Axial Movement in Router

Hi all, so I noticed after my last carve that my bit/collet moves axially (in the Z-axis) about 1/16th of an inch. Router (Dewalt 611) is firmly mounted and lead screw is fine. Movement appears to be in the router shaft where the collect is. Has anyone noticed this and is there a fix for it? I have no issue taking the router apart to shim it if needed, but was thinking I may save myself the trouble if it’s already been tried and found not to work. Thanks!

your lead screw for the z axis may not be tightened enough. i noticed mine would move up and down during certain parts of the cuts. it would mess with my overall z depth so through cuts would not always be the same.

try tightening up the nut on the top of the lead screw.

It’s not the lead screw. The entire mount and assembly is secure including the router itself in the mount does not move. It’s the router shaft. I can push up on the collet and the router shaft moves up and can hear a slight clunk when it falls back down.

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if its only the collet/shaft moving relative to the router body it may be damaged. should be no play in the shaft.

Just curious and not really related to your question but are you using an X-carve? I haven’t purchased a machine yet but looking. I thought they didn’t use a lead screw but it was a belt system?

X&Y are belts
Y is a belt-driven screw setup.

Thank you Haldor.

That should read Z not Y; there is an ACME screw option when you purchase (or there was when I did, so I did that)

Has anyone attempted a rebuild of the router to resolve this or similar issues? Still saving for a water-cooled spindle so wanna get what I can out of the router :slight_smile:

Resolve what? The brushes wearing out? That’s normal for brushed motors (which is why big motors are brushless). They are considered a consumable like tires on a car (which is why it’s easy to change them out). Note the pack of 4 brushes was under $15 at amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07Z9H51RF/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Just remember the X-carve isn’t super rigid so the giant spindle likely will induce a lot of flex in the machine. Plus that heavy a spindle will likely have some ringing with backlash on the x-y carriages.

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Also for the price of most VFD/Water cooled spindles you could replace the DWP611 each time instead of brushes!

Resolve my axial movement of the router shaft inside the router. Brushes not an issue at the moment unless I find they are worn when I get in there. I think it came with spares so not worried about that.

I think I was responding on multiple threads and answered in the wrong one