above the workpiece)
- tells the user to plugin the router and turn it on.
or
instead of running to the top, feed out slack on a couple of belts and run the
router down to Z=0 (physical) so the user can access the chuck under the sled
David Lang
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I really like the idea of metalized foil tape. Seems straightforward, easy and cheap. Only need a multimeter & tape to get this working.
to the second method in dlang’s message I’m not sure what is meant by accessing the chuck under the sled and how that would actually work.
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