CNC Shark Pro HD Router Clamp
Posted: Sat Oct 27, 2012 5:51 pm
I have had my CNC Shark Pro HD for a few months now. It has been working great. The only problem I have had is the clamping of the router motor. I have gone through the forum and found others have been having the same problem. The motor clamp does not seem to hold my router tight enough. I have tried using electrical tape and sand paper around the motor and worked OK for a bit. After a few months I found that the clamp had cracked. The people at Next wave Automatons were more than helpful on sending me out a replacement clamp. Out of this, I have designed my own motor clamp.
The material I used is garolite (phenolic). The reason if for this is strength and it is a bit rougher that the material that the original clamp is made out of. This gives a bit more friction clamping the motor, like the sand paper does. To make this clamp I used the CNC Shark, a drill press and a table saw (a band saw would work too). I first cut out the clamp out of a 6" x 6" piece of garolite. After sanding down the tabs, I than used a 17/64 drill bit to drill the clamp screw hole in the rounded side of the clamp all the way through the piece (see photos). Followed by a 5/8" bit to counter sink the hole on both sides. Make sure you find a way of clamping the piece down before drilling because the side is rounded. Than I used a table saw to cut a slit in the piece for the clamp.
I would suggest doing a few tests on a 3/4" piece of plywood. You can also find the garolite on McMasters-Carr's website. The only problem is it is not black.
If you make any updates to the file please post them.
The material I used is garolite (phenolic). The reason if for this is strength and it is a bit rougher that the material that the original clamp is made out of. This gives a bit more friction clamping the motor, like the sand paper does. To make this clamp I used the CNC Shark, a drill press and a table saw (a band saw would work too). I first cut out the clamp out of a 6" x 6" piece of garolite. After sanding down the tabs, I than used a 17/64 drill bit to drill the clamp screw hole in the rounded side of the clamp all the way through the piece (see photos). Followed by a 5/8" bit to counter sink the hole on both sides. Make sure you find a way of clamping the piece down before drilling because the side is rounded. Than I used a table saw to cut a slit in the piece for the clamp.
I would suggest doing a few tests on a 3/4" piece of plywood. You can also find the garolite on McMasters-Carr's website. The only problem is it is not black.
If you make any updates to the file please post them.