As I was messing around with text engraving, I realized that it would be very cool to have a high speed spindle.
There is, apparently, a wide variety of purpose made and adapted devices that are used for this:
The best so far, looks to be this:
This is a Bosch Colt palm router attached to the quill. It seems to be nicely made, and low profile.
In my case, I can use a changeable toolholder to do the attaching, so that it is easy to take off:
This way, I could run a 1/8" end mill at 30,000 RPM, without using the main mill's spindle bearings. I would use a brake to hold this assembly in the quill.
It would be, as I said, a quick change setup, easy to be swapped out. I would just need to figure out a safety interlock mechanism, so that the main spindle would not be turned on accidentally with this thing mounted.
It would seem that a holder is easy to make from 6061 or some such, and the whole project can be done under $200.
I engraved some text yesterday, which took something like 19 minutes. I did it at 2,400 RPM. At 30,000 RPM, it could take only 1.5-2 minutes.
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