To give you a frame of reference of my skill level I had very little experience with any type of wiring other than 12V stuff on motorcycles. I also did not know much about CNC technology, and still don't. I did some CNC router programming in college and that is it.
Once I got this machine in position in my home garage I started to panic as I realized I was in way over my head. Thankfully Marc at CNC Services NW is only an hour away. He designed a system for the retro fit, made a fabulous wiring diagram, and answered all of my numerous questions. Without him I would be completely lost. Marc if you are reading this - thank you!
After a little over two years of fiddling about I made the first chips with the machine this week. It has completely reinvigorated me on this project. which has sadly been on the back burner for too long. Its hard to make progress on this kind of stuff when every element is something new to learn.
There are still a few issues that need to be sorted before its 100% but I am astonished that I was able to pull this off considering my complete lack of experience.
The main issues I need to rectify are the brake solenoid isn't working, and far more worrisome - I think the spindle bearings may be bad. When the tool gets a load on it there is a pretty loud chatter, it goes away with a heavy load. I still need to investigate further.
I'm excited to learn from this forum!