Thread: Bosch GOF1600 CE router - First impressions.

Originally Posted by FenceFurniture

Oops! I thought that was where we got to.

Probably not worthwhile pursuing since the other router motor (can't think of it but Chris Parks has one) came on the market in 230V.

I'm asking because I bought the full GOF kit direct from the UK well before they were available in Oz because it had everything I wanted in a router - love it to bits, especially the plunge base. Had a drama with the controller board early on but it was a known issue with the first release and was easy fixed.
I have the fixed base attached to the small extension table on my Hammer combo and it all works brilliantly except I'm tiring of reaching under to switch it on/off. I've sussed out the circuit board on the switch and its a very basic 3 resistors that could easily be connected across the terminals of most toggle switches so there's no need to make/buy another board - I'm just having trouble finding the right socket to connect to the existing lead as I want to be able to revert to the handle switch if I change my setup.

If I wanted a full-blown router table setup like you guys are talking about, I would not hesitate to do what we did for our clubs second router table. Water cooled spindle and controller cost less than any of the routers available, super quiet, 3Hp, 0 to 24,000 rpm soft start, fully sealed unit so dust will never wear it out and it even comes with a full set of collets in 1mm steps from 3 to 13mm. Whack that in a Woodpecker or any of the lifters on the market and you have the ultimate router! I'll take some pics if anyone wants to see it.

G'day TTIT,

I never got around to working out the resistive network but should be easy enough for sure.

I'm really interested in the spindle you've got working in the lift. Any info you can give me on that would be really great as I'm about to pull the trigger on this project and spending $550 on one of those Swistech units hurts a little bit.

I might have an ID on that socket for you. Will have a look today and see what I can find out.

Quick question on the Bosch. Do you have trouble getting the 1/2" bits to stay in it? I've got to crank the collet down with what I think is an unacceptable amount of force. Not sure if I've got a faulty collet or that's just the way they are.

Originally Posted by TTIT

I'll take some pics if anyone wants to see it.

Yes please! Lots too.

Originally Posted by dalejw

G'day TTIT,

I never got around to working out the resistive network but should be easy enough for sure.

I'm really interested in the spindle you've got working in the lift. Any info you can give me on that would be really great as I'm about to pull the trigger on this project and spending $550 on one of those Swistech units hurts a little bit.

I might have an ID on that socket for you. Will have a look today and see what I can find out.

I'll get the info off Michael tomorrow - he also bought two for himself - one for the CNC and one in a commercial router table.

Originally Posted by dalejw

Quick question on the Bosch. Do you have trouble getting the 1/2" bits to stay in it? I've got to crank the collet down with what I think is an unacceptable amount of force. Not sure if I've got a faulty collet or that's just the way they are.

I did have the bit slip a couple of times when I first bought it. I found that I could tighten it enough while it was in the plunge base but when I change the bits when using the fixed base, I have to take it out of the base and can't hold it securely enough with one hand. Solved that little problem just recently by making a 'C' spanner to hold the spindle - does the job nicely!

Originally Posted by FenceFurniture

Yes please! Lots too.

I'll take some pics on Tuesday night unless we change plans tomorrow - supposed to be out at the farm moving the clubs timber.

Originally Posted by dalejw

Hey Chris.... Did you buy the swistec motor?? Is it ok?

I bought it from the UK when the price was a lot cheaper than the $500 quoted above. It still sits in the box as does the lift to put it in but I will get around to it. My question on the CNC motor was something I had meant to ask for some time and I kept forgetting about as I think it is the preferable way to go but it won't be cheap, I priced it out from memory as close to a $1000 for a CNC spindle and VFD. The VFD has quite a few advantages over a router speed control and would be far more reliable.

Originally Posted by Chris Parks

I bought it from the UK when the price was a lot cheaper than the $500 quoted above. It still sits in the box as does the lift to put it in but I will get around to it. My question on the CNC motor was something I had meant to ask for some time and I kept forgetting about as I think it is the preferable way to go but it won't be cheap, I priced it out from memory as close to a $1000 for a CNC spindle and VFD. The VFD has quite a few advantages over a router speed control and would be far more reliable.

I'm not sure it's going to be quite that expensive. http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/like/351737210015 . Just need to work out which lift makes it possible to mount the 80mm can easily. I'm pretty short of stuffing around time at the moment. I guess it's around 3 1/8 in.

Thanks TTIT. I'll see what I can do about this plug ID today.

G'dat TTIT, Finally got an ID on that plug for you.

It's a JST-PH connector. Can be a bit tricky to find but something like this https://hobbyking.com/en_us/6-x-para...2s-lipoly.html will give you enough sockets and 1 plug to get you going. It's only $6 for the lead so get a few.

For those playing along at home the Jessem router lift has a block that suits an 81.74mm router body out of the box so shouldn't be too hard to make that fit an 80mm can with a few shims.

I think I'm going to do this. The air cooled spindles are pretty cheap and I've got a 5" dust port in my table so the motor shouldn't see a lot of dust.

The motor is completely sealed from what I have been able to glean, I think that was mentioned in the other thread. I agree, it is definitely the way to go for 240V use in a lift.

Originally Posted by dalejw

G'dat TTIT, Finally got an ID on that plug for you.

It's a JST-PH connector. Can be a bit tricky to find but something like this https://hobbyking.com/en_us/6-x-para...2s-lipoly.html will give you enough sockets and 1 plug to get you going. It's only $6 for the lead so get a few.

