To address the questions as they arise:

Pete. The manufacturers appear to have aimed it at the woodworking fraternity, but of course it will tackle plastics and the like, aluminium and has also been demonstrated on YouTube to be capable of machining cold-rolled steel and even stainless steel. The engraving machine's foot print is 43cm wide by 53cm deep.

ndiy. The machine was imported from the USA. Hence the requirement to pay import duty.

Michael Briggs. DHL/Parcelforce must have a different invoicing strategy to Fedex. However, now that I come to think about it, in order to fulfil the delivery timescale, Fedex would have had to get the money by some means and all they had was my address, i.e. neither phone number nor email address as far as I'm aware, as the senders didn't have that information, either.

And finally,

Ady1. I hope to put a video or two up on my YouTube channel once the router is up and running, though my priority is is getting it working satisfactorily. You won't have to fast forward through endless shots of me screwing bits together. As anyone who has watched any of my videos will know, I'm so keen to progress with the projects, I sometimes forget to switch the camera (phone) on! I've even been known to talk over a particular machining procedure, only to find that instead of a video, I had the camera on photo, not video and it had taken a still shot!

Watch this space.

John

Ndiy. I don't pretend to understand taxes applying to various countries. If I get a bill from Fedex, I assume they know what they're doing and I'll pay it.

I would prefer this thread to be about the machine rather than sliding off down another rabbit hole, but thanks for trying to explain it.

John

A little more progress today. Taking it slowly so as not to make (m)any mistakes!

Finished off the wiring and after the shot below was taken, found a cable-tidy lying in a drawer, so used that to smarten things up a bit – though it won't show, but I know it's there.

This is from the rear. I assure you it looks neater now.

Everything squared up and tightened, rotated 180° ready to test and the DeWalt router mounted ……..

Then I realised that the power supply had a U.S.A. plug on it and no spare ones in the house. Never mind, I'll pick one up at Tesco's tomorrow. In the meantime the laptop is getting a charge, so with a bit of luck, a short video might be on the cards tomorrow – with or without smoke, you'll just have to wait and see.

I think that I'm going to get some MDF to make a new waste board to protect the base board. I'll use the router to drill a grid pattern of holes to accept some 6mm threaded inserts to aid workholding.

I have been fiddling about with a double-tapered sleeve and ER11 nut re-threading arrangement in order to utilise a selection of metric end mills, but I've abandoned that idea through lack of accuracy and a better idea:

I have purchased a genuine DeWalt 8mm collet and nut to replace the standard ¼" one that rather restricts the end mills one can use. Instead, I have an ER11 collet chuck with an 8mm straight shank which I'm going to shorten and that will fit in the 8mm collet and allow the use of cutters in the ER11 range of sizes – up to 7mmØ – 8mm collet for the next one up. I just hope that there won't be too much "stick-out". The machine is supplied with a ¼" end mill, so I can start on some wood for the first exercise. Next episode will not be for a couple of days, I guess, by which time I would hope to have sourced some MDF sheet.

John

Thanks, John, that's useful to know. I'll have a yellow page search later to try to find a local furniture makers. If not, The B & Q warehouse depot often has off-cuts of MDF in the foyer for a small donation to a charity. I really don't want to be buying a massive sheet, just for a small square. Too late to stop the insert purchase – already on their way, hotly pursued by some ferrite cores!

John

More progress today, in as much as I went to B & Q and bought some MDF and shelf brackets as part of the drive to make the installation look more aesthetically pleasing. I solved the lack of headroom problem above the router table by the simple expedient of folding up the feet on the Workmate. The result is the whole thing sits about 12cm lower and by putting a shelf above, the power supplies and laptop can be accommodated close to the machine.

Made the wiring a little neater by gathering pairs together and wrapping them in a cable tidy. Time will tell if that was a "neat" idea with respect to induced interference.

While I was at it, I reduced the length of the ER11 collet chuck shank to fit in the DeWalt 8mm collet and mounted it on the router. It reduces the vertical clearance a little, but, a) I can get some, if not all of it back by raising the router in the clamp and b) I have a greater choice of end mills and drills to use while retaining the standard ¼" collet and of course the 8mm one for larger jobs.

I have cut a piece of the MDF for a wasteboard and have some inserts on order, so when they come, I'll try out a bit of gcode to drill the pattern of holes in that. Before I do, though, there is a simple program that I can run to "prove" the system works. It involves tie-wrapping a permanent marker to the router and using the machine to make a test drawing on a sheet of A4 paper. I'll let you know how that goes.

That's all for now. Probably be next week before the next instalment appears.

John