Anyone adapt a CNC spindle to a router lift?

[Justin Pfenning]

I’d like to add a router lift to my shop. I think I’ve decided on a Jessem lift, but the router motors is not such an easy decision. Jessem and Woodpeckers motor look really nice, but are also really expensive. The cheaper motor only options like the Bora don’t get good reviews, and I don’t want to be replacing a $250 motor after limited use. Looking for another option, I came across CNC spindle motors on Amazon. The reviews seem solid, and with a VFD, it makes rpm easy to dial in without losing power. The 2.2kw motor is right at 3hp. Has anyone adapted one of these successfully? I might have to make a sleeve for the spindle body to get it to clamp up into the lift, but maybe the Jessem lift would accept it as is. Let me know what you think.

[Cary Falk]

Most cheap cnc spindles are water cooled which would be a pain. Mist are 240V 3phase as well. Air cooled 120V would be ok but getting a good one would probably more expensive. More than likely you need a vfd to run one. Be careful when you shop for one.

[Tom M King]

Sounds like a good idea to me.

[Michael Burnside]

In practice, there should be nothing wrong with this idea. You should be able to find either a 120V or 240V spindle. However I'm not sure compared to a Bosch 1617 they will be that much cheaper, likely more expensive. Ok, yes, the Bosch is rated at 2.25 HP but it never seems underpowered compared to how much wood I can bite at one time. It is also a venerable staple in many, many router tables.

One thing to keep in mind is that spindles usually require a warmup sequence to properly bring the bearings up to temperature. Without this warmup sequence being done, you could see issues with longevity.

[Bradley Gray]

Can a spindle run upside down?

[Robert LaPlaca]

Sounds like a cool idea to me also.. Also have wondered if spindles can operate up side down? Seems like the biggest hurdle is adapting the smaller diameter of the spindle to a typical router lift diameter (4.2”).

[Jim Becker]

There have been previous threads on this idea and at least one magazine article. Should work fine if setup correctly. I agree that water cooled may be more of a challenge

[Patrick Varley]

Those spindles are (usually) 80mm diameter. You can find 4.2" (~107mm) to 80mm adapter rings on some of the Chinesium sites. Some of the previous threads on this have almost convinced me to give it a try.

[Alex Zeller]

If my Bosch dies I'll be switching over to a spindle with a vfd in a heartbeat. Just the reduction in noise would be worth it. Even water cooling wouldn't be too much of an issue. If you're mounting it in a dedicated router table finding a place to mount a tank in the base shouldn't be hard. The up side is no place for sawdust to get into the spindle. So no chance for the bearings or motor to die. Chances are you already have 240v in your shop. The biggest issue is where to put the vfd. It'll need air flow so dust could be an issue. The vfd for my spindle on my cnc has a remote display that doesn't need any sort of cooling so mounting it in a large box with filters out of the way but having the display/ control panel in a location that's easy to access is pretty easy.

[Justin Pfenning]

Thanks for all the replies. Im putting this on my todo list. My porter cable router is likely going to be decommissioned after this next cabinet door build, then I will work on adapting a CNC spindle.

[Chris Parks]

I have posted previously and possibly more than once on a lift with a WC spindle which uses the bracket that comes with the spindle and a digital read out for the height. Do a search with my name to find it. The noise reduction alone using a WC spindle is a huge bonus and until starting routing there is no need for hearing protection at all.

[Curt Harms]

In practice, there should be nothing wrong with this idea. You should be able to find either a 120V or 240V spindle. However I'm not sure compared to a Bosch 1617 they will be that much cheaper, likely more expensive. Ok, yes, the Bosch is rated at 2.25 HP but it never seems underpowered compared to how much wood I can bite at one time. It is also a venerable staple in many, many router tables.

One thing to keep in mind is that spindles usually require a warmup sequence to properly bring the bearings up to temperature. Without this warmup sequence being done, you could see issues with longevity.

How long does the warmup sequence last? That seems like it would make using a spindle impractical for the way I use a router table.

[Michael Burnside]

How long does the warmup sequence last? That seems like it would make using a spindle impractical for the way I use a router table.

About 2 minutes, starting at a low RPM, ramping to max for about 10-15 seconds. If you use it within 4-5 hours you don’t need to rerun a warmup sequence.

Certainly you’re free to skip this, but don’t expect to get the improved runout and longevity you will get with a proper warmup sequence.

[Chris Parks]

The first one I built about 5 years ago using a WC spindle is in commercial use and it has not had an easy time, it certainly does not get a warm up period and it is still going. The lift I built cost about under a $100 at the time and that is also still working well. The lift is dead simple to make and bullet proof with the DRO putting the icing on the cake.

[Warren Lake]

this concept and is new to me. what is the point a router is still an inferior tool compared to a shaper and use tiny radius cutters compared. I get it can do stuff that the larger heads cant at times as well. Are you going to this trouble of changing out a router to a CNC better style motor and you get a smoother cut. Before a smooth better balanced thing its still a tool that holds router bits that brazed are not very sharp and more scrape material away than cut like a shaper with a decent head. I had a router table when I started and it got lost at some point maybe taking up space and for the most part hand held works better for me as i can climb cut. What is the point of changing this out. Old dog open to new tricks.

[Denis Dhimarko]

Hi all, sorry if I am reviving an old subject.
I did exactly this with one of those Chinese water cooled spindles, mostly because I wanted to have a quiet router table since I was going to run it indoors. Eventually I wanted to build a CNC router and was going to put this set up on the CNC, but I like it so much I will just leave it on the table. What I found really useful is the control that you get with the rotation speed, that is simply great.

I have to say that it is not a cheap setup if you want to build it right. it really needs to have the complete wiring as if you were to set up a CNC router.
Dust was one of my issues as well, which I solved by using an enclosure with filtered fans; it was actually a lot of fun putting the enclosure and wiring together...

For a lift, I used the Jessem router lift because it was almost the exact size. With a thin aluminum sleeve it fit perfect. For controlling it, I set up a Normally Open and a Normally closed switch with a changeover selector to control the direction of the rotation. Designed and 3d printed a control panel to put all these together. Please note that the spindle can rotate on both directions, this is a serious safety issue, that can be disabled on the VFD (Which I have done for safety reasons).

If anyone is curious on the BOM for the build, here it is below (please note that this is just to set up the wiring and the lift and these costs are from a couple of years ago):


NO Switch,
NC Switch,
Changeover Slector
31.12


Flow indicator
15.21


Contactor
ABB AF16-30-10-13
85


6mm hose fittings
9.59


Silicone tube
8.99


90 degree elbow fittings
8.49


Cable glands
10.59


Vfd remote cable
17.99


12mm fan x2
13.98


Fan covers
8.99


Phantec plug fitting
4.99


Wire terminals
13.73


20 awg cable
14.95


20 amp breaker
23.25


10 awg silicone cable
25.88


Din rail
7.99


Dinkle terminals
29.99


Wistex 16in enclosure
37.65


Emi filter
17.69


Ground bar
7.99


Meanwell DC transformer
26.6


Cooling pump
51.19


Aluminum radiator
42.99


Jessem lift
179


Router/vfd
312


1/4 collet
7.79


Total
1013.63



for water cooling, I have been using a PC cooling radiator, Reservoir/Pump, and pc cooling liquid. these motors will not run for such a long time that it will significantly heat up. but it is advised to run the cooling.
I have been running this in my basement for a while, but haven't run it since I moved my shop in the garage, since I don't have 220V there. That will be coming up..

I'd upload some pics but for some reason it is not letting me.