For those playing along at home the Jessem router lift has a block that suits an 81.74mm router body out of the box so shouldn't be too hard to make that fit an 80mm can with a few shims.

I think I'm going to do this. The air cooled spindles are pretty cheap and I've got a 5" dust port in my table so the motor shouldn't see a lot of dust.

Thanks for finding that Dale cos' I wasn't having any luck myself . . . but then I had a DOH!!! moment on the weekend after putting it all back together You know the saying "To ASSUME is to make an ASS out of U and ME' - definitely holds true in this case. Just because the router was switched by a low voltage circuit and had a controller board in it I had always assumed it would be NVR as well. Runs and stops from mains switching just fine so I can lock the handle-switch on the fixed base and set up a standard 240V switch like any other router . . . . DOH!

Originally Posted by TTIT

Thanks for finding that Dale cos' I wasn't having any luck myself . . . but then I had a DOH!!! moment on the weekend after putting it all back together You know the saying "To ASSUME is to make an ASS out of U and ME' - definitely holds true in this case. Just because the router was switched by a low voltage circuit and had a controller board in it I had always assumed it would be NVR as well. Runs and stops from mains switching just fine so I can lock the handle-switch on the fixed base and set up a standard 240V switch like any other router . . . . DOH!

Ha... sometimes things are just too easy!

Pictures of our club router table with the water cooled spindle as promised . . . . just not in the same week!! Cabinet design by moi in Sketchup and then our capable club member with a huge CNC (with a water cooled spindle of course ) cut it out of a sheet of MDF . Table top is a compressed material imported for making pigpens which is why there are so many bolts holding the 2x10mm sheets together - our glue didn't hold as nothing on earth will stick to this stuff but it is stiff, waterproof and slippery and workable with woodworking kit - perfect for the job.Pond pump in the container with the coolant - we were going to wire in an interlock so nobody could use it without coolant flowing but didn't get that far (yet!). Decided to 'idiot proof' it by setting up a 3 speed switch on the outside for easy use 'cos we don't want any mugs messing directly with the controller. Also has a relay driving a 240V socket on the back to run the vacuum cleaner when the spindle is switched on.Spindle is 3HP, 0 to 25000 RPM and quiet as a mouse - just the whirr of the cutter Sealed unit so we didn't worry about extraction in the cabinet . . . will just shovel it out occasionally. The spindle also came with collets from 5mm to 13mm in 1mm steps so we can use any sized bit shafts we like.

Vern, the material for the top sounds interesting, any links or what it is called would be appreciated. I can understand why a CNC would require water cooling, would a router table motor need the same as it works for only short periods as a rule.

What are your thoughts having used the water cooled spindle, is it worth the complication?

What lift did you guys use?

Thanks for the pictures, a great set up you have put together there.

Thanks for that TTIT. Looks like a nice setup!

I've now pulled the trigger on my setup. Currently sitting here looking at my Jessem Mast R lift II which is quite a spectacular piece of engineering. Wound up buying a 2.2kw spindle and VFD off ebay while they are having this 10% off sale and now waiting for it to turn up. Toyed with the idea of going with a 3kw but couldn't really justify the cost when I've got a 4kw spindle moulder that gets used for anything big.

Just to put some closure on the Bosch setup, I tried to fit it in the mast r lift to use while i'm waiting for the spindle to show up without much success. The 94mm can size doesn't fit any of the pre drilled holes for the lift and the next up is around 105mm which leaves you having to get some fairly hefty spacers. It's not something you can shim out.

The plastic part that holds the rails that connect the switch also leave you with pretty limited orientations to mount it as well and the power cord winds up in the lift screw or in one of the lift rails.

Incidentally the resistive network for the switching is pretty simple. It just consists of two 24k and one 4.7k resistor but I never wound up constructing it when I worked out I couldn't easily mount the motor.

Originally Posted by Chris Parks

Vern, the material for the top sounds interesting, any links or what it is called would be appreciated. I can understand why a CNC would require water cooling, would a router table motor need the same as it works for only short periods as a rule.

What are your thoughts having used the water cooled spindle, is it worth the complication?

What lift did you guys use?

Thanks for the pictures, a great set up you have put together there.

I really couldn't tell you what the stuff is called - a massive piggery near Biloela got it in from Germany and one or two of the containers got contaminated with seawater so it was rejected and Michael grabbed some to see what it could be used for. It smells like Lamipanel when it's machined but the smell doesn't hang around long. He's used it for everything from signage to the most awesome of Longworth chucks (one of which I have ) and even zero clearance inserts for my Hammer tablesaw.

The water cooled spindle would seem complicated but with the combined skills of the clubbies it went together really nice and the spindle, controller and pump came in less than the cost of a high end router. Michael was going through one or two trim routers a week on his CNC until he got one of these suckers and it has now done hundreds of hours work without faltering - can't go past that sort of reliability for a club machine! After he bought another one and put it in a commercial router table for himself we figured the club should have the same setup. To me one of the best things is the lack of noise . . .so quiet you can hear the wood slicing! Aaaahh, the serenity! Not having to worry about dust getting in it isn't a bad thing either

The router lift is a JessEm I think - we had to manufacture a sleeve to fill the clamp but that was simple enough. Unfortunately the guys don't like my idea of using the drill to wind it up and down like the thicknesser table on my Hammer but I don't have the patience for all that winding