"Robatoy" wrote
Snip
You run a PC? Do you find yourself wishing for more power often? And
when does that happen mostly?

Yes, when I was doing my consulting gig, cash was (and sadly, remained)
scarce. Having said that, we recovered the cost of the Shopbot, the steel
table and the dust collection system by purchasing virgin HDPE sheets and
cutting the parts ourselves. The price comparision was against a company in
Alabama that extruded their own sheets, had high power CNC machinery on
premises, and reground their scraps. Their cost was twice what we paid for
the 'Bot, for the virgin (not regrind) plastic, AND the shipping to get the
plastic here. Their cost did not include freight.



The 5 speed PC's, tripped on me all the time, hand held with plenty
available juice.
I like to think a Porter Cable router will do me, but solid surface
materials do put up a bit of a fight.

I think the only issue we've EVER had with the PC was when the brushes wore
out ... pulled out the rebuild kit we'd purchased with the 'bot and were
back in business 15 minutes later (took a couple of minutes to find the
kit).

I base all my cut speeds on two things ... never exceed 1/2 bit diameter in
cutting depth, and strive for chip thickness of 0.008 to 0.012" (this was
advice from Onsrud, the folks that made most of our carbide bits). The
router just runs and runs and runs.


The ShopBot people now have another brand (HSD) of high frequency
spindles available in 2.25 and 4 HP, both of which are available in
single phase 220.. which is kinda cool, as the electricians' quotes for
3 phase in my new shop are through the roof... at least for now.


In a past life I repaired VFDs, and surprisingly enough, most of the 5 HP
and smaller drives would let you run off of single phase 220 without issue.
You simply connected two of the three phases. In some drives (those with an
iron-core transformer for the logic power supply) you had to connect the
correct two phases, but that was clearly spelled out. On some of the larger
(say up to about 10 or 15 HP) you could run the drives on single phase, but
you had to derate the motor HP by 25-50% (can't remember the exact number
now ... sorry).

All that being said, single phase VFDs are readily available. I've been
touting them for a few years now ... usually when someone wants to toss a
3-phase motor on a woodworking tool because they don't have 3-phase power.
The costs have come down, and besides being much smaller, quieter, and more
efficient than rotary phase converters, VFDs also offer low voltage
start/stop, ramped starting, DC injection and reverse phase braking to stop
that tablesaw blade RIGHT NOW (less than a second and some change), and the
really cool effect of reversing the blade rotation "just 'cause you can".



The feed-back I'm getting, seems to be split into two camps:
a) buy what I think I am going to need
b) start off slow/small and buy what I need when the need arises.


Rob, if you can afford the spindle, get the 4 HP and only sob a little as
you write out the check (cheque?). You will NOT be disappointed with the
spindle. It has real power to cut quickly through the materials you need to
work, and unless you figured out routine time travel, time is precious in
your (as well as any) business. Plus, your ears will thank you.


...but you mentioned something very important...a spindle is much
quieter.

more research.

r

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