I have a new Shapeoko 2 still in the box, It has been a frustrating two years. I am now ready to assemble and learn Easel, I am wondering if I should upgrade to X-carve or just put it together and figure that out later. Any suggestions?
Also getting one on one help is hard in small town Montana, is anybody available for the occasional phone call. I am willing to pay to trade for a guided fly-fishing or ski trip depending on the season.
I would strongly suggest purchasing the X-Carve upgrade kit before Monday… it its half off till 11/30/2015! I upgraded my Shapeoko 2 to the X-Carve and can say that for the price it is well worth the improvements. There are many of us here in the forum that are more than happy to help. If you’ve got a question then feel free to ask away!
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I would agree with Mike. Another $100 to avoid the million extra pieces that come with the SO2 will make it worth it. I just bought the upgrade myself!
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I am going to do the same.
I am upgrading my Shapeoko 2 500mm to an X-Carve.
Well worth it for the new X carriage and Z axis mount plate.
Plus you get slightly more wasteboard work area due to the offset Y plates.
$100 + $10 in shipping is a good value!
Thanx to all. I ordered the upgrade.
In the mean time should I watch some videos/manuals on putting it all together? If so, which ones, where?
Same question applies to easel. To be honest I have not used any CAD like programs for nearly 30 years. Envelopes always worked great. Anyway I need to start with the basics and practice while waiting.
Thanx, Craig
I’d start out on the design side downloading Inkscape. It allows you to import SVGs into Easel. It’s 90% of my design workflow.
I think Inventables has some assembly videos for the X-Carve. With the upgrade that’s almost exactly what you’ll be building. Not sure where to find them though…
Found videos for assembly and basics of easel on both inventables.com and you tube.
Thanx, will keep you all informed
Craig
Craig, I posted a link to the video I made showing my upgrade from the Shapeoko 2 to the X-Carve in this thread above.
Mike,
Cool, I am missing something at my end. where is the link?
Craig
You will not regret the upgrade, Before I converted my SO2, I had nothing but trouble with the Z axis, the upgrade with ACME rod solved all the issues I was having.
Good to know. Thanx. I am looking forward to the build
Craig you can find my video at the following link Shapeoko2 upgrade to the X-Carve . I hope this helps with your upgrade!
Mike
sweet, thanx
Mike, Nice video. Thanx.
I noticed you mentioned an upgrade to an acme screw on the z-axis, is that something I need to do in the future?
Also my Shapeoko has a “Master Mechanic” dremel-like motor, is that something that I should also consider upgrading?
Thanx, Craig
Craig, a lot depends on what your planning on using your soon to be X-Carve for. I would personally recommend upgrading your spindle from the dremel to one of the palm routers. I just upgraded my X-Carve again and this time switched from the Makita to the Dewalt 611. What a big difference even that upgrade made. The dewalt is a much more powerful router and is a lot quieter than the Makita was. Using a dremel will really limit what work you can do with it. As far as the acme screw upgrade I believe in makes that axiz a little more accurate and efficient for the machine but I’m sure there are more knowledgeable people here in the forum. One nice thing about the X-Carve is there are a bunch of upgrades you can do to make it the machine you want/need. I am on the fourth version of my machine and here is a snap shot of how it went
Shapeoko 2 soon after I first got it.
Shapeoko 2 with Makita Trim Router right before the release of the X-Carve
Newly upgraded X-Carve as seen in my video
Latest upgrades to my X-Carve as of last week.
I use my X-Carve as part of my woodworking business so it really depends on what you want to invest into it. Feel free to shoot me any questions you might have and good luck with your upgrade!
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I upgraded from the standard threaded rod to the ACME rod mainly because of how much smother it moves through the delrin nut, With the old threaded rod I had a lot of problems with the screw binding which caused missed steps on the Z axis. Since the upgrade that problem has disappeared.
By any chance do you have the plans for the table you made for your X-Carve.
I dont have plans made up for it but do have a rough sketchup model I made when I was planning the build.