hey guys new here, im from us, and i have a hercules router. looking at building the lowrider cnc, But i already have a router and I dont want to have to pick up another one was just wondering if anyone had advice or thought that the hercules router would work fine.
Thanks
not 100%, but I believe the Hurcules router is pretty much the same as the Bauer line (just the next step up). I know some here have used the Bauer router, so it should work. Hopefully someone who does use it can confirm.
Im using a bauer, fits into the makit a mounts.
1 Like
Thanks guys! Yeah hercules is the next step up from the baur, good to know for the 1/8 inch collet, the makita collet shouod be the same too then right?
If you are in the US, you can get the Kobalt router at Lowes for $60. There is a whole thread on it. That would be a better router.
Better then the harbor freight hercules router? And yes i am in the us
I had a Bauer and it worked great. I would have no issues buying one or the Hercules because they direct swap with the Makita mounts. They look very similar to the Makita. But if you look close you can see they are not the same. I interpreted that as one is a knock off of the other, but it may just be a mold difference.
Kobalt is a great price right now, but may require a slightly larger mount. Kobalt has lights on it which is nice. Not sure if hercules does. Performance wise they will all work and would be a matter of cost and color preference. Collets for Makita and harbor freight models should be similar, while the kobalt uses the er11. I used a 1/8" adapter in the 1/4" Makita and Bauer collets. The kobalt comes with a 1/8" collet.
1 Like
The bauer is 45 right now, pretty sure I paid about 60 a couple weeks ago :laugh: But I also bought the 2 year plan. Even if it’s flawless in 2 years i’ll be swapping it out.
1 Like
I paid $80 for it a year ago… A new Makita is ~$130. The Bauer got hotter, but other than that I honestly used the Makita and Bauer interchangeably each holding a specific cutter and swapped them in and out of my 2 cncs depending on what was needed. I imagine the hercules will function similarly. It was surprising that the Bauer dropped price so quickly.
1 Like
Here is the other thread.
Thanks for the input that really helps
1 Like
Ive noticed most of those routers ade 1/4 inch and a little over 1 hp my hercules is more of a 2hp, not a trim router. Does that make a difference? Im going to guess that mine weights quite a bit more, so i should be looking at a trim router then am i correct?
The weight does not matter, the LR can easily lift 10kg in addition to a normal router. I tried. The more important question is whether it is the same size as the Bauer.
Trim routers are more compact and less tolerant to abuse. CNC machines make lots of low pressure passes, they’re not intended to be cutting an inch deep and being pushed super hard. Excluding of course commercial type machines that are chewing through wood at OMG speeds. Even with a machine that can lift the heavier router, it’s really not needed and a bit of over kill. And the more weight hanging on the end of the Z, the greater the chance of it pulling the Z out of square.
The makerspace I go to handed me a spindle to put on the xcarve machine they run, just the mount weighed more than the dewalt on it. The machine is already sucky, the weight would have made it completely unusable without some major rebuilds.
1 Like
thanks
awesome thanks. I’m really new at this, wasnt quite sure what kind of router i needed, then i saw part of a thread earlier and it was showing a trim router which kind of relieved me cuz my router i just got was not cheap, and trim routers are cheaper compared, also just been watching videos on the low rider and a few other machines, i still have quite a bit of time till i can grab a kit, but gives me time to print some of the parts till then, and find out tings like this.