My DW611 is still going strong on the first set of brushes after almost three years. I sometimes run it at the high RPM if I am using a needle bit for engraving, but most of the time at 1 - 4 in speed. I have more issues with X-Carve flex than with the spindle. I cut all kinds of materials, including very hard woods, plywood, MDF, HDPE, aluminum and engrave steel objects.
I do blow out the unit after a long carve. For a long time I did not have a dust control system in place, and even after sometimes do not use it for small jobs or for the first part of a multi-part production run.
How long are the jobs that you are running? I tend to keep each operation under 2 hours and let the machine rest about 30 minutes between operations. That gives me time to change tools or work piece positions.
I. Never run above the number 1 setting, and I monitor the brush usage in a notebook. I keep spare brushes,and a spare 611 in case of a failed router.
This carve only went for 1 hour 7 minutes at a depth of .06”.
And it caught fire? What is the material you are cutting? I suspect that you pulled the bad luck handle twice on your DW611’s. There are other routers that I have considered for a different application that are like the DW611, the Makita RT0701C is one that I looked at because it had a longer metal body than the Dewalt. Not sure if it will fit the same mount ring of the Dewalt (I did not move beyond design for that project). The Makita weighs half a pound less, to less weight on the system. Still uses brushes. The problem is the router, not the X-Carve.
I was just cutting soft maple. Nothing with knots in it either. Just plain wood.
The Makita is slightly slimmer than the Dewalt, I have an adapter ring/bushing to fit into the spindle mount in my Shapeoko that was originally made for the Dewalt.
I ran the Bosch Colt and put like 800 hours on it. I hated it, because the mount was so flimsy. So I went to the 611 for availability of the nicer mount. I’m already looking to replace brushes 
I’m thinking about switching to a makita. Do you know what model and what modifications would I have to make to my XCarve to install one?
The Makita RT0701 or 700 depending on if it is the European or North American version you need. Carbide 3D provides a ring that adapts the Makita to fit into the Dewalt mount. I’m not sure if they would sell it separately or if there is a 3rd party source for them. Maybe @WillAdams could answer this one as he would know.
not a thing the router is to small for the work it has to do 6 months and i’m on my 3 router
We had the adapter in our shop for a long while — it was removed 'cause folks were ordering it along with machines which already included one.
Folks who own SO3s which were sold w/o one, or who own SO3s and need one for some reason can contact support and we’ll work up a custom invoice.
An adapter is easily made from aluminum tubing — the Imperial size is a bit thin, but 70mm diameter metric is available with a 2mm wall thickness which is perfect (just cut to length, then cut a suitable slot).
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@MaryKathrynWade It may be worth asking on the Carbide 3D forum to see if anyone using a Dewalt wants to sell theirs.
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