I have made several mods to my 1,000mm X-Carve and posted them here previously. I have just completed my latest mod and I could not be happier. A friend of mine has a Rockler Shark, with a Bosch 1/2" router and a Musclechuck. I checked and Musclechucks are not made for 1/4" trim routers. If you have not heard of a Musclechuck, then you should google it and watch some of their instructions and videos. You just use a 1/4 turn of the 4mm allen handle to unload or load a cutter, nice. I was always fighting my Dewalt 611 collet which I hated.
Two weeks ago, my Dewalt 611 gave up the ghost, and it was finally time to upgrade to a 1/2" router on the X-Carve that will accept a Musclechuck. I checked with Inventables about the extra pound or so weight and they said it should be OK, I may have to adjust the pot to allow more current, but I did not need to do this. In anticipation of this, a month ago I ordered a Universal Mounting Kit (2 mounts) (Inventables PN 30278-02) and the Spindle Mounting Plate (Inventables PN 30287-02), both were about $23. I have pictures below.
I mounted the two Universal Mounting brackets to the Spindle mounting plate with 4 5mm X 10mm Button Head Capscrews. I got two 3"-4" SS clamps, cut them off where the serations end, drilled the holes and mounted them on the plate. Next, I transferred the wheels and posts from the old plate to the new plate and mounted it on the X-Carve.
I ordered the Hitachi M12VC without plunger for $121 (free shipping) and the Musclechuck #12 for the Hitachi directly from Musclechuck. Now I mounted the Hitachi M12VC and rerouted the wiring. Additionally, you will see two outrigger led lights on brackets. I had about 3 feet of leftover Super Bright LED strip and mounted two groups of three LEDs on a small board cut at 45 degrees. I like a lot of light om my machine and I knew the Hitachi does not have a down facing LED light like the Dewalt 611.
Next I installed the Musclechuck. It was easy, hand tighten as much as possible, then a 1/4 turn, if you have a torque wrench, you can tighten it to 12 Ft Lbs. I ordered the Musclechuk, which accepts 1/2" cutters, with a 1/4" precision adapter and a 1/8" precision adapter. Complete.
I took the pictures below prior to using the X-Carve. I have since done about 10 carves, all flawless. I have switched between different cutters and it is a breeze. So far, this has been my best upgrade/mod and I could not be happier.
I was eyeballing the musclechuck because I too have issues with the collet and wrench approach with the DeWalt, I was however worried about precision. Very glad to hear it’s working for you, and thanks for sharing!!
Have you noticed any sag in the X axis Maker Slide since you Mounted the Hitachi?
I can make a 3d printed mount. Just need the dimensions.
Or if you have fusion I already posted my files online in the forums.
The Musclechuck states that runout is in the order of .000005". I used a .0001 Best Test indicator and the needle never moved. I’m happy with the accuracy.
The Hitachi is only about 18 ounces heavier than the Dewalt 611. My mount weigs less than the standard aluminum 611 mount, so the weight is negligible. I used a set of height gages and I noticed no sag in the middle. I never measured it with the 611.
Thank you for posting this. It should work great for my setup.Im using chopped down ER collet extensions in both 8 mm and 12 mm but would like to use 1/2" tooling also.
You stated that the #12 will work with 1/2" tooling but I noticed that the collets only go up to 12 mm. Did you have to order a 1/2" collet seperately or did the 12 mm one work with both. Again, thanks for putting this out here.
I made my linear Z mounting plate for the Dewalt so it accepts the CNC Router Parts mounts (the mount that B.F linked) for this very reason. My only hesitation about the Hitachi was collet support (Elaire doesn’t make one but PreciseBits does) but the Musclechuck, while pricey for their kits, look good.
Stephen, the 3d printed mount looks great. I don’t have access to a 3d printer. I measured my Hitachi this afternoon and it measures 83 mm or 3.268 inches. I’m curious if this comes in a two piece design so the the inside of the back piece is open so it could be counterbored from the front, rather than going through the front of the entire piece on the one piece design? Before you start I would need to know the price, including shipping. Thanks for the offer.
Andy, I’m also running with the same Hitachi. Came up with a couple custom mount builds myself. One made out of a section of metal tubing amateur welded to a half section of metal box tubing. All from off-cuts from Discount Steel. Worked well but added significant weight. I am running with a 3D printed version currently. Thanks for the heads up on the Musclechuck. I just ordered one! My next upgrade will probably be the Super-PID. Btw you are a master picture cropper. The pictures of your gear look great!
Is the Hitachi round or odd shaped. I would need to know so I can make the mount custom fit.
Can you give me the dimensions of the cylinder section. I need to know how tall to make it.
The cost will be $30. This is shipping and everything.
I can make a 2 piece design if you want.
Thanks Stephen, I will send you the design parameters in an AutoCAD file or a different format if you want. I can pay you via PayPal if you have an account. I’ll provide my email here, you can respond via the email so I can send a payment and the design dimensions. My email is drafting_teacher@hotmail.com. Thanks again.
Sounds good. I use Fusion 360 myself.
Interesting. Never heard of these before. Can you measure the runout on a 1/8 bit?
Ignore the above. I just read this.
EDIT:
Here’s a video showing how to minimize the Musclechuck’s runout by “clocking” it so that its own runout works against the router’s runout.
Stephen, I hope you haven’t started my project yet. I replied to the email I got from you via inventables, but it said no reply. I have a DXF and an AutoCAD file of design criteria. Please contact me via the email in the previous reply. Thanks
I never received email from you.
Strange PM me and I will give you my main email
I didn’t know what PM Me meant, but I saw it on the right side, now I know. I’ll try and attach the DWG and DXF files here. Thanks AndyHitachi 3D Printed Mount Design Criteria.dwg (56.7 KB)
Hitachi 3D Printed Mount Design Criteria.dxf (236.7 KB)
We can continue on Email, mine is drafting_teacher@hotmail.com
I do not have anything that opens the DWG file. Well I can but the text is missing.
need to locate a tool that will open it. The DXF is missing the measurements and text also