Leveling the router

Questions/answers/discussion about initial setup of your CNC Shark

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VBWoodworker
Posts: 10
Joined: Fri Sep 13, 2013 7:05 pm

Leveling the router

Post by VBWoodworker »

I recently purchased a 1" leveling bit to flatten the board prior to v-carve. I noticed on the initial pass that the bit is digging in on one side about .009" inch.
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What is the best way to align the bit? I have the original CNC Shark (White plastic)

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Eric Fadely
Virginia Beach
Eric
Virginia Beach, VA

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bill z
Posts: 342
Joined: Fri Sep 25, 2015 9:09 am
Location: Spring, Texas USA

Re: Leveling the router

Post by bill z »

VBWoodworker,

Adjusting the router so the bit is true with the carving surface is unique to each machine.

I have an older shark and I had to place paper in the router mount till I got it good enough.

To get good enough, may I suggest using the largest bit or making an alignment tool. Search the forum for table leveling. The table has to be in proper respect to the router.

I tried several things to true up my router. The cheapest was to clamp a small 6" board to a long bit where the opposite end of the board had a pointer pointing down. As I rotated the board around mt table top, I could see where the difference was to shim the router. It took several attempts and several shims but the result is worth it.

Also remember that because plastic is not rigid, it will require occasional adjustments.

I hope this helps.

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bill z
Posts: 342
Joined: Fri Sep 25, 2015 9:09 am
Location: Spring, Texas USA

Re: Leveling the router

Post by bill z »

I knew I saw something on this somewhere. Looking around, I found exactly what you need on this Youtube video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6pfIoyhgTc

It worked great for me.

Good luck.

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Kayvon
Posts: 552
Joined: Tue Oct 21, 2014 11:46 pm

Re: Leveling the router

Post by Kayvon »

That's a great idea, Bill. I like that it doesn't require your tramming bar to be square, so long as it is consistent.

Looks like I'll be making a simplified version of this soon.

VBWoodworker
Posts: 10
Joined: Fri Sep 13, 2013 7:05 pm

Re: Leveling the router

Post by VBWoodworker »

Bill,

Thanks for the link. That will be perfect for the Jig. I just need to find out how to adjust the original CNC Shark to adjust the difference.

Eric F.
Eric
Virginia Beach, VA

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bill z
Posts: 342
Joined: Fri Sep 25, 2015 9:09 am
Location: Spring, Texas USA

Re: Leveling the router

Post by bill z »

It depends on your mount and router or spindle.

For me, I used some thin dense cardboard and some masking tape to shim my router.

It doesn't take much at the router to make a bid difference.
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router shims.
router shims.

OCEdesigns
Posts: 105
Joined: Fri Jan 11, 2019 8:26 am

Re: Leveling the router

Post by OCEdesigns »

I know mine is off by a small amount so I will make one of these to see just how much and then fix it finally!
Shark HD4 Extended Bed, Water Cooled Spindle. VCarve Pro 10.5
Maker of many chips

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