Upgrading X motor from NEMA 17 to 23

X-Carve Upgrades
1

In order to take full advantage of the Dewalt 611 router I have discovered that I really need to replace the X motor. If I am cutting at the speed and depth the 611 allows I will occasionally see a missed step on the X axis.

So I ordered a new NEMA 23 motor (from Amazon because Inventables was out of stock) and 1/4 inch pulley from Inventables. The motor arrived yesterday and the pulley should be here tomorrow,

My question to the forum is: has anyone changed out the X motor on an assembled X-Carve? Putting the new motor on should be a piece of cake since the mounting holes for the 23 are tapped and do not require a nut on the other side. But it looks like getting the old 17 off may require taking apart the spindle mount and Z axis so I can reach the access holes to loosen the nuts on the 17.

Of course I would like to not take apart anymore than necessary so if anyone else has done this and has any advice I would appreciate hearing it.

2

Get a set of ignition wrenches and you can reach the nus without taking any thing apart. Ace hardware carries them.

Dave

1 Like
3

That would make me very happy. What is special about ignition wrenches? I am not familiar with them.

4

They are small only 2 to 3 inches long and thin. come in inch and metric. do a search and you will see what they look like.

Dave

1 Like
5

Perfect, thanks for the tip.

7

Another thing special about them is when you could actually use them. I remember setting the points and dwell in the good ole days. I think it was around 74 when Chrysler came out with the electronic ignition.