cnc router for novices

[Richardtweed]

Thanks for the info, do you think it would be worth buying a chinese cnc router and upgrading the spindle motor and stiffening up the frame?

[Doddy]

Thanks for the info, do you think it would be worth buying a chinese cnc router and upgrading the spindle motor and stiffening up the frame?

My first entry into this as a hobby was with a Marchant Dice router - a small affair of some 50x30 cm footprint and a bed similar to a 3016 (maybe a little less - it's been a while!). Although of English build, I'd equate it largely to a cheap Chinese router.

As part of my dabblings, and due in no small part to the original spindle motor burning out I did replace the spindle with a 800W water-cooled spindle motor.

It was next-to-useless, apart from a vehicle to learn about the weakness of the design.

My intent at the time was to do things that are intrinsically difficult - engraving, isolation routing, small aluminium cutting - not of which tolerate a sloppy frame, and all of which presented frustration rather than pleasure.

I replaced that with a Starmill, and later supplemented that with the SX2.7.

If you want to go the router-route then don't look to buy something that yourself recognises as being unsuitable with the view to redressing the design flaws - either buy a suitable machine outright or build from scratch. Having the Clarke manual mill you can do a lot of the work yourself